It’s been a while since my last restaurant report from our trip to Ireland in the summer. That most recent report was of a lunch centered on seafood, at King Sitric, in the coastal town of Howth, just about 30 minutes by train from Dublin. Here now is a meal eaten in Dublin proper, centered on Hong Kong-style barbecue or roast meats. Duck is located on Fade St. right by the George’s Street Arcade, and just around the corner from the excellent Asia Market—and not very far, for that matter, from either Good World or Ka Shing. It is a tiny operation. The room has seating for maybe 20 people, either around a larger communal table in the middle or at the narrow counter that rings the three walls around it. The fourth wall is taken up by the counter where you place your order and pick it up when it’s ready. It’s not a place to eat in at if you’re a large group—and even if you’re a group of four, your chances of getting seats together are higher if you show up right when they open at noon. After that they fill up quickly with solo diners on their lunch breaks. Not surprisingly, most of their business seems to be carry-away. The four of us did sit down. Here’s how it went.

The menu is small and focused. That focus is on meats roasted in a bullet oven. You can get char siu pork, pork belly, chicken or the eponymous duck, either as single or 2-item combo orders with a side of steamed rice or vegetables (you can upgrade to fried rice or noodles for a tiny bit more). You can also get larger meat-only platters or combos. In addition, there are a few noodle soups, some fried rice and noodles options, a few small plates and a few dishes billed as vegetarian (but ask about the oyster sauce). You queue up to place your order and then the food comes out pretty quickly.

We kept things pretty simple. We got two meat-only combos with a side of fried noodles. The first combo included crispy pork belly and char siu pork; the second featured their Cantonese soy chicken and boneless roast duck. These combos serve pretty healthy portions—we ended up taking a fair bit of the pork home. All of it was very good, with the duck and the soy chicken the family’s consensus favourites. I liked the char siu pork more than the rest of the family did (it’s pretty pungent).

We only had a few days left in the city after this meal and so there was no question of coming back, but I would have liked to try more of their dishes. I wish I’d stopped in earlier in our stay as they are pretty close to Trinity College where I was teaching. It would have been a very convenient quick lunch stop on the days when I was not up for the much longer walk to Dosa Dosa and ended up eating marginal lunches in the heart of the tourist zone.

For a quick look at the space, the menu and what we ate, click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down for cost and to see what’s coming next.

I didn’t save my receipt but as you can see from the photos of the menu, prices are very reasonable. My guess is that with soft drinks and the noodles we spent less than 15 euros/head. Believe me, you can eat far worse for less money in the general vicinity. If you’re visiting Dublin from a place that doesn’t have good Hong Kong style barbecue, I’d recommend Duck.

Alright, only three more reports to go from Dublin. Another Chinese restaurant and two fine dining restaurants. I’ll probably get two of those out next week and finish up with Dublin the week after. Tomorrow, I hope to post my last report from Italy. And this coming Tuesday I’ll have a Vietnamese report from St. Paul.