If you love the rich and succulent flavours of Chinese-style roasted duck then you will be a big fan of Nanjing Impressions. The restaurant is decorated like an ancient Chinese tea house and all the signature dishes on the menu feature roasted duck! From roasted duck soup dumplings to fried duck noodles and claypot cooked duck, this place is every duck lovers fantasy.
Flossie’s rating: ★★★★
Nanjing Impressions is located inside Plaza Singapura at Doby Ghaut. Upon entering the restaurant you will be impressed by the ornately furnished interior with dark wooden tables and yellow Chinese lanterns that hang from the ceiling. The waitstaff are dressed in traditional Chinese garments and musicians play oriental music.
Nanjing was the national capital of China during the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. The city is famous for its deep rooted obsession with duck and they have countless traditional recipes for enjoying every part of this delicious bird. So it is of no wonder that duck, duck and more duck is on the menu at Nanjing Impressions. My favourite dish is the Celestial Roast Duck dumplings. They are shaped like xiao long bao but filled with flavoursome minced duck and are very soupy. The dumplings are truly divine although it is difficult to eat too many of them as they are very rich tasting.
Real duck lovers must order a serving of the Jinling Roasted Duck. The ancient Chinese Emperor, Zhu Di apparently introduced this style of preparing duck to Beijing during the Ming Dynasty. The duck meat is tender and the skin is golden red. It tastes more succulent and less fatty than normal Chinese roasted duck and is served with plenty of dark sauce. The quality of duck meat is excellent so there is more meat and less bones.
The shredded duck fried noodles are another standout dish. The noodles are the thick, yellow variety and the dish is served with lightly steamed bok choy, which provides a satisfying contrast to the rich and smokey flavours of the noodles.
I also recommend the Heritage Roast Duck Claypot with beancurd, which is one of the more unique dishes on the menu. The beancurd is shredded finely into noodle-like ribbons together with pieces of duck. It is served in a milky white broth with subtle hints of herb, vegetable and duck stock. This light aromatic soup is an enjoyable reprieve to some of the heartier dishes on the menu.
Nanjing Impressions has a few odd duck dishes as well. The signature salted duck served cold didn’t quite tickle my fancy, despite being a Nanjing classic. But there is more than just duck on menu and some of the vegetable dishes are really very good. I particularly recommend the green beans with minced pork as well as the gourd and garlic hot pot.
Chinese duck lovers will fall in love with Nanjing Impressions. I never knew there could be so many different ways of preparing and enjoying Chinese roasted duck! And it goes perfectly well with a pot of their aromatic house tea.
Nanjing Impressions
68 Orchard Road #04-46-51
Plaza Singapura
Doby Ghaut
Singapore 238839