Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House 林成利鴨飯餐室

Everything about this place has remained pretty much the same since I first came here as a kid years ago.  To me this is a good thing because (i) I actually like the fact that the place looks and feels like Singapore circa 70s; (ii) the menu has remained unchanged so if you are looking for some simple comfort food, you don't have to rack your brain going through a long menu; and (iii) the quality of the food has remained consistently good.

Some may find the servings to be on the small side - so depending on your appetite, it might be necessary to supplement your order with extra rice / porridge plus sides of spare parts / eggs. 

Be patient if you go during lunch hour. The turnover is pretty fast but you might still need to wait, particularly if you are there with a big group. Parking is also limited, especially since (as at May 2010) the small open-air carpark across the road has been closed for development.

Tried the duck. Its amazingly tender and the sauce went rather well with the duck. Its one of the few nice boneless duck rice i've eaten.

Went for dinner after a hard day work, along South Buona Vista Road… there is a popular eatery place Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice Eating House. Famous for their Teochew Boneless Duck... Had braised duck dinner for 2 with side dish - tofu & duck’s inside-part…

The duck meat were finely sliced covered with thick & sticky gravy (Lu zhi) and was delicious. One good point was the duck meat was not oily at all… best for me…. Another added bonus – boneless, which best for lazy people like me…. hehe....

Tofu was smooth and rather mashed up, taste normal... but I still enjoyed it… cos I am a TOFU LOVER…. Hehe….

By the time you get here.. you should be quite giddy AND hungry. Why? Giddy becoz if u r driving and u happened to come via e many twists n turns of e said 99 loops .. u muz be seeing stars when u get here! Hungry becoz even if u survived e stomach-churning turns.. u would have spent a great deal of time looking for parking n for a table n would have a growling tummy when u get here! Seeing stars + Growling tummy + Teochew duck rice? Erm anyway....

Upon setting sight on this coffeeshop.. old school quickly comes to mind. By old school i meant an old name that had been around for the longest time and doing business pretty much the same old way for e past decades! No gimmicks no tricks juz good old food and that's wat i likey!

Everyone pretty much order n drink e same stuff so menu is totally unnecessary. The quintessential dish to order here is the duck (DUH!) some gizzards e sambal kangkong the tofu n e lime juice.. The braised teochew boneless duck is skillfully chopped into thin slices n generously covered with a thick sticky delicious-looking gravy (reminded me of lor mee type).. When i had my 1st mouthful of e duck.. i went "woah" at e back of my mind! The duck meat was so smooth n tender that it kinda melts in your mouth (like M&Ms!) and e rich thick gravy was so tasty that it goes perfectly with e duck! Yum! R u salivating yet?

Well unfortunately... the magic ends here for me. After my initial mesmerism by e duck.. i quickly came to my senses n realised that i don't totally love it that much. The duck though tender n smooth (kudos to that!) is too thin to actually get a bite out of it. After a while.. all at e table agreed that thicker slices or even some bones would add more original duck flavour to it. The gravy though tasty at 1st is a tad too sweet n thick for me. I prefer those savoury more watery teochew gravy eg tai dong at circular rd which goes more wonderful with e rice. The chilli which tasted a tad like thai sweet chilli sauce is also a bit too sweet for me. It's not spicy at all n i prefer those sour vinegared chilli + "shen ni chiow" type (erm duno if u guys know wat i'm talking abt) which i get a kick out. In all i prefer the more traditional savoury duck rice than this fancy version so pai sei to e fans of this version!

The sambal kangkong n tofu r nothing to shout about and the portions aint quite big but is quite interesting to match with e duck rice instead of e usuals like salted vegetables.

Overall i did thought this is quite an interesting version of duck rice albeit a tad too sweet for my liking but i'm glad i gave it a try. That said.. i'm still a fan of e other school of savoury watery dark teochew duck sauce!

Abstract from my blog:

I was really craving for good duck porridge, and a quick Google search for eateries near the University pointed me to said duck rice stall. It's actually a non air-conditioned restaurant, with limited parking space and service staff who sometimes don't bother about customer service, because they know their duck is too good. They don't offer a menu, and it seems that everyone who goes there does not really get much of a choice as to what to order. The waitress who served us spoke really softly in Chinese/dialect, and before we could even say anything, proceeded to help us order: Duck, kangkong (spinach), and lime juice - which is really the standard. I scanned the other tables and saw that other dishes on offer included braised duck wings, and beancurd, as well as other 'spare parts' like gizzard.

The duck was really tender, the accompanying chilli sauce was sweet and went well with the duck. Everything was so good and comforting! I would recommend you order the congee instead of the rice, as they really have one of the best congee I've ever tried.

