Duck Zhen

There was a pretty long line when I went during a weekday lunch hour. I ordered the duck rice with braised pork, and it was good—the duck was tender and juicy, and the pork was nicely seasoned too. I also tried the dry duck vermicelli, though it wasn’t completely dry—maybe from the sauce or because the vermicelli weren’t fully drained. The flavor was great, but the vermicelli were a bit mushy for my taste. The water spinach was just okay, the flavor was pretty average, but still had a nice crunch. I also had the duck leg, which seemed to be seasoned differently from the duck in the rice. This one tasted a bit bland and under-seasoned. Even though the restaurant was busy, it wasn’t hard to find a table since people didn’t linger, and the food came out quickly.

I made a special trip to try this restaurant during a public holiday in Taiwan. Arriving at 12 PM during the lunch rush, we waited about 25 minutes for a table—slightly longer than expected, but every second was worth it! What I love about this place is its no-fuss approach. The menu is simple yet thoughtful, with each dish carefully prepared. You absolutely must try their duck—it's unbelievably tender, packed with flavor, and served with this incredible sauce that makes you want to savor every bite. I couldn't stop eating the rice that came with it! The ordering system is brilliant: just place your order, grab a seat, and the attentive staff brings everything to you quickly. From the first bite to the last, everything was perfect—the flavors, the service, the whole experience. This is exactly the kind of place you'll want to tell all your foodie friends about!

Amazing duck rice! it’s sliced duck pieces served on top of braised pork rice. It’s a flavour bomb. Serving is not huge, a large bowl is NT$70, I could probably have 3 bowls to myself. Also tried the duck noodles - it was also good but I prefer it with rice. Environment doesn’t look super clean but it was completely fine. they have toilets available.

Food was great! The duck was sooo tender. Soup so heartwarming. We had the pork rice, and the duck rice. It seems like the duck rice is just pork rice + duck. Also had 1/4 duck. This one had bones, and more tender compared to the one in rice, which were boneless. Overall, worth the loooooong line. The cashier very politely recommended some dishes to my friend, despite the place being busy.

I nicely received help from a Vietnamese staff 😌 thanks to her I could try all of their great food. I recommend the duck rice more than the noodles. we spent around 650元 for 4 people.

If I can rate 10/10 or 100/100 for this restaurant, I would love to do so. The food is tasty. If you are afraid of trying duck due to its smell, you can try having duck at this resto. I am sure you are gonna love it. The price is also reasonable. Our dinner costs only 265 TWD for 5 dishes.

Recommended this place. Duck is good and soup is clear . Visit at lunch time and a lot of people. But we wait just few minutes it was not too long to eat. It is cheap with big meal.

Delicious duck meat and intestines. Rice blood cake is decent too. Add on extra duck meat, the duck meat in the duck rice is not enough 😂

*** Closes on Monday and Tuesday *** Duck Zhen (鴨肉珍) was one of the few places I was genuinely excited to visit in Kaohsiung City (高雄市) as it had been on my Yelp bookmarks before I even arrived in Taiwan. It was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2022 ( https://guide.michelin.com/tw/en/kaohsiung-region/kaohsiung/restaurant/duck-zhen ) and even featured in a Michelin YouTube video about Kaohsiung ( https://youtu.be/TvSrqLOWFyU?si=mldD4LYIxpPNM9ea&t=452 ). However, it was removed from the Bib Gourmand list in 2023. This eatery has been around for over 65 years, but a feud between the third and fourth brothers led to a legal battle that made it to the news in 2019. Ultimately, the third brother took over full control on Duck Zhen while the fourth brother opened his separate eatery called Ben's Duck (鴨肉本 - 二老闆の店). [How to get here]: Approximately 5-minute walk from the Kaohsiung MRT Yanchengpu (鹽埕埔) Station. [Ordering & amenities]: Our party arrived at 10:30 AM on weekdays and the restaurant surprisingly had plenty of empty tables. To place an order, customers tell the cashier their table numbers first and payment is made after the food is delivered. Customers need to grab their own utensils and sauces from the self-serve station which includes their house-made garlic sauce. A restroom is available for customers. [Menu]: The food menu is not English-friendly, but oddly enough the drink menu does have English translations. The signature dish is Duck Rice (鴨肉飯) available in small (60 NTD) or large (70 NTD). Other noteworthy dishes include Duck Platter (鴨肉切盤) for 70 NTD and Mixed Offal Soup (綜合下水湯) for 60 NTD. Beverage options include soft drinks, asparagus juice, Taiwan Beer, and cold brew tea. *** Duck Rice (鴨肉飯 60 NTD for small): A perfect blend of minced pork rice and marinated duck. The pork was fatty and tender. Meanwhile the duck was flavorful and on point. Mixed Offal Soup (綜合下水湯 60 NTD): This soup is not for everyone as it includes duck heart, intestines, liver, and gizzards. The broth was solid, but some organs had a chewy texture that might not appeal to all. Duck Platter (鴨肉切盤 70 NTD): Not too bad. *** A 4.5-star on food with an extra bump for the amenities. The signature duck rice alone makes this place worth visiting as Duck rice is an absolute must-order and a must-try signature dish in Kaohsiung.

