✍️ 29 Jul 2024. Haven't been to Benson Salted Duck Rice for a long time, so decided to pay a visit to get updated on the popular but under the social media radar stall.
I like Benson's salted duck though I can't remember how exactly it tasted. I recently tried salted ducks in Nanjing and Hainan, so I wanted to see where Benson's stand compared to these renowned duck dishes of China.
Benson's stall is at a typical old HDB coffee shop in Toa Payoh (where I lived in my teens).
In the stall window, freshly poached stocky ducks marched proudly in their white coats. In Singapore, we have braised and roast ducks, brown and browner, so poached / boiled ducks are very rare.
Benson was very busy but obliged me with a photo.
Half a bird for S$23.
I like it that the duck which was cooked through was cut in large, thick, meaty chunks. It was served dribbled with a savoury sauce.
Duck being duck is relatively fibrous but at Benson's it is soft tender and moist, so it is very pleasantly soft chewy to the bite.
Benson's duck approaches the soft tenderness of Nanjing salted duck but less chewy than Hainanese Jiaji duck.
Benson's succulent duck tasted naturally sweet with fleeting underlying brininess from the meat and the sauce.
It doesn't have the more complex salty sweetness and subtle spice heat of Nanjing salted duck.
It reminds me of Hainanese Jiaji duck, as both rely on the natural sweetness of fresh duck for flavour. If you are worried about duck gaminess, there was none (though personally I don't mind a bit of ducky taste).
In a way, it reminds me of good Teochew braised duck sans the flavour of soy sauce and Chinese five spice.
We also had smoked duck which Benson got from a supplier.
Benson is proud of this smoked duck and we love it too. The meat was smooth, tender and juicy, almost like a creamy custard. It tasted savoury smokey with a subtle tanginess, which makes it a tasty and hearty appetiser.
Four of us, we had salted duck, smoked duck, blanched bean sprouts, braised tofu, braised egg, greased rice, porridge and kway teow.
It's a delicious alternative to the ubiquitous chicken rice, braised and roast duck in Singapore.
Stall name: Benson Salted Duck Rice
Address: Blk 168 Lor 1 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310168 (stall inside Maxim coffee shop)
Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Toa Payoh or Braddell stations
Tel: 9781 4042
Hours: 9am - 3pm (Thurs off)
✍ 7 Oct 2019. Today, we had a small belated gathering to celebrate Uncle Bob's birthday (I was away during his actual birthday celebrations). I asked Uncle Bob to pick a place of his choice and was not surprised when he chose Benson Salted Duck - one of his favourite places in Singapore.
Happy Birthday Uncle Bob 🎂
Our spread which included my favourite salted duck and smoked duck.
Benson's salted duck is among the best that I know in Singapore - it compares very favourably with those in high end restaurants and in hawker centre / coffee shop, it simply has no equal.
One thing I know about Benson is he sets very high standards for himself and is constantly improving his product. Today, Benson's salted duck is better than it has ever been. Benson uses 70 day old ducks which are bigger and meatier, so the birds have more flavour.
The tender duck meat was sliced thick which I like as it is juicier that way. When I bit into the tender juicy flesh, the first flavour I tasted was sweetness followed by a mild savoury saltiness and then a subtle ducky gaminess.
C'est delicieux 😋 (Please excuse the pretentiousness 😛 )
Benson's smoked duck is also a must try.
Benson skilfully pan seared the smoked duck breast to crisp the skin.
Benson cut the smoked duck breast into little sticks like meaty French fries. It was served with a zesty sourish sweet sauce and topped with parsley, raw onion, chili pepper and cherry tomatoes etc.
Truth be told, I am normally not a big fan of smoked duck as most have a salty preserved meat taste (which after all, that's what smoked duck is).
But, Benson's smoked duck has a fresh clean taste (I know smoked and fresh is an oxymoron). The savoury subtly gamey smoked duck slices were nicely complemented by the zesty sauce. I love Benson's smoked duck.
