Duck Rice @ East Coast Road.

There's only one place that springs to mind whenever somebody mentions roast duck on East Coast Road.

Mei Yuen.

I don't know if there're other places (there should be- it's a long road) but it's only Mei Yuen Restaurant that I think of, and only Mei Yuen Restaurant that I go to. 

It's not a fanciful place- you dont' get warm lighting on the ceiling, there's no tapestry on the walls, your plates aren't fancy, and the furniture's all unclothed. 

But it's a place where the food's good, and the technique's done with sincerity. 

I often wonder about the story behind this coffee shop aka restaurant. 

When did it begin?

Who began it?

What were their (old) patrons like?

And how was the world like when they opened their shop here on East Coast Road at that time?

Not just that, I'd love to know if this roast duck stall had always been run by the old uncle who now stands at the stall.

Or had it been handed down from someone else before?

There're actually a lot of questions I'd love to ask the elderly couple who run the stall.

Like, do they roast the ducks by themselves in the big working kitchen at the back of the dining space, or they order the duck from the suppliers at Ubi just down the road?

The roast duck here is chopped in the traditional way.

What that means is that one will needs a cautious tongue and a skillful hand when working through the meat with fork and spoon, and if you're the unskilled type (like me), you're better off eating it with your hands instead.

One thing I like about the rice here at Mei Yuen is just how unpretentious it is.

For $5 a plate (thereabouts) you get a huge plate of rice, skillfully chopped pieces of duck, and a generous slather of sauce. 

They're very generous with the sauce. 

A little too generous sometimes. 

Maybe it's the Cantonese way?

I'm not sure. 

Mei Yuen Restaurant is distinctively Cantonese, however. 

You can tell from the name.

You can also tell from the plethora of Cantonese (and Mandarin) songs that the chicken rice stall owner plays through wall mounted speakers inside. 

The Cantonese language blends so familiar here that one nearly imagines they're in a Kowloon eating house when listening to BEYOND, or Andy Lau.

It adds to the atmosphere. 

The other thing that Mei Yuen is popular for is their pork wantons. 

I kid you not when I say their wanton noodles is one of the most popular dishes here. 

It's the dish that people drive all the way down here for. 

And it's also the dish that makes me want to come back here time after time. 

I don't take their pork wanton noodles (maybe I should) but it's their soup that I love, and this big bowl of clear, tasty broth, with fresh, perky, smooth-skinned wantons is what I love coming here for. 

Yes, you see more of the big vegetables that they add to the soup, uut trust me, there're about sixteen of these little babies bobbing about inside there and it's so good that I can forgo the duck rice, and have the soup just on its own. 

I only wonder how early it is they have to wake every day just to roll these cute little wantons by hand all by themselves.

Because it's obviously handmade.

And the skin's exceptionally good.