Good Fortune Roast Duck House, East Victoria Park
“Would you like the Peking duck first, as an appetiser, or would you like all the dishes served together?” Our waiter asked, as he scribbled.
“Peking duck first, please,” we answered.
We genuinely appreciated being asked, but first came the steamed rice, then the Peking duck, served on a ludicrously enormous plate. And less than three minutes later, the large roast combination arrived, followed closely by the stir-fried long beans, fresh out of the wok. I shouldn’t be surprised when this happens in an Asian restaurant. The other variation is having the dishes arrive in random order, one at a time, leaving you with little choice but to eat them one at a time, as they’ll just go cold if you wait for the rest to be delivered so you can eat them together as originally intended – we brush aside any annoyance and the déjà vu feeling and focus on eating.
Regular readers know I’m a big fan of the boneless roast duck noodles from Good Fortune Roast Duck House in Northbridge. I was pleased when a reader emailed to let me know Good Fortune was opening a second restaurant in mid-December on Albany Highway in East Victoria Park, much closer to home. It’s taken up the shop where Big Bowl Noodle House used to be, next to Emma’s Seafood & Dim Sum.
As I suspected, Good Fortune in East Vic Park has been enthusiastically received. When we arrived for dinner on new year’s eve, the front door was difficult to open due to people standing in the way as they waited for a table. Two toque-wearing, cleaver-wielding chefs chopped roast meats to order at the front of the restaurant. The crowd was mostly Chinese – the universal sign of a good Chinese restaurant. We waited fewer than five minutes to be seated and were chuffed at our good fortune (sorry, couldn’t resist).
The Peking duck comes with 5 pancakes; since we mentioned we’d be sharing the dish, our waiter offered to bring us 6 pancakes so we wouldn’t have to fight over the last one.
Peking duck (AU$19) – on each pancake: cucumber, spring onion and duck. On the side, a dish of hoi sin sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds.Not bad, but we prefer the duck to be sliced more narrowly so it’s less chewy and the pancake is less likely to tear when you fold or roll it up to take a bite.
Since we had duck for our (short-lived) starter, we had ordered BBQ pork, roast pork and roast chicken for our large roast combination. I was still munching on my Peking duck pancakes while Jac started on the roast meats – by the time I realised we had been given duck instead of chicken, she was several slices in and had absentmindedly not noticed. We decided to keep the duck.
The roast meats were arranged on top of lightly pickled cabbage. I’ve always had juicy duck at Good Fortune, and this was no exception. The roast pork was succulent with superbly crunchy crackling but the BBQ pork was a touch too fatty.
Large roast combination (AU$22)We almost missed the stir-fried long beans with mince pork on the menu – it’s listed under the pork dishes rather than the veggies. The beans were cooked perfect tenderness, moreish from the first delicious pop. Even with all the roast meat on the table, this simple, home-style dish was my favourite of the meal.
Stir-fried long beans with minced pork (AU$17.50) We dine often on the Vic Park restaurant strip and are regulars at Good One BBQ just up the road from Good Fortune. When I first heard about Good Fortune’s arrival to Albany Highway I thought I’d be grappling with a dilemma the next time I craved Chinese BBQ – Good One, or Good Fortune?
Upon reflection after this meal, I’ve realised there’s no dilemma – it’s all Good. There’s room for more than one Chinese BBQ restaurant in my life, which my Mum would suggest just got a little more ‘prosperous’. When I’m in Vic Park, I’ll still be a Good One gal. The BBQ meats there are consistently excellent and I can get a big bowl of roast duck porridge at lunch or dinner – very important, as good rice porridge (congee) is surprisingly hard to come by in Perth Chinese restaurants. But when I’m in Northbridge or have a craving for boneless roast duck with springy noodles that’ll leave my lips greasy (which I’ll now order with a side of stir-fried long beans with minced pork), I’ll go to Good Fortune.
Good Fortune Roast Duck House
884 Albany Highway
East Victoria Park WA 6101
Telephone: (08) 9472 8236
Next to Emma’s Seafood and Dim Sum.
The original Good Fortune Roast Duck House is at 344 William Street, Northbridge.
Note: the East Vic Park restaurant is bigger than the Northbridge one.
You might like to check out my posts:
- Good Fortune Roast Duck House, Northbridge
- Lunch at Good One BBQ, East Victoria Park
- Dinner at Good One BBQ