After having rather dismal luck with Bei Jing Kao Ya (北京烤鸭), aka Peking Duck at both Happy Duck House and Array 36, we decided to give it one more try. You know, three strikes and you're out? So, we decided to stay in Monterey Park at our usual place; the Courtyard by Marriott on Atlantic.
Things started out pretty good. When I checked in, I found that I had made some kind of elite status with Marriott and to "celebrate" they decided to upgrade us! Well, we got a huge suite. It was two bedrooms with a living room between the bedrooms.
The place had three bathrooms; of course the Missus had to check out each one to see which She liked best! It even had three mini-fridges!
Way more room than we could possibly use. With just the two of us, one bedroom went unused. But, our favorite part was the huge patio!
Yes, the view is of Atlantic.......
And the seats were dirty; but we liked just hanging out after dinner and we used the cover sheets on the sofas.
It was a nice way to start the evening. Would this be an omen????
Courtyard Los Angeles Monterey Park
555 N Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
For dinner, I chose a place that I'd read good things about Ji Rong Peking Duck, located at the Rosemead end of Valley. I had the Missus call and make reservations for a table and a duck. You need to reserve the duck in advance.
We had made reservations for right when they opened. There are two parking lots straddling the building, which houses 888 Seafood and Shin-Sen-Gumi among other businesses. There was ample parking when we arrived, but the lots were pretty full when we left. The restaurant itself looks fairly plain, a far cry from the craziness of Array 36. The staff are very professional.
So, once we were seated, the staff knew we had reserved a Peking Duck which goes for $85. We also ordered the Soup which was an extra $15. Along with several other dishes.
The standard accoutrements were delivered. Along with some pretty darn good looking duck! After our last few tries we were ready for another "fowl" (sorry, couldn't help it), but this was really good.
It was quite interesting, the skin was separated; the one's that were fattier were on the upper and left hand side; these were crisp with a creamy finish. The skin on the right were more crisp. The leftover skin with fat heated up super well in the air fryer later! The meat was slightly gamey and earthy. All of this went so well with the perfectly made tender, but up to the task pancakes. Which also heated up well using my microwave tortilla warmer.
We saved the two legs for home and they crisped up perfectly. This was so delici-yoso once you create your little "roll-up". In fact, the Missus said this was better than what we'd had at Quan Ju De in Beijing!
The duck bone soup arrived soon after. This version was served without carcass parts, with just some napa cabbage and tofu. It was very "ducky" and had a perfect amount of salt and white pepper.
Nice a mildly rich, I might have enjoyed this just as much as the duck!
The Hot & Spicy Pig's Feet ($14.98) wasn't very spicy, but had a nice gelatinous texture and was so tender.
It was more on the sweeter side of things, but still had some nice soy tones. This was quite good.
We didn't care much for the Hot & Spicy Pig Stomach ($18.98), which was more spicy than the pig's feet, but really tough.
It was also a bit too salty. Overall, think of eating salty rubber-bands.
The Missus was curious about the Black Fungus with Chinese (Yamaimo) Yam ($15.98).
This was okay. The mountain yam was sliced too thick and there was a true lack of seasoning on this. The Missus actually prefers the version I make at home.
The last dish to arrive was another favorite; the House Spicy Oyster Mushroom ($15.98). This was so good, a great meaty texture, perfectly seasoned.
It was even better as leftovers; as the spice and other flavors intensified, but the great texture held.
Overall, I wonderful meal. We were so happy, that we can't wait to return. If you take a close look, you'll find that other than the duck, most of the other dishes are under $19!
Finally, it seems like we found a place for Bei Jing Kao Ya!
Ji Rong Peking Duck
8450 E Valley Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
It seems that we got really lucky on this road trip; from getting the room upgrade, to having a wonderful meal at Ji Rong.
I hope our luck holds out when return!
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