Portia's Place: Chinese, Kingston, Canberra (3 Oct 2009)

11 Kennedy Street, Kingston ACT 2604

http://www.portiasplace.com.au

Canberra's Duck Pancakes Place

While visiting Canberra for a friends wedding I was recommended to try Portia's Place by some local foodies at the wedding (thanks Drew/Amanda). Without a booking we were very lucky to get the last table when popping in for dinner. The Crispy Fried Duck Pancakes is one of their popular signature dishes which is prepared at the table with quick and expert dissecting. The duck was certainly crispy while meat still tender. I would have loved a bit of shallot and fresh chilli in the pancake as well to give it a bit of an extra taste kick like BBQ King do. Another signature dish is the King Island Fillet Steak with black pepper sauce which apparently is also Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's favourite dish which he always orders when dining — it certainly delivered on flavour and meat juiciness. The Crispy Boneless Lamb Ribs with spicy shantung sauce was an alternative to the shantung chicken and it looked like an absolute winner although the floury coating of the dish certainly made it heavier than expected and I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to — the flavours were delicious. The Dry Fried Prawns with five spice salt were a decent size and tasty and the Debal Chicken was also good and worth ordering.

The staff were friendly and welcoming and if you're lucky you might find the owner Portia Yeung serving you up your duck pancakes. I'll definitely be keeping this place in mind when I'm visiting Canberra again. Their menu specials change from time to time so there's probably always something new to try.

Crispy fried duck with Chinese pancakes $29.80 for 6 serves

[Signature dish]

Duck pancakes prepared and served at table

Left over crispy duck bone pieces full of crunchy nibble goodness

Debal Chicken: A Nonya style revised version of devil's chicken. Recipe originated in Sarawak. Made with shrimps, scallops, hot chilli and tarmarind paste $23.80

Dry fried prawns with five spice salt (with batter) $28.80

King Island fillet steak with black pepper sauce in claypot $30.80

[Signature dish]

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Crispy boneless lamb ribs with spicy shantung sauce $27.80

Complimentary peanuts

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