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Type: Chinese, Vietnamese
Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.- 11 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.- midnight.
Good choices: Cold noodles with sesame sauce; pan-fried turnip; braised boneless duck with black mushrooms and vegetables; eggplant with garlic sauce; steamed fish with ginger and scallion; braised string beans with Szechuan sauce; beef brisket with white carrot in casserole.
Credit cards: American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover.
Access: Fully accessible.
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DUCKY WOK
122-126 Harvard Avenue, Allston
(617) 782-8868
Restaurant reviewed 07/23/98 by Fiona Luis
On Valentine's Day last year, Cindy and Peter Vuong threw open the doors to Ducky Wok, their Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of Allston. Apt timing, it seems. Ever since, the Vuongs have been quietly romancing a steady stream of customers ready to swoon over their zesty offerings. And there is no shortage of dishes to sample. Consider this: In all, 229 menu items traverse the culinary plains of Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the province of Szechuan, not to mention affordable daily specials that run the gamut from sauteed lobster to shrimp-stuffed calamari and a tank-lined wall from which waiters fish striped or sea bass, cooked to order in minutes. Not too shabby for a modest neighborhood restaurant.
Therein lies the heart of the matter. The Vuongs have managed to transplant epicurean Asian cooking to the neighborhoods without compromising on freshness or authenticity. Ducky Wok offers diners the real deal: top-quality fare of the sort one used to find exclusively in Chinatown.
In a telephone conversation, manager Joe Yiu explained that the Vuongs, both Vietnamese of Chinese descent, started in the food business selling roasted ducks at the Rainbow on Beach Street in Chinatown. Last year the couple spread their wings, joining forces with four Hong Kong chefs (Cindy Vuong prepares the Vietnamese dishes) to open this airy, inviting spot. (Its name, Yiu said, honors the Vuongs' first business and captures the notion of fresh Chinese cooking.)
Given its location, one might assume the clientele is disproportionately student-based. Not so, said Yiu. ``People who eat here are about 30 percent Chinese and 40 percent Russian, all families and couples from Brookline and Chestnut Hill.'' The big draw? ``Our fresh fish and our crispy seafood, I think.''
Clearly, those happy customers are on to something.
For starters, the pan-fried turnip ($4.50) and cold sesame noodles ($2.95) are must-haves. The turnip is steamed with a little bit of Chinese sausage and white carrot, mixed with a bit of cornstarch, then pan-fried the next day with ribbons of beaten eggs poured onto the patties. Served with a vinegar soy sauce laced with sugar, garlic, and chilies, it elicited oohs and mmms and requests for seconds from five tasters. On a steamy summer day, the cold egg noodles, perfectly al dente, tickled the tastebuds, the creamy sesame sauce offset by tangy slivers of pickled radish.
A whole steamed fish first seemed extravagant for lunch, but a waiter urged us to try a small bass (``under 2 pounds,'' he said reassuringly, ``about $12.''), steamed simply with a drizzle of oil and soy sauce and then garnished with beautifully julienned ginger and scallion and fronds of cilantro. For lovers of seafood, this was nirvana: The fish, plucked live minutes earlier from the restaurant's tank, was freshness personified. Eggplant with garlic sauce ($6.50), augmented with peapods, carrots, and onions, was a lovely melange, the sweet sauce melting into a mound of steamed rice.
At dinnertime, the restaurant's white-cloth-covered tables and sleek black chairs are coupled with bright but warm lighting to create a welcoming effect. And the food sparkled in concert: braised boneless duck with black mushrooms and vegetables ($11.95), beef brisket with white carrot in casserole ($8.50), and braised string beans with Szechuan sauce ($6.50) all offered complementary flavors. The extra care given each dish was evident. The duck is first roasted, then deboned, and finally braised with black mushrooms and lettuce in a silky, earthy sauce. The brisket is marinated for three hours to tenderize it; the meat and white carrot - akin to a thick, long white radish - is slow-cooked; then the dish, peppered and dressed with shards of young ginger, spends 15 minutes in a sizzling claypot casserole to create an irresistible finish. The marvelous string beans surprised with each bite; the addition of Chinese chili radish flecks made each mouthful better than the previous one.
You'll walk away from Ducky Wok knowing full well that you'll return. After all, there's that small matter of 200-some dishes left to savor.
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