Pacific BBQ Cafe
213 Lonsdale St
Melbourne – Victoria 3000
Ph: +61 (3) 9663 9228

Unlike most other food in Melbourne, the one thing that I have seen dwindle in this city is a vast array of quality roast duck. Some of my favourite places (Kum Den, Clay Pot Kings) have reduced the quality of their duck perhaps to cheapen prices, because their supplier cut prices or stopped serving duck altogether. Sadly, I have found the offering of duck in many places in the city to be a little dry, shriveled up, chewy in skin and not very fleshy or fatty. Very dissappointing and often leaving me to wonder where this place of duck has come from.  Not having access to great duck is probably good for me as they can be quite fattening but I have again found a place in the city where I can yet again satisfy my cravings for a delicious plate of roast duck.

The Pacific BBQ House restaurants in Melbourne have a good reputation for consistently good Chinese food and the Lonsdale Street store in the CBD is the latest of this small chain. The red roast duck dangles in the window, enticing the passerby, testimony to the freshness of the duck which you can be sure will be chopped and served as ordered. The duck is available in the usual way, either with rice, noodles, dry or inside the soup broth.

At the end of the day, it’s the duck itself that determines the success of the meal and the duck at Pacific BBQ House delivers with a crispy skin, plump flesh and layer of fat to ad juice to that crunch. YUM! I believe I fall within the majority of people who enjoy their duck dry, which means the broth is served on the side of a plate of noodles, broth flavored gravy topped with the duck and bok choy. Of course there is also the chilli sauce to add for that extra kick and flavor as you wish and given that the ducks are hanging in the window read for the chopping, you won’t have to wait long for this very popular dish. And If you need to put out the fire or something to perfectly balance out the flavours and textures of the duck, order one of their ice lemon teas which is served nice and cold in a tall glass.

The restaurant has plenty of room and still gets quite busy, in large part to the roast duck that is reminiscent of the duck that many of us enjoyed frequently in the city several years ago. The business and the high percentage of international students is always a good sign for a place such as this and you cannot help but feel that you are in the right place eating the right dish.

Students, the office crowd and other city dwellers will much appreciate this favourite classic as eat in or take away at a hard to beat price.

Pacific BBQ House Famous Roast Duck, Crispy roast pork and BBQ pork with noodle and soup

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