Such a delicious duck rice. I really liked the duck rice--all the rice was coated with the duck fat and was great. The meat itself was tender and well smoked. The soup was good but the duck was too difficult to chew.

Initial impression of this restaurant was dingy, a makeshift kitchen but food is very tasty. They specialize in DUCK - in vermicelli soup, inards soup and duck on rice. Line up is long. Service is quick. Just tell them your order and your table no., and they'll deliver the food and collect payment.

Food 4/5 Service 3/5 mostly self service except when they deliver food. They calculate your food at the table after they deliver it, tell you how much and you pay cash right there. No bill, no receipt. You grab your own utensils. Ambiance 2/5 no fine dining here. Tables are quickly wiped down. Single restroom is old. No steps but everything is crowded so not very wheelchair accessible unless you find a table outside. The food is very good. Line was long around 1:30 PM. Cleared up around 2 PM. You order everything in one line, they deliver it to your table promptly. Within 5 mins of ordering. The rice noodle soup was so good. Rich in flavor. The duck is tender. The veggie is cooked just right. The duck blood cake is excellent. Coming back for my husband to try the duck rice dish. They know how to make the duck so tender. Definitely worth the wait in line. The whole meal was $15.

Recently visited family in Taiwan and stopped in. Ordered the rice, the soup with inards, and the vegetables. All were delicious. Don't let the long line scare you - it goes by faster than you think, though sometimes finding open seats can take a bit.

Thankful to find a server who spoke English and could help us order our duck and rice dishes and veggies. We came on Peace Day, a national holiday. And the place was packed with a waiting line starting to go around the restaurant. But the line moved quickly. The duck was delicious. Got a small bowl. So tender with just a touch of fat to add to the flavor. Wish we had a place like this in the San Francisco Bay Are.

Yancheng District is my hometown and according to my siblings, my family once lived in a rented apartment inside Takao Ginza (aka International Plaza??). Honestly, I love yet rarely visit Duck Zhen because it is always packed. Like other famous old restaurant, its duck meat is always tender with a very traditional flavor. This is the place I always meet up with my childhood buddies. Love it.

The most amazing duck rice you'll find anywhere! You line up along the stand and order - they'll give you recommendation if you ask. You'll also need to give them a table number, so if you're with someone, split up the tasks! It was super hot the day we went, so we got some food and some cold Taiwanese beer. Everything cost less than $5 USD... what!?

I would give this 10 stars if I could. Hands down the best, cheapest, and most memorable meal I had in Taiwan. We stopped by here at the suggestion of someone's online blog guide. Thankfully they wrote the items we needed to order in Chinese as it's a local/native spot with no English speakers. It's a no frills join with small stools and tables. Thankfully we came right before the lunch hour, because it got packed really quick. We ended up getting steamed soy sauce Chinese broccoli and 1 large fatty duck and 1 minced braised pork bowl. WOW. First of all, the entire meal costed about $4 and change? The portions were just perfect, and the meats were the juiciest, most tender, flavorful, melt in your mouth goodness pieces I've ever consumed. Paired with rice and veggies made it the perfect meal. I can't get over how good it was!! So good we tried going there again the next day but it ended up being closed for some odd reason. Do yourself a favor. If there's any place you HAVE to visit, it would be this. In my heart this would be a Michelin starred meal, hands down.

Great duck restaurant in Kaohsiung!! Recommend noodles, rice, duck, ginger soup, duck blood cake, and fish cake!!

This was my favorite place to eat when i visited the south of Taiwan. Their duck is just so spot on. I don't think I've ever had anything like this outside of this place. Their duck in served in tiny pieces mixed with rice and a sauce kinda of like lu roa fan but duck instead. I also got a plate of veggies and a bitter melon spare rib soup. Everything was like less than $5 USD. You definitely want to try in spot out in Kaohsiung.

Simple local eats for a good price! Duck and veggies were fresh. People were nice. I would come again.

Best duck ever! Owners are super nice. Highly recommended I'm not sure what I had because it was ordered for me by the locals but everything I had was super delicious. There was duck with rice, noodles, and in some sort of ginger soup. Fantastic!

Normally I don't find street food in Taiwan good because they usually taste too much MSG. But this duck restaurant was really good. Definitely the one of some few best duck rice, duck noodle, duck soup, and duck anything in town. If you wanna try authentic taste of traditional local food, this is certainly in your choices.

Duck Zhen is a very delicious restaurant. The duck rice and duck noodles were incredible! Friendly staff and great service every time I've been here. Highly recommended!