Then, my roving eyes caught sight of this plate of half eaten smoked duck and braised pig skin at the next table. I couldn't resist hopping over to snap this picture (with permission from the kind and patient customer 😂 ).
Next time, I shall try this 😋
Recommended for you 👍 A simple but very satisfying lunch.
For your information, Kim Seng Eating House where Benson Salted Duck is located will close for renovation from 1 Nov 2019 to 1 Jan 2020 😱 omigawd it's going to be 2020 already? where has the year gone? [Call Benson ☎ +65 9781 4042 to confirm the closure dates.]
Restaurant name: Benson Salted Duck stall in Kim Seng Eating House. 盛记咸水鸭 [猪什汤,鸭肉粿条汤]
Address: Blk 168, Toa Payoh Lorong 1 #01-1040, Singapore 310168 (10 minutes walk from Toa Payoh MRT)
GPS: 1°19'54.6"N 103°50'36.5"E | 1.331837, 103.843462
Tel: +65 9781 4042
Hours: 9:00am - 3:00 pm (Thursdays off)
✍ 26 Jan 2017. When Uncle Bob told us about Benson's salted duck stall in Toa Payoh Lor 1, Blk 168, I was eager to try it out. I love eating ducks and salted duck stalls are rare in Singapore.
Stall holder Benson worked in the kitchens of a few established Singapore restaurants before. He was last with Tung Lok Group before setting up his own stall here 8 months ago.
Besides salted duck we also had braised pork belly, braised offal, and pork organ soup.
Needless to say, the star was the salted duck. It was made by poaching and simmering the fresh bird in briny stock with aromatics like lemongrass, ginger, pandan leaves etc.
Benson cut the duck into bite size pieces. The duck was lean with little fat. The skin and meat were tender and juicy with a very slight soft coarseness as is characteristic of duck meat.
The main flavour was mild saltiness and it tasted a little flat. We can taste the duck's underlying natural sweetness and gaminess, especially in the skin. I enjoyed it 😋
Besides the salted duck, I like Benson's pork organ (with fish maw) soup and especially the flavoursome duck porridge splashed with dark braising stock. I think that the duck porridge and salted duck go perfectly together.
The fresh garlicky chili dip was also nice but I didn't use it much as I wanted to taste the duck's natural flavours.
Our total bill for 5 of us came to SGD33.
👉 If you like duck, Benson's salted duck is worth a try. Opinion at the table on the salted duck ranges from good to excellent (majority voted it excellent). I shall be back.
Benson is closed for Chinese New Year and will resume business on Monday, 30th Jan 2017.
Click on photo to read about my second visit 👆
My second visit to Benson Salted Duck when he served a fried version of his signature white duck. He no longer offers this dish. (Click on above for details.)
Restaurant name: Benson Salted Duck stall Kim Seng Eating House. 盛记咸水鸭 [猪什汤,鸭肉粿条汤]
Address: Blk 168, Toa Payoh Lorong 1 #01-1040, Singapore 310168 (10 minutes walk from Toa Payoh MRT)
GPS: 1°19'54.6"N 103°50'36.5"E | 1.331837, 103.843462
Tel: +65 9781 4042
Hours: 9:00am - 7:00 pm (Thursdays off)
Non Halal
Date: 26 Jan 2017
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Yummy indeed. My go to place on Mondays.
ReplyDeleteDo give it a try on his braised pork belly and braised sauce. It's equally outstanding
ReplyDeleteI prefers to eat it chilled so I always dapao and place them in the fridge before consuming. Shiok! But these days, have to Q super long liao, unlike last time. Unless I have plenty of time to spare then I go buy 🤭
ReplyDeleteThere used to be another one at Bt Sebawang hill hc many years back, also serving very good salted duck + free soup.
ReplyDelete又肥又美💜 怪不得你会喜欢。
ReplyDeletethe soup is good too!
ReplyDeleteThe og of salt duck was Ah Ee Salt Duck, initially at leban hc. It then moved to Kaki Bukit. I heard the uncle passed on & I'm uncertain of its outcome after that
ReplyDelete