Cho Yok Weng

Update: This business has ceased its operations.

The original Chu Yoke Weng restaurant is located at Taman Pekaka. It recently opened a second outlet at The One in Bayan Baru. The name of the restaurant has been changed slightly: Restoran Cho Yok Weng (猪肉溁琵琶鸭专卖店). But you can still tell that it belongs to the same management.

Compared to the first outlet at Taman Pekaka, this new shop looks more welcoming and presentable.

The menu contains different types of roasted duck and pork choices. For individual portions, there are also rice and noodle dishes available. Vegetables and soup are also served for a more complete meal.

The signature dish at Cho Yok Weng is the Pi Pa Duck (琵琶鸭, RM22.00). Pi Pa (琵琶) is a classical Chinese musical instrument similar to the European lute. This dish is named so because the duck's body is cut open and laid flat during roasting, therefore resembling the shape of a Pi Pa.

Unlike normal roasted duck where the bird is roasted in whole, preparation of Pi Pa Duck allows more moisture and fat to drip out in the process. This difference supposedly gives the duck a drier but richer flavor. After roasting, the duck is chopped into small pieces and served with some duck sauce.

Unfortunately, this Pi Pa Duck does not strike a chord with our palate because it is simply too dry. The meat is too tough as most fat has been removed. The saving grace is that the skin has a light welcoming crisp.

Next on the table is the Barbecue Pork & Crispy Pork (烧腊双拼, RM16.00). Both types of pork are quite dry and lack any crunchiness whatsoever. It is quite a disappointment as we expected Cho Yok Weng to be good in meat roasts (烧腊).

Since the dishes are quite dry, we requested for additional duck sauce and plum sauce. Given these circumstances, we might have been better off ordering the normal Roasted Duck (烧鸭) instead.

On the other hand, the Fried Seafood Bean Curd (炸海鲜豆腐, RM6.00) is a wonderful delicacy. The bean curd is filled with succulent fish paste, but the most amazing aspect is the soft bean curd itself. Despite being fried, the bean curd's interior still maintains its desired smoothness.

The Stewed Pork With Chicken Soup (猪肚炖鸡汤, RM9.00) contains pork ribs and chicken parts, both adding to the meaty flavor in the soup.

For beverages, we had a bowl of Ginkgo Nuts Drink (白果腐竹薏米糖水, RM2.50), a glass of Sugar Cane (竹蔗水, RM2.00) and a glass of Longan Winter Melon Juice (龙眼罗汉果, RM2.00).

In particular, the Ginkgo Nuts Drink is a nice dessert. The primary ingredients are ginkgo nuts (白果), barley (薏米) and yuba (腐竹). The ingredients are boiled in light syrup for a refreshing taste. The price for this drink is quite reasonable too.

Based on our experience with its Pi Pa Duck, I think Cho Yok Weng does not fare too well during our first visit to this new outlet. For our next visit, we will most likely avoid this dish and go for the normal Roasted Duck instead.