Ming Jia Shan. Peking Duck at 11.00pm.

Kuala Lumpur. Isn't this city a wonderful place for foodies? Where else in the world can you get to eat Peking Duck at 11pm? Heard about this place from friends, and my palate was slightly tired from imbibing too many Italian Dinners. Their Chef apparently had worked in Hakkasan Restuarant (near Tottenham Station) previously.

Ming Jia Shan specializes in Ducks. Peking Ducks, to me more precise. It is a THE Dish in Beijing and often the pride of Beijing natives. I really relished the thought of having Micro-surgically sliced duck skin that is eating with tracing paper thin pancakes with the usual condiments, an Ming Jia Shan did not disappoint me at all.


Before I could say Donald Duck, half a duck (RM 45) was wheeled in front of me and deftly sliced into paper thin pieces, with just a bit of the meat and a very, very healthy thin layer of fat. Half a duck yielded 6 pieces in total.


Hoisin Sauce (?) was served together with spring onions, cucumber sticks and interestingly Tobiko together with the Popiah Thin Pancake. Smear a thin layer of sauce on the pancake, put in a piece of Duck, add the condiments and enjoy.


The Duck was roasted to perfection, slightly crunchy and sliced wafer thin, it blended well with the Sauce and interestingly, the Tobiko did not feel out of place here. It gave a duck a fishy taste. It's been ages since I had Peking Duck (at Qian ju de, TianAnMen) and this was a refreshing change.


Do not fret, because the meat was not wasted! The Chef at Ming Jia Shan has opted to serve the leftover meat differently. It was transformed into a very refreshing Duck Salad, with Zesty Lemon and Vinaigrette Dressing filled with lots of greens and Olive Oil. It was a perfect match to the slightly salty duck meat from the carved duck. It is not your typical Chinese salad, but it worked for me.


Stir fried Lotus root, Scallops and Prawns. Lovely, full of "Wok Hei" and came with just a bit of sticky gravy. Lotus roots still crunchy and the scallops slightly seared and not too well done.


Deep Fried Soft Shelled Crab with Chilli and Curry Leaves Salad. Fragrant, not spicy. A tad too Salty for me. The Crabs were still crunchy.


Assam Prawns. Those who were expecting a traditional style Assam Prawns will be disappointed. This version did not have any tangy Tamarind taste, nor was it infused with the herbal Daun Kesom/Bunga Kantan aroma. Instead, it came with a slightly sweetish-sourish sauce with large, voluptuous prawns.

Had Mojitos there, which were rather forgettable (the best one I had was from 7atenine). Service was very good. I found it strange for a Chinese restaurant to be so dimly lit and it looks like a chic chill out place more than a restaurant and made photography a nightmare. But it was very relaxing and a welcome change from the noisy clanging of a typical Chinese Restaurant.

It is located along the Changkat Bukit Bintang Strip, 2 doors away from Bermuda and Onion.
Kitchen closes at 12 midnight. (yay!)

Wikipedia has an interesting article on Beijing Duck, including a picture of a duck roasting in an open over taken in the 1930s. Click here.

In The Sea, if you are reading this, does Ming Jia Shan mean anything? I forgot to ask the staff there.