Standing in line at the packed-to-the-rafters Pacific BBQ Cafe, we felt like Elaine in the 1992 Seinfeld episode “The Suicide“. After fasting for 3 days for a medical test, she deliriously exclaimed at the hospital, “But here it was: mountains of duck, and not Fatty duck either, but juicy tender breasts of duck, beautifully sliced, you can takes as much as you want.” We salivated for Pacific’s speciality of Cantonese roast duck too, especially since the line was cruelly next to where the glistening birds were masterfully chopped up, plated and sent out to eager patrons.

Thankfully, as with many Chinese restaurants, turnover of tables is quick and after 15 minutes or so, the three of us were seated. As you can see from the picture above, the space inside is pretty large and brightly lit and coloured. We really liked the student buzz and vibe of the place, a nice change from the Lonsdale Street Greek precinct crowd who frequent Pacific’s neighbours. Pacific also has siblings located in South Yarra and Richmond.

You will never lose sight of the menu either, as it laid under glass on top of the table - a great idea! Pacific serves Hong Kong cafe-style food, including various stuff on rice (like moreish pork chops), hot pots, fried rice, soup noodles, and things like spaghetti (baked or fried) and sandwiches. Even Spam was on the menu! Of course, they are also famous for their roast meats, which include duck, soy chicken, roast pork and BBQ pork. A range of drinks like ice milk tea and bubble tea round out the Canto-pop experience.

So what did we order? Well, after pining for it whilst waiting for a table, we couldn’t go past the roast duck, which was $19 for half a duck. It was certainly one of the best versions of this dish I’ve ever had! The duck arrived nicely plated, skin glistening with sauce. The meat was tender and smokey, not dried out as some ducks can be; the skin was crisp and beautifully marinated. The sauce was piquant and redolent with spices. One special mention has to go to the chilli oil (lar chiu yeow) that was on every table - one of the best chilli oils I’ve had which went beautifully with the duck. Two thumbs up! As only the roast duck was available on the night we visited (Pacific had only recently opened), we made a point to go back again in the future to try their other roast meats!

A chicken with ginger and shallot hot pot ($18) arrived piping hot, with pieces of moist tender chicken and big ginger pieces swimming in a beautiful gravy that went a treat with plain rice.

A plate of stir fried seasonal vegetables ($15), which in this case turned out to be bok choy, rounded out the meal nicely. Bok choy is one of the best veg to accompany roast duck.

Service was efficient though brusque, understandably because the cafe relies on turnover of tables to accommodate its already immense popularity. They coped admirably on a busy Friday night, with dishes whipped out to our table in record time and a pay at the counter policy ensuring no long waits for the bill.

Pacific is highly recommended; the roast duck itself is worth the price of admission! We can’t wait to go back and try out their other roast meats. We definitely won’t be satiating our duck cravings as Elaine did, by eating Newman’s Drake’s coffee cake!