The Duck House on Bellaire Blvd. -Bun Mang Vit Thanh Da ( A Doc Ricky Discovery)

 "I always like it when a particular restaurant on Bellaire Blvd. specializes in one dish".

It was a Monday, and Irene and I had put a call in to Doc Ricky to see if he was free for lunch. And he suggested we try this place that he had read about, specializing in a Vietnamese duck specialty.

We ordered and were served a big bowl of sliced duck, bone in, on a bed of cabbage that had been lightly seasoned with vinegar and spices. On the side was another large bowl, this one with rice vermicelli noodles in a broth. And a ramekin with garlic chillie paste. All of these things came together in a delicious "bun". The duck was room temp and I asked them if it was to be heated up in the soup broth. "Whatever way you like is fine." I'll have to confirm that the duck meat was a tad tough. 

Because the duck was bone in, and chopped up in that Asian style, I remarked that I missed the Western method of deboning poultry. And since there was enough food for at least one more meal, I ended up packing the remaining portion of duck to take home. When I got home, I put it into a cooking container with a little water and slow cooked it in the oven for hours until the protein broke down and it became pull apart tender. The next day, I shredded the duck meat away from the bone.

While Irene and I went for the noodles, Doc Ricky opted for the congee, and I will get that the next time myself. "I'm fascinated by the different ways congee is made in different regions." Me too. Love congee. 

We had such a great time here and I'm already looking forward to going back.

Here is what I wrote in my Google Maps review: " Darn, this was fun! Way outside of my comfort zone but I’m an adventurous eater. Duck themed. What arrives is one bowl of duck, chilled, bone in, on a bed of shredded cabbage. On the side, a large bowl of rice vermicelli soup. Mix and match. Totally enjoyed the first time and will return. Note. Periwinkle style snails are also a specialty. I’m not a fan of them, based on a few tries at places around town. For me there is too much of a sewage taste, and I’m a person who likes durian. But if you’ve never had them, give them a try."

And so, I put the duck into a sauce pan, covered, added some water and simmered it in the oven for about 6 hours at a setting of 200 F. Then, after it had cooled, I did the de-boning, discarding the bones. I had the option of keeping or discarding the gelatinized broth. And I decided to keep that separate. Here then, are photos of the shredded duck. Tender. And if anything, the cabbage and duck is even better after a night in the refrigerator!

The duck, next day. And the noodles reheating. And the cabbage.

Noodle Master - Hand Pulled Noodles - Pasadena

 I follow several TV shows to get some ideas on where to eat around the state. Recently, on Texas Eats, a Chinese restaurant in Pasadena (of all places!) was mentioned. Where they hand pull noodles. I knew that I had to go as soon as possible.

(Go online to seek out videos of them hand pulling the noodles): 

Noodle Master lived up to my expectations. My beef noodle soup was very good. And they also feature a pork broth based tonkotsu noodle soup. 

It was crowded the day that I went. And I saw lots of non noodle stuff coming out of the kitchen, enough to evaluate that this place knows what it is doing. Even the "General Joe Chicken" looked great. Evidence of clean cooking oil and a kitchen that knows what it is doing. And check out the pan fried dumplings in the photo below.

Of course, the hand pulled noodles are the star here, as even in the greater Houston area (and Bellaire Blvd), I can't think of places that do this. 

A big thumbs up for Noodle Master.