Best Peking Duck? Xiang Duck Zhongxiao E Taipei Review

When people search for the best Peking duck in Taipei, they are usually pointed toward old-school, formal banquet halls that require a massive group of ten people and a month-long waiting list. But what if you want incredible, crispy roast duck in a space that feels fresh, fun, and modern?

Enter Xiang Duck (享鴨) on Zhongxiao East Road.

Part of the famous Wowprime group, they’re reinventing how we experience a traditional classic. I recently went to their Da’an branch to see if it was worthwhile. I had previously tried it, and did not think much of it, but after the 2nd time it was much better, and I really enjoyed it! Most people will order their famous set menus. But we decided to order dishes separately. We got the whole duck alongside a few appetizers and main dishes.

If you are looking for a lively, contemporary food experience in the heart of Taipei, here is my completely honest review of what hit the mark, and the unexpected ways to eat the duck.

Whole Duck vs. Half Duck

One of the best things about Xiang Duck is its flexibility. Traditional places force you to buy a massive bird, but here you can actually get a half duck if you are dining as a duo. And typically they order from a set menu. They have set menus for 2, 4 and 6 people. I think ordering from the set menu is great if you’re not sure what to order. We didn’t want all the dishes within the set menu, so we just ordered separately and made a reservation. We got the whole duck because that was the whole mission of eating here haha. With the whole duck it comes with 12 pancakes, you can always add more for an additional fee. They have 3 different sauces: traditional sweat bean sauce, passion fruit, and Sichuan peppercorn salt, as well as julienned cucumbers and green onions. As with most duck restaurants, they will cut the duck in front of you, its always fun to watch!

3 Ways to Eat Peking Duck

I’ll admit—I didn’t actually know there were three distinct ways to eat the duck here until I did further research. The waitress’ did not fully explain the 2nd option. But that’s fine they were really busy, and I wouldn’t have eaten it that way anyways.

• Way 1 (The Sugar Dip): They slice the ultra-crispy breast skin first. Dipping it into cane sugar sounds unusual, but the sweet crystals instantly melt into the rich duck fat. It’s spectacular. It was literally an explosion of flavor on my tastebuds. The most important part of the duck is the skin, by having us taste this first, it shows us its a high quality duck through the crispy skin.

• Way 2 (The Specialty Spices): The tender half-moon slices of meat are served next, meant to be dipped in their signature Sichuan peppercorn salt for a subtle, warming kick. They also have their signature passion fruit which I did try but my taste buds are still more traditional. Maybe I will try this another time.

• Way 3 (The Classic Wrap): Wrapping the juicy meat in their paper-thin steamed pancakes with sweet bean sauce, fresh cucumber, and scallions. Even though this is a more modern restaurant, I still think this is the best way to eat the duck!!

Appetizers & Main Courses: Beyond the Duck

Beyond the duck we did order other dishes. We started with two appetizers: Tomato jelly with fruit infused syrup, and their Sichuan pepper cucumber. Respectively, the tomato jelly is a refreshing fruit salad that also included pineapple, it has a very strong plum flavor throughout. The Sichuan pepper cucumber is another cold dish, to me it was only average, it was very garlicky and spicy. The portions for these were small but for the prices it was adequate.

For our mains, we got the golden tofu pot. It’s one of my favorite dishes, it has crab meat, soft egg tofu, shrimp, and mushrooms, it was so good! We also got the Pickled Cordia Dichotoma and white water snowflake, this is a very unique vegetable that may or may not be unique to Taiwan, but its the only place I’ve eaten it.

Most duck restaurants will turn the remaining duck frame into other dishes, and they do the same here. We chose to do the soup, which was very flavorful with veggies, goji berries and tofu. The soup itself was very good, however the tofu was far too chewy. Be mindful that it does take a lot longer to cook because they’re trying to pull out the flavors of the duck into the soup. They also use the remaining duck meat for the duck lettuce wraps. This is definitely a must order, they cook it with water chestnuts and it was one of the best that I’ve had.

How to make a reservation

Eating in Taipei can be very competitive. I’m not kidding you, we often have to book and reserve restaurants far in advanced. Especially if you are planning to go somewhere on the weekends or holidays, it can be a very long wait, or they may not have seats available at all. I highly recommend you do the same for Xiang Duck. It’s so easy to do online, using their in line website, and it’s in English and Chinese. After picking the time, you can preorder your roast duck without needing to pre-pay. I don’t think you can book very far ahead but it doesn’t hurt to check.

Xiang Duck Summary

Xiang Duck Zhongxiao East Branch
享鴨 烤鴨與中華料理 台北忠孝東店

(They have multiple locations, this is just the one I went to)

📍Location: 2樓, 128號, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, 仁愛里, Da’an District, Taipei City, TW

⏰ Monday – Friday 11:30 – 15:45; 17:30 – 22:45; Saturday – Sunday 11 – 15:45; 17:00 – 22:45

Website: menu