There’s just something about Bravo Duck Zhongshan that intrigues me. A mere 5-minute walk away from Zhongshan Elementary School‘s 3rd exit, you’ll probably smell this ginger duck hot pot before you see it! Hidden away beneath the underpass of Xinsheng North Road, Bravo Duck Zhongshan gets busy on the weekends, but if you’re feeling the chill in Taipei over winter then you can rest assured that you’ll be warm for the whole day after eating this. It’s got that deep, rich ginger flavour that only comes through with ginger duck hot pots.
For those not yet in the know, Taipei hot pot restaurants litter the streets of the capital and range from pickled cabbage (酸菜 suān cài), mouth-numbing (麻辣 má là), lamb/mutton (羊肉爐 yáng ròu lú see this link for one of the best), to other broths that thin slices of meat are just dumped into and boiled up. I’m not usually much of a fan of hot pot, but this ginger duck hot pot just smells too good to pass up.
Typically, ginger duck hot pot consists of tender duck, fragrant ginger, aromatic rice wine, and rich sesame oil, making it the ideal comfort food for Taipei’s brief colder spells. Traditionally served in clay or earthenware pots and kept warm over a charcoal fire, this dish offers a variety of ducks done in various ways to appeal to all. You can often choose from meatballs, breast, heart, liver, or even intestines. The flavour profile is more often than not bold and warming, with the ginger, sesame and rice wine providing a lively, aromatic touch, while remaining rich and warming, rather than spicy.
But what’s so special about this one?
Table of Contents
Hidden beneath the underpass of Xingsheng North Road near Zhongshan Elementary School station, Bravo Duck Zhongshan has both curbside seating as well as some inside seating. It gets busy, so I’d recommend getting here right at opening time if punctual eating is your thing (it is mine). But if you don’t mind a wait, you might be waiting 30-40mins for a table throughout the weekend. It opens until midnight, though, so a late-night feed could be a good idea!
If you aren’t sure how to order or what to do when you arrive at Bravo Duck Zhongshan, then this is the post for you. See below for How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
The Menu at Bravo Duck Zhongshan
There are 4 main areas on the menu, those are:
- Take out option (外帶 wài dài)
- If it's too busy to get a seat and you don't live too far away, then a take-out order is something you should seriously consider. I got it before, and really enjoyed it! There's often a worry that a take-out option will have a smaller portion, but not at Bravo Duck Zhongshan. In your take-out order, you will get cabbage, mushrooms, meatballs, tofu, corn, and clams, as well as your ginger duck hot pot. The portion is very generous, and 2 people can eat this on its own and feel quite full. 3-4 might get by if you have an appetiser and/or a dessert, or some other accompaniments to the hot pot.
- Hot Pot (薑母鴨 jiāng mǔ yā) + Duck options (鴨類 yā lèi)
- You'll find pretty much anything duck in this section, from heart to liver, you can eat it all. It's not often that you'll get these kinds of duck options around Taipei unless at a ginger duck hot pot, so you should probably order a few.
- Seafood (海鮮 hǎi xiān)
- While it sounds odd to order seafood to a ginger duck hot pot here at Bravo Duck Zhongshan, it'll make that broth sweeter and will be imparted with that rich sesame and ginger flavour. It will be a revelation if price isn't a consideration...
- Lobster is going to set you back almost 1300, and some scallops will come in at around 300, too. Expect these prices to fluctuate with the market, or at least expect the portion sizes to alter if the price doesn't.
- While it sounds odd to order seafood to a ginger duck hot pot here at Bravo Duck Zhongshan, it'll make that broth sweeter and will be imparted with that rich sesame and ginger flavour. It will be a revelation if price isn't a consideration...
- Extras (加點 jiā diǎn)
- We ordered a couple of extras, with the above menu orders sufficient for a party of 2.