The total bill came to $8 per person. Expensive for hawker style duck rice, but well worth the money! To get there, take bus service 200 from Kent Ridge Terminal.

Happy eating!

My colleagues & I drove all the way there and there wasn't any parking & we had to park illegally along the streets of the mosque.

My 1st reaction upon reaching this stall was "Oh my god", this is a standalone coffeeshop selling duck rice but the crowd during lunch is just overwhelming, it's full house.

We see a trend there whereby every table ordered the duck, kang kong and beancurd so the 4 of us follow suit.

I just love the sweet brown gravy that they served with the duck, it was just marvelous. The chilli to go with the duck was sweet too but not that spicy. However, the duck slices were really slim and one just can't really taste the duck meat, you literally had to take 2 slices to feel the duck meat chewing between your teeth.

The kang kong and beancurd was better than average but not really fantastic though.

What shocked us was that the total bill for the 4 of us was $40+ including the wet towels & 4 lime juices. Really Expensive for duck rice but guess I would still visit them in future.

This is one of those successful owners where they started as a small stall in a coffeeshop and ends up owning an eating house. Rightfully so given their boneless lor duck rice is as fantastic as foie gras (hee hee, foie gras fans pls dont flame me). I think much has been said about their duck by various reviewer and I shall not elaborate. What I wish to share is that I have been eating their ducks for years and everytime I feel that the price to pay is on the high side. So, I have stopped my frequent visit to this place when I chanced upon another braised duck stall at blk 345 clementi ave 5 coffeeshop about 3 years ago. For me, between the stalls, the difference in the quality of duck meat and lor is just minimal. But my damage at clementi is about $3-5 per person vis-a-vis $7-$10 at Lim Seng Lee.

Happy Duck hunting!

Was on site at Science Park 1 for work, so colleague drove to here for lunch.

After the famous '99 loops' (gotta interpret in hokkien, hee), u will see this corner shop selling duck rice.

Typical coffeeshop style setting, old style.
Service staff busily walking to and fro, picking up orders and shouting out along the way. And yes, among them, is one who is jus like a RSM. keke..
Boss at the stall front busily chopping up duck meat, non-stop. And i mean literally non-stop thruout the whole time I was there.

Besides the duck (main dish), also ordered small plate of gizzards, sambal kangkong and tofu. The veg and the tofu are nothing spectacular so its ok to give it a miss. But the duck (deboned) and the gizzards are nice..yummy. The lor (stew) is not bad too tho personally I find it a bit sweet.

Price bit on the high end for duck rice and one really dunno how they determine the price. But oh well, its yummy, guess tts more impt. :)

btw, not sure how true but heard tt the boss's residence is only jus opp the shop. woah!

This quack house can be rather inaccessible to those who are not driving. Tip: Take the train to Buona Vista and catch bus 200 opposite the station. Whola, the bus stop is in front of the stall!



Date of visit- 27/10/07

The stall was crowded when I arrived at about noontime, albeit a saturday. I got to know this stall way back when I was still in primary 6, and famous as it is, always crowded during lunch and dinner hours. Nothing special about its interior, they are just a kopitiam at heart.


ultra-tender duck meat- SGD30 for a table of six

This duck meat must be the most tender that I've ever tasted. Coupled with the stall's signature sauce, all of us stopped talking when the dish arrived at the table. Tip: Ask for more servings of the unique chilli sauce, it's sweet with just a little tangle of spicyness, perfect combination with the duck meat. *slurps!


sambal kang kong- SGD6

They serve side dishes too! I personally enjoy some greens to go with my food, thus the order. Their kang kong is tasty, but nowhere near the whoas and awwws of the main dish. Still good, though.



For those who are driving, there are no regular parking lots so we make do with parking anywhere that does not obstruct traffic. Getting out can be tricky, so don't be a hero and park all the way in!



Still clueless? There is valet parking, FOC! No insurance coverage though, as mentioned by a previous reviewer. mwaha.

Conclusion:
Total damage was $48.60 for the six of us. Not exactly value for money, but extremely recommended for its food! MUST TRY.

This little hidden treasure is situated in the 'gao chap gao kuan' (99 loops) area. A bit inconvenient if you don't drive but I do believe there is a bus that goes there (number 200 from Buona Vista MRT station I think).

But if you drive there is another set of problems. The area is so small that you have to be really skillful. Or trust the uncle valet parker. Or park along the small roads nearby and walk.

It seems that the menu is limited to 3 things: duck (and its usual accessories), kang kong, tao hu. All of which are great but it's strange that every time we go, it seems to be a different price. It varies by a bit nia la but still, very strange.

The braised duck is tender, the veg is really nice (but very little), but I'm not such a fan of the tao hu.