Though some consider duck l’orange to be a dated dish, Commune Group’s (Hanoi Hannah, Moonhouse, New Quarter) creative director Simon Blacher reckons it’ll “never go out of style”. That’s why it’s a mainstay at his Vietnamese restaurant Firebird. And now, one you can try without booking weeks in advance. Firebird has just joined Broadsheet Tables, a service that’s only available to Broadsheet Access members and gets you last-minute tables at the city’s top restaurants, including Gimlet and Grill Americano.
In 1961 Julia Child published a recipe for duck l’orange in her now-iconic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This classic French dish – which consists of sweet roasted duck and bitter orange sauce – had already been around for some time, but Child made it famous. So much so that, right up until the late ’90s, you’d have been hard-pressed to find a French restaurant that wasn’t serving it, or a cooking magazine that hadn’t deemed it a perfect centrepiece dish.
Blacher had always been keen to revive the dish at one of his Melbourne restaurants, but with a twist. That’s why it was the first dish he decided to put on the menu at Firebird, a place that’s all about cooking with flames.
First developed with ex-head chef Steven Ngo, Firebird’s updated version of duck l’orange pays homage to French cooking’s influence on Vietnamese cuisine. “The flavour profiles are familiar, but the style and execution are truly unique,” Blacher says.
The bird undergoes a painstaking cooking process: it’s dry-aged for seven days, then marinated for 24 hours with an aromatic blend of five-spice, star anise, cassia, orange, lemongrass, pandan and makrut lime. Unlike traditional duck l’orange, this one’s cooked over charcoal and basted intermittently with a maltose (sugar) and orange juice glaze, resulting in a crisp, juicy and balanced bird.
Before it lands on your table, it’s topped with a sweet fish sauce (made from a house-made paste, hoisin, kecap manis [sweet soy], and Worcester sauces, and more orange juice) and charred orange to round out the smoky flavours.
The dish has been a hit since day one, which is why it’ll never be taken off the menu. The recipe has, however, been tweaked under current chef Nabil Ansari. “Good chefs will always try to improve and develop what’s already a winner. This dish has been a constant work in progress,” Blacher says. “It’s definitely a crowd favourite and keeps on getting better as the restaurant gets older.”
Choose from a half or full serve, and pair it with Firebird’s hot and sour eggplant claypot or their wok-tossed morning glory with lemongrass sate.
Keen to try this dish yourself? Firebird – alongside more than 20 of Melbourne’s most popular restaurants – has given us access to tables not previously available to the public. And for the first time, you can book them every night of the week when you join Broadsheet Access. Join Access to get the Broadsheet Table at Firebird today.
Broadsheet Access is exactly what it sounds like – it gives you access to the very best of Melbourne. For less than the price of a cocktail, members get tables at booked-out restaurants, try the hottest newcomers before they open to the public, score free tickets, save on coffee and top brands, and more.
14 Jul 2023
14 Jul 2023
14 Jul 2023
13 Jul 2023