Before dropping in at Duck House for lunch or dinner, it is essential to reserve your bird at least an hour beforehand. While this might seem like a fussy thing to do in a thoroughly unfussy neighborhood, it really is very little work to guarantee a pristine Peking-style duck served in a timely fashion. Life offers few promises as satisfying as this one.

If you’ve done your proper due diligence, a generous platter framed with crispy skin shards surrounding a heap of shredded duck meat will arrive at the table soon after you are seated.

To assemble your Peking duck wrap, smear a thin wheat pancake with bean paste, followed by a shower of scallions and cucumbers; finally, add in one or two pieces of golden brown skin. Rendered almost completely of its fat, the skin is simultaneously crunchy and rich. All that’s missing is some coarse sugar a la Da Dong in Beijing.

The salty sauce and assertive onions balance out the skin’s intrinsic sumptuousness. The combination of flavors somehow gets better and better with each bite.

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Duck House
501 South Atlantic Boulevard.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Phone: 626-284-3227

There’s more to eat in Monterey Park on Gastronomy:

• Beijing Pie House – Monterey Park
• Boiling Point – Monterey Park
• Bollini’s Pizzeria Napolitana – Monterey Park
• Dean Sin World – Monterey Park
• Elite Restaurant – Monterey Park
• Hot Pot, Hot Pot – Monterey Park
• Kam Hong Garden – Monterey Park
• Mama’s Lu – Monterey Park
• Pearl’s Restaurant – Monterey Park
• Qing Dao Bread Food – Monterey Park
• Sam Woo Barbecue Shop – Monterey Park
• Shufeng Garden – Monterey Park
• Taihei Restaurant – Monterey Park
• Yun Chuan Garden – Monterey Park
• Yun Chuan Garden – Monterey Park
• {swoon} Fan Tuan at Huge Tree Pastry