How Peking duck went from imperial Beijing to Singapore’s kopitiams

(Edited and refined by Grace Chong, with the assistance of AI translation.)

The origins of Peking duck trace back to the Song dynasty. Interestingly, it was not originally an imperial delicacy. Instead, it rose from the streets to the royal court, where it was meticulously refined before eventually returning to the people. 

Singapore has followed a similar culinary trajectory. In earlier decades, Peking duck was largely confined to upscale restaurants and remained prohibitively expensive for most diners. Today, however, it has become part of everyday dining culture, appearing everywhere from frozen ready-to-eat products and casual eateries to coffee shops, often in increasingly diverse and adaptable forms.

In a bustling coffee shop, a chef wheels a trolley carrying a whole Peking duck to diners’ tables, carving it on the spot before serving. This somewhat incongruous scene is, in fact, taking place in Ang Mo Kio.

The owner of Tham’s Roasted Delights, 38-year-old Max Tham, was born in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia, and began taking on odd jobs at the age of 12. He later moved to Singapore in search of better opportunities, initially working as a head chef at a zi char stall in a coffee shop before taking up positions in several Chinese restaurants, including Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck. Having built years of experience in both kitchen operations and roast meat preparation, he decided to strike out on his own after the Covid-19 outbreak, motivated in part by the hope of marrying his long-term girlfriend sooner.

In 2023, Tham opened a stall in a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio. “Business wasn’t great in the first couple of weeks,” he told Lianhe Zaobao. “Then the coffee shop owner suggested a promotion where every stall would introduce a signature dish. After thinking it through, I decided to try selling Peking duck.”

The idea was met with scepticism, especially from restaurant chefs, including the mentor who had taught him roast meat preparation. “They told me that even restaurants were struggling to make money from Peking duck — so how could I possibly sell it cheaply in a coffee shop?” Tham recalled. “But I needed to survive. I really didn’t have much choice.”

Tham said, “I wanted to bring Peking duck into the heartlands, so more people could enjoy restaurant-level food at an affordable price.”

Selling a whole Peking duck for S$50 (US$39) in a coffee shop proved highly appealing, boosting business and eventually helping Tham settle down with his partner. Despite rising inflation, prices have remained relatively accessible: S$52 nett for a whole duck and S$27 nett for half, without compromising on either presentation or ritual.

Tham uses ducks weighing about 2.8kg imported from Malaysia. They are marinated, glazed and air-dried before being slow-roasted and set aside. When an order comes in, the duck is drizzled with hot oil. Crispy-skinned roast duck, egg crepes, cucumber, spring onion, fried prawn crackers and sweet bean sauce are placed on a trolley and brought to the table. The chef then expertly carves the duck, allowing diners to wrap and enjoy it themselves.

The rest of the duck, still carrying strips of meat, is deboned and chopped — excluding the legs and wings — before being served separately. Diners can also top up S$6 for two to three people, or S$12 for five to six people, to have the leftovers turned into shredded duck noodles. “We’re operating in a coffee shop, so we have to be mindful of the other stalls,” Tham explained. “Unlike restaurants, we can’t offer quick-fried dishes, dry-fried dishes, fried rice or fried noodles.”

His version of Peking duck leans towards the Cantonese style. After being doused twice with hot oil, the skin tightens further, producing a crispier texture. The skin remains attached to a layer of tender meat and is wrapped in egg crepe before eating, resulting in a combination of crisp skin, soft meat and the fragrance of egg. Even the sweet bean sauce resembles Cantonese roast duck sauce, with a more pronounced sweetness.

In the casual setting of a coffee shop, the dish also loses some of its formality. Diners simply pick up the crepe with their hands, wrap the duck themselves and eat it in a single bite.

Daily quantities are limited, and advance reservations are recommended. What if there is no room for the trolley to reach the table on especially crowded days? “We just find a bit of space at the side to carve the duck,” he said with a laugh. “Sometimes customers just want to eat quickly — they’re not too concerned about the ritual.”

Another stall, Red Dragon Roast Delights, opened in September 2025 on the ground floor of Block 632 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4. It offers Peking duck at similarly accessible prices, complete with the usual accompaniments, though without the tableside carving ritual.

