Ah Xiao Teochew Duck Rice is one of the most popular stalls at Golden Mile Food Centre and one of Singapore's famous braised duck stalls. The duck meat is tender and moist, and well infused with a layered savoury-salty flavour from the 50+ year old heirloom braising stock.
Going by the snaking queue and media coverage Ah Xiao Teochew Duck Rice is enjoying, this famous stall really doesn't need another introduction.
Even renown food critic, the late Chua Lam rooted for Ah Xiao in this article in 1997. Chua Lam was impressed with the tenderness of the duck breast, the traditional flavours and colours. He appreciated how Ah Xiao persistently upheld the heritage of Teochew braised duck without bending to fickle food fabs.
Second generation Ah Hai is running the stall now. Mum and dad (Ah Xiao) are still at the stall but I saw them lim kopi with their kaki kaki (drink coffee with friends), relak one corner most of the time 😄
Ah Hai is very friendly and courteous. He obliged "don't know who is this" random uncle's request for a picture even though he was extremely busy.
Observing the frenetic action at the stall as we ate, we were very impressed with Ah Hai's enthusiasm and felt comforted that Ah Xiao Teochew Duck Rice look very well secured for another generation.
Everything here for $12 (2021 price). I asked for only duck breast and offal. Comes with two types of spicy sourish zesty chili sauce that would please any Teochew Ah Hia (uncle)
The meat, beautifully sliced, was tender and moist with a strip of soft fat skin at the top. It had a slightly grainy feel to the bite. The meat was well infused with layered savoury flavours from the 50+ year old heirloom braising stock. There was no duck gamey taste, not even a bit. (I would love it more, if there was some duck taste.)
The savoury-salty braising stock is the watery type, not thicken with starch. If there were spices or herbs in the braising stock, it was very subtle as we weren't able to detect it today.
The liver was tender-soft. The gizzard and heart were tender with a bit of soft crunch. All were savoury from the braising stock with different underlying natural taste.
Overall, Ah Xiao serves an old school, no frills, familiar, comforting taste for older folks while their braised duck is also easy to like and appealing for the younger generation (e.g. "no duck smell").
Written by Tony Boey on 22 Mar 2021
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