牛車水阿婆鹵鴨 @ Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

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I am not a duck person but I am a convert after discovering Cai Ji's braised duck from Seah Im Food Centre a couple of years ago. Now, whenever I come across a braised duck stall at any food centre, I would be most willing to give it a try.

During my first visit to Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre, I noticed there is a braised duck stall called 牛車水阿婆鹵鴨 located near the escalator. Although there is a perpetual queue in front of the stall, it gets cleared pretty fast. I made a mental note to give it a try during my next visit.

On my second visit, I came up from the escalator and was elated to see no one in the queue. The stall owner was sitting outside the stall, taking a break.

I immediately walk up to her and ordered a plate of braised duck rice ($3).

My braised duck rice comes with a good portion of duck meat and some cucumber slices atop a plate of white rice. A sprig of cilantro goes on top and a liberal dressing of dark soy was drizzled all over. No soup was given.

The presentation is a little different from my expectation. I do not actually like dark soy over my rice and auntie did not ask if I wanted them. I was actually looking forward to the lor and hae bee hiam mentioned by Miss Tam Chiak which is apparently missing from my order.

Or perhaps those are add-ons that I have to top-up for? Speaking of add-ons, the stall do have pork intestines and duck gizzards for your pleasure.

Due to the dark sauce drenched over the duck meat, I could not taste the flavor of the duck nor the lor it was braised in. The meat is basically flavorless to me. As for the texture, it is tender but not succulent like Cai Ji's which is my benchmark for braised duck.

Since there is no lor or soup given, I had a bit of trouble swallowing.

Fortunately, the saving grace is their super tangy chicken rice chili which makes everything on the plate easier to swallow.

No. I do not think the braised duck is all that bad. The stall commands a constant queue with its duck rice everyday and all of these people can't be wrong, right?

Perhaps I should have asked for a specific cut or a certain way for my dish to be served. How do you normally order duck rice? Share with me in the comments below!