At Yan Quan Roasters, located in a mall near Lavender MRT station, a single-person Peking duck set costs S$8.90 nett, including a soft drink. The appeal is obvious: diners can enjoy Peking duck without having to gather a group to share a whole bird.

The set comes with roast duck rice, sweet bean sauce and chilli sauce, but without egg crepes or the usual condiments. A few thin slices of skin are served separately from the meat, though they lack the signature crispness associated with traditional Peking duck. Much of the portion consists of bone-in duck meat, making it difficult at times to distinguish from an ordinary plate of roast duck rice. Still, for the price, the generous serving — largely from the “lower quarter”, including the thigh and surrounding cuts — remains satisfying.

Managing director Darren Toh acknowledged in an interview that the preparation method is similar to roast duck, but they focus on a DIY Peking duck concept, with different sauces and eating styles. Those ordering a whole duck can add egg crepes at S$1 for 10 pieces, while cucumber and spring onion are left for customers to prepare at home. A whole duck costs S$20 nett for takeaway or dine-in at the Lavender outlet, and S$18 nett at the wholesale outlet in Ubi.

How do they keep prices so low? “We import ducks weighing 2.3 to 2.5kg from Malaysia,” Toh explained. “The market isn’t great at the moment, so we work on lower margins and higher volume to keep the business going and protect jobs.”

Its Ubi wholesale outlet produces fresh roast ducks every hour. “We help chop them, but we cannot debone or slice the skin, as there are many customers queueing,” he added.

Yan Quan Roasters began in 1973 as a wholesale roast meat business in a kampong area of Yio Chu Kang.

Beyond coffee shop stalls and casual eateries, restaurants have also begun rolling out aggressive Peking duck promotions amid intensifying competition. Wan Jia Fu Innovative Chinese Cuisine, for instance, is currently offering “buy one get one free” and “buy half get half” deals.

A whole Peking duck is priced at S$78.80+, while half costs S$39.80+, effectively bringing the price of a whole duck down to about S$40+ under the promotion. Diners can either redeem both portions in a single meal or save the second redemption for a later visit.

Head chef Jian Dawei explains that they use 2.5kg ducks from Malaysia, inflated with air to stretch the skin before air-drying. The roasted skin is crisp and glossy, with the skin separating cleanly from the meat, which is tender and delicate. 

The duck is served pre-sliced, accompanied by wrappers, sugar, cucumber, spring onion and sweet bean sauce. The wrappers themselves carry a pronounced flour fragrance and harden once cooled, making them best enjoyed while still warm.

The remaining duck carcass can also be repurposed into additional dishes, including braised duck with cabbage, tofu and vermicelli (S$15.80+), salt-and-pepper duck bones (S$15.80+), or roast duck wraps sold in sets of 10 for S$5+.

Wan Jia Fu Innovative Chinese Cuisine opened in 2024 near Boat Quay, specialising in dishes from central to northern China that have been adapted to local tastes. Its customer base is largely local.

Across the street along the Singapore River, Hand In Hand Shandong Restaurant also runs a Peking duck promotion at S$59.80++ (originally S$76.40++). The set includes half a duck, eight potstickers and duck soup.

At Kai Duck, a Cantonese restaurant led by renowned chef Fung Chi Keung, Irish ducks are used. From now until 31 July, weekday lunch promotions feature a value set at S$18.80++ per person (minimum two diners), which includes two mains and two dim sum items. One of the main dishes is the signature Peking duck salad hand roll (set of four, usual price S$31.20), where crispy duck skin, duck meat, cucumber and lettuce are wrapped in fried spring roll skin and finished with a savoury sesame sauce. 

For dinner, Cantonese-style roast duck with braised rice vermicelli is available at a promotional price of S$78++ (usual price S$123++). The duck is carved tableside by a chef, while the remaining carcass is brought back to the kitchen and transformed into braised rice vermicelli with shredded duck.