Ginger Duck Hot Pot
薑母鴨( jiāng mǔ yā)
You will definitely order this if you come here. They don't alter the size for the number of diners, so this is something you should think of if you're a large, hungry party.
We ordered extra tofu skin (豆皮 dòu pí), mushrooms (香菇 xiāng gū), and baby corn (玉米筍 yù mǐ sǔn), which came already inside the ginger duck hot pot, itself. This meant that they were already rich with flavour after the hot pot had come to a boil.
The Duck
As soon as the pot starts to boil, the flavours that were already filling the air will become a bit more intense. You should definitely sip that soup before getting ready to eat the contents of the ginger duck hot pot itself.
The mushrooms that we ordered added another level of flavour to the soup, bringing an earthy fragrance that it unmistakable from these types of mushrooms. It also brought a mild sweetness to the soup, as did the baby corn, too. The flavour of the hot pot is a heavy ginger flavour with a sesame fragrance due to the oil that the ginger was first fried in before taking its rightful place in the soup.
Immediately after feeling warmed up with the rich ginger duck hot pot soup, it was time to crack on with the meat. I felt a little disappointed by the meat this time, actually. The sharp bones didn't help, but then followed what was a slightly dry texture to the meat. We hadn't cooked the meat too long, either, so it was certainly not anything that our cooking skills could have avoided...
The flavour was good, but the texture did feel a bit disappointing. This meant that we had to dip it generously into the sauce that accompanied the meat, which was really tasty. But the dry texture of the duck left me feeling quite deflated...
This was a mildly better texture, but as you can see on the left side it's quite dry, and even though the shimmer of fat on the right should have offset that dry texture, it didn't quite suffice.
Duck Meatballs
鴨肉丸 (yā ròu wán)
If they were to replace out meat with these delightful duck meatballs, I would have been very happy. These were densely packed with flavourful duck, and went so well with the ginger duck hot pot. Bravo Duck Zhongshan have done a great job with these, and I could've easily taken out some of these with some of that dipping sauce.
Clams
蛤蜊 (gé lí)
Clams are something that we sometimes buy and cook up with some thinly cut ginger for a delightful soup at home. They often bring a seafood sweetness to a soup, so we thought they would be the perfect partner for a ginger duck hot pot. The flavour that they brought was right on the money, but one thing that we make sure to do at home had not been done thoroughly enough here...
They hadn't been allowed to get rid of the sand inside the clams by leaving them in water for a few hours... This meant that each time you put one in your mouth, it imparted a gritty and sandy texture into the mouth. Thinking that this could have been an isolated incident, I proceeded to try more than one, to the same result. Sand.
I ended up scooping them out and not eating them. This was a huge shame, as clams done well are absolutely delicious. However, I wouldn't order these clams here again at Bravo Duck Zhongshan. I hope that this is an isolated incident, but I'm not willing to chow down on the sand again for something that is quite easily avoided.
Thin Noodles
麵線 (miàn xiàn)
Stirred up with some sesame oil and ginger, while these thin noodles look bland, they were far from it. However, they were a little soft. This could be a personal preference, but I like my noodles with a bite to them, and these didn't quite have the bite that I look for in my noodz. However, they did have a good flavour, and I would order them again at Bravo Duck Zhongshan, especially when paired with the tasty ginger duck hot pot.
The Bottom Line
Is it worth it? I think that Bravo Duck Zhongshan is well worth a take-out order. As you get the clams as part of the take-out order, I'd recommend putting them in a bowl of water for a while before cooking them in the ginger duck hot pot to avoid the same sandy experience that I went through. However, be aware that they are seafood, so don't leave them out for too long.
What is the best dish? Aside from the flavour of the ginger duck hot pot itself, the duck meatballs were top quality.
Are there other places like this? Hot pot places litter the streets of Taipei. I don't often go for hot pot, but when I do, I really go for it. Here are my favourites:
Taipei restaurant – 下港吔羊肉專賣店 Heartwarming lamb hot pot