Roast Crispy Duck

Restaurant of the Week

Bangkok, 1942. A man named Leng opened his first restaurant cooking traditional Thai dishes for the locals. Over the years, these cherished recipes were perfected and ultimately brought to America, more specifically to Astoria, for the locals here to enjoy. Today, the Siricharoen family welcomes you and we are fortunate to have such a wonderful history of exotic Thai and Asian cuisine at our fingertips. Your dining experience begins as you escape your day to day routine and enter the serene, temple-like atmosphere of LENG. Warm, sleek wooden floors and stone walls are offset with wood and leather banquettes outfitted with colorful Thai pillows. Original artwork from Thailand adorns the walls and the entire restaurant has a warm glow of lighting, even the zen-like bathrooms. There are three separate dining areas; the one up front as described, the rear dining room with stone floors and walls lit by decorative fixtures, and the outdoor garden, for warm weather dining. If you know anything about the Thai people, it is that they are known for their hospitality and kindness. This is clearly evident in the service you'll receive at Leng and the food is as beautiful as it is delicious.

Start with a glass of wine, frosty Thai beer or one of their beautifully crafted cocktails. Our hostess suggested a popular cocktail called a "Sakejito" which is a mojito made with sake, mulled lime and lots of fresh mint, making it the perfect summer drink. My friend enjoying Asian red sangria, mixed with plum wine and tropical fruit. The "Pommemosa" is made with pomegranate juice and champagne, for a twist on the classic Mimosa.

Thai cuisine is like no other, and known for the combination of three flavors: sweet, savory and sour. Fresh vegetables, meats, poultry and noodles are combined with all three elements, along with "heat" from chilis and curries in some dishes. If you've never tried it, you should, here at Leng.

The efficient waiter brought a gorgeous selection of appetizers, served steaming hot and gleaming on white platters. The chicken satays were impossibly tender, cooked just right and served with peanut sauce and special cucumber relish for dipping ($6). Other appetizers from the grill include tender calamari, grilled tofu, vegetables and marinated pork. Share a basket of tender, steamed dumplings, filled with either shrimp or vegetables with the accompanying dipping sauce ($6). Delicate spring rolls are light and crisp, filled with either vegetables, shrimp or shredded duck with special hoisin sauce. Thai salads are unique, composed of fresh ingredients that include vegetables, fruit and meat. We shared a shredded mango salad with avocado, red onion and roasted coconut in lime vinaigrette dressing ($8). Some salads are more like a meal, such as the crispy duck salad with red onion, pineapple and peanuts. The soups are amazing too, such as the hot and spicy lemongrass soup with shrimp, mushrooms and kefir lime leaves.

Omnivorous: Crispy Roast Duck Breast

Well, we have been busy lately, as evidenced by the lack of activity on our blog. Michael started a new job not long ago, and I started my summer teaching, and my dad came to visit, and our friends had a baby, and my brother came to visit, and we did fun things like going strawberry picking at Swanton Berry Farm . We have certainly been doing plenty of cooking and eating, just not as much writing. And we have made an exciting culinary discovery - we can cook duck! In fact, it's pretty easy! It's one of those things that we love to order in restaurants but for some reason had never tried ourselves. The key to getting a nicely cooked duck with crispy flavorful skin is to sear it in a pan first, then finish it off in the oven. And a big plus, if you're into that sort of thing, is that you render out the fat in the pan so you're left with some duck fat for future cooking - we've now made duck three times so we're accumulating a good amount and not sure yet what to make with it. Ideas? Heat a small amount of vegetable oil (about a tsp) in a cast-iron skillet (if you have one - otherwise another oven-safe skillet will get the job done, though something non-non-stick would be best at browning the skin) over medium high heat, then put the duck in the pan, skin side down, though not before the pan is sufficiently pre-heated. Cook for six minutes, or until the skin is well browned. Carefully drain as much of the fat from the skillet as you can (you may have to take the duck out or have someone else hold it in place with tongs). Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the duck to a cutting board. Meanwhile, put the skillet back on the stove and turn on the heat to medium high. Add the shallot and the mushrooms and let them cook for a minute, then add the wine and stock. Bring up the heat to medium high and let the sauce boil until it has reduced and thickened. Stir in the butter, salt, and pepper.

The roast duck/crispy pork rice combo at HK Diner really is one of the best things ever. Cheers to @ for bringing it to my world.

I am cooking this proven recepie . Prosciutto melone e rucola for starter and Crème brûlée for dessert @

Loong Foong Roast Duck ~ one of the best roast duck in town; crispy golden brown skin & yumzz.. |

Roast duck and crispy shallots, egg fried rice

@ I crave crispy roast duck from The French Cafe. I'd have to be rich before I was pregnant :o

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