At Tsui Hiang Yuan in Serangoon Gardens Country Club, a whole Peking duck is priced at S$58++ (original price S$98++). Peach Garden offers a whole duck at S$28++ from Monday to Thursday, and S$38++ from Friday to Sunday and public holidays. Outlets at Chinatown Point and Changi Airport Terminal 2 serve it all day, while others serve it only at dinner, for dine-in only and a minimum of four diners.

At FairPrice Xtra in Jurong Point, a frozen packaged version of Quanjude sliced Peking duck was introduced this February, marking the brand’s first launch outside China. 

Quanjude, founded in 1864 in Beijing, is famed for its traditional hanging-oven roast duck. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, the restaurant adapted its offering by slicing freshly roasted duck, vacuum-sealing it, and storing it at ultra-low temperatures between -28°C and -30°C, allowing the product to be preserved in frozen form for later consumption.

A pack costs S$28.80 and weighs 410g, including duck meat (about two to three servings), wrappers and sweet bean sauce. To prepare, the duck is roasted at 180°C for five to seven minutes, while the wrappers are microwaved for 30 seconds. It is then ready to serve.

The layer of fat between the skin and meat melts slightly during heating, releasing a rich aroma and giving the duck a luscious, almost confit-like texture.

The wrappers are larger than those commonly found locally and retain both their aroma and elasticity after warming. To balance the richness, it is recommended to prepare fresh cucumber and shredded spring onion at home, which help cut through the greasiness and enhance the overall flavour.

It is said that as early as the Southern Song dynasty, when the capital was in Lin’an (present-day Hangzhou), methods of roasting duck over fire were already in practice. With the relocation of the capital during the Ming dynasty and subsequent dynastic changes, this technique gradually moved northwards.

In the Ming and Qing courts, roasting techniques were refined, and Peking duck became an important banquet dish, prepared by specialised imperial chefs. In the late Qing and early Republican era, imperial chefs entered the civilian world, and Peking duck became commercialised, giving rise to famous establishments such as Bianyifang and Quanjude.

In Guangdong, Peking duck has developed its own regional interpretation, and versions found in Singapore and Malaysia tend to align more closely with Cantonese-style preparation.

The traditional Beijing method, by contrast, involves inflating the duck to stretch the skin, coating it in maltose, and air-drying it before roasting in an open brick oven fuelled by fruitwood. The process produces a crisp, reddish-brown skin.

The Cantonese method is closer to roast duck preparation, differing mainly in marinade and glazing ratios. Before roasting, spices such as star anise, along with ginger and spring onion, are stuffed into the cavity. The duck is then coated with a glaze of soy sauce and maltose and roasted in a metal oven. Just before serving, hot oil is poured over the duck to tighten the skin and enhance its crispness.

Eating methods also differ between the two styles. In the traditional Beijing approach, the crisp duck skin is first dipped in white sugar to appreciate its texture and flavour. It is then wrapped in a thin wrapper together with duck meat, spring onion and sweet bean sauce before being eaten.

The Cantonese style is more direct. Slices of duck — often with skin and meat still attached — are wrapped in egg crepes along with cucumber, carrot and lettuce, and paired with sauces that are typically mixed to taste.

Tham of Tham’s Roasted Delights admits, “I wouldn’t claim to be selling authentic Peking duck. It is more of a sliced roast duck adapted to local tastes and dining habits. But if I simply call it ‘sliced roast duck’, many people won’t know what it is, and wouldn’t think to eat it with egg crepes and the usual accompaniments.”

Biting into skin and meat together in a single mouthful, the richly aromatic and succulent Cantonese-style Peking duck is closer to local palates. Ritual may well be part of the experience, but it need not be bound by layers of precise carving techniques or rigid conventions. In the end, what matters most is simply a meal that truly suits the palate and feels just right.

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Tham’s Roasted Delights (Blk 421 Ang Mo Kio Ave10 #01-1149 Singapore 560421)

Yan Quan Roasters (Blk 809 French Rd #01-43/44/45 Kitchener Complex Singapore 200809 / Blk 3020 Ubi Ave 2 #01-111/113 Singapore 408896)

Wan Jia Fu Innovative Chinese Cuisine (13 Circular Rd Singapore 049369)

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “北京烤鸭平民化 咖啡店$52一只仪式感不减”.

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