Lunas Famous Roast Duck @ Tan Kee Restaurant
February 6, 2010 | 8,342 viewsA short one for the weekend :
Lunas of Kedah has never been on my map for food-hunting sessions. Nor it’s even in my map, for that matter. Certainly a route less travelled, Lunas is a small town near to Kulim of Kedah, on the eastern side of the state, bordering with Penang. Lunas is rather famous for the many restaurants/shops/stalls serving roast duck, in a variety of ways.
Truth is, the roasted duck at Tan Kee Restaurant (The signboard reads Kedai Kopi dan Makanan …. but ironically, the shop only sells instant 3-in-1 Old Town white coffee. Go figure) was never the mind-blowing affair one might associate with Beijing crispy duck, comparatively. But after a few mouthfuls, you’d come to the realization that Tan Kee’s version has to be one of the better version around. And darn cheap at that. Can you imagine a whole duck for only RM24/USD6.80 while half a duck at merely half the price. Pupils gone all dilated, salivary gland into overdrive? Why am I NOT surprised. 😉
The skin of the roasted duck was crisp, the fatty layers underneath all gotten rid of, and the meat juicy and tender. None of those unpleasant gamey taste, and the duck was not one of those anorexic delinquents (read : FAT ducks, oh yeah …) The half a duck portion was surprisingly generous, almost shocking us into a comatose state for that meal was supposed to be an in-betweener (We have had our breakfast, and gonna have lunch in Penang ….).
They also serve “Khai Choy” or “Choy Geok”, or whatever you call the appetizingly sourish and spicy stew of mustard greens, dried chillies, tamarind and commonly left-over meats from the day before. But Tan Kee’s version lacked the oomph, being neither here nor there.
But the dipping sauce for the duck was good. A homemade concoction, with liberal inclusion of the seeds of the chillies, the sweetish dip complemented the duck meat very well. Although personally, I’d suggest for you to savour the roast duck WITHOUT any dipping sauces. It’s flavourful enough, trust me.
The Crispy roast duck can be served with plum sauce, or another version aptly named Itik Keladi, or Yam Duck. Any ideas what that is?
The unexpected brunch filled us up more than we desired. Which then led us to a much lighter lunch-tea break in Penang. Definitely one of the better roast ducks I’ve tasted, even better than Hong Kong Restaurant in Tasek of Ipoh. (To which I have to admit, the quality has dropped drastically, the last I visited).
The meal for four came to about RM17.80/USD5, inclusive of rice. A surprisingly viable-economic option, given the already popular status of Lunas roast duck, and Tan Kee in particular. Good thing they do not succumb to the commercialization bane, aka giving less than what the customers deserve.
You can read about how the other raved about Tan Kee at the following links :
Malaysian Foodies United, Foodpoi, Gastronomic Diary, Ed and Cher
No address, sorry. But to locate Tan Kee Roast Duck, you have to use the Kulim-Butterworth highway. If you’re from the North-South Expressway (PLUS), go north until you reach Butterworth. You’d see a Kulim/Butterworth exit. Take a 3pm turn at the roundabout in Seberang Jaya, towards Kulim town. Drive towards Kulim direction, until you see the junction to turn LEFT towards Lunas town. After about 1km of drive from the junction, you will see Tan Kee on your left, on Jalan Lunas main road itself.
An estimated Google Map at this following link.
Lunas Roast Duck @ Tan Kee Restaurant | Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog…
One of the BEST roast duck I’ve tasted, Lunas is a small town in Kedah, bordering with Kulim, and Butterworth of Penang. Cheap and delicious….
wei wei.. haha… so geng la.. u managed to find the place.. salute!! 😛
i’ve been eating this roast duck since childhood cz grandma’s hz very very near this restaurant.. hmmm… yum-yum… 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Oh you mentioned this before ah? Why never brought me there one? Hmm ….
But really, the duck’s good. And darn cheap, IMO.
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Wow! I am not a fan of roast duck, but I want to taste this one! : )
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Give me roast duck anytime.
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I love roast duck and Lunas is a town I used to passed by every day during my school days (Padang Serai – Kulim). I will be probably passing by during this CNY. Gong Xi Fai Cai to you.
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Same to you, Happy CNY. And go get some ducks. 🙂
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omg… you gotta bring me to this place next time!!! i love roast duck… hohohoho and khai choy also =p too bad i cant get kahi choy here…
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Erm, you’re still in Germany? Get some sauerkraut then …. Next best thing?
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So far I have only tasted the roast duck near my house. And it is relatively…ok only. It’s hard to cook the duck right? Not everyone can make it tender and juicy.
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Indeed, I’ve tasted some horrendous versions of roast duck before. And many charge an arm and a leg for the ducks. Hmmm ….. cheap and good ones are indeed hard to find.
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wow the duck looks awesome but of course cannot compare with beijing duck la.. LOL
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its been so many years… since i last had tan kee’s roast duck…. at least over 6yrs…. now u made me wanna go to lunas… 🙂
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I am drooling over the chai buey more than the duck. Have been thinking about making chai buey and I think this is the trigger. The duck looks absolutely gorgeous and very edible, of course. Lunas is a very special place to me. My family were from Lunas before moving to Penang.
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haha, J2KFM, when you come to sungai petani the last time, there’s a food court very near to the hotel you stay (Cinta Sayang) which the duck rice there is originated from Lunas also, taste wise its really very close to the one you went, just that chili is different :p
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I miss this restaurant lah. Already long time didn’t visit. Agree that they charged reasonably.
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I wish to try this with a big group of friends (40pax) as early as possible. Can anyone tell me what time they start selling in the morning?
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J2Kfm Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Hi alvin, not so sure of its opening hours. But they were in the midst of brisk business at about 12pm.
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Hi, very good food blog!Funny, I origiunate from Kulim but left in 1973 to live in UK>However, I go back every year twice now and did not know about this place.The dishes look real good, will make a point of going there next time I am there!Know Lunas very well as there is only One main road used to cycle there when young inthe late 60s and late 70s…keep up the good blog …
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 16th, 2010 at 9:06 am
Thanks Ethnic Malaysian. This Lunas place is very famous for roast duck, it seems. Quite a few outlets serving the same thing, but this one at Tan Kee is the most popular, judging from media reviews and even mapped on the GPS.
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