A busy Saturday night at Good Fortune Roast Duck House and The Imp

Nights out with my girls are always the best. Linda and Vee love eating as much as I do, which means there's never any shortage of places we want to eat at together. A recent Saturday night saw the three of us hanging out at Linda's house, brainstorming on where to go for dinner. I didn't have too much of an opinion - all I knew was I was hungry!

After piling into the car and heading to Victoria Park, we narrowed our destination down to two places - Good Fortune Roast Duck House and an Indonesian cafe near the Prophet. Our longing for duck won the battle, so we joined the mammoth queue and got our number with confirmation we'd be waiting around 40 minutes. Wow! Luckily we're all regulars at Vic Park's funky book store Crow Books, so we spent some time there and walked away with a couple purchases too.

Returning back to Good Fortune after around 20 minutes we found ourselves waiting around another 10 before our number was called out. If you're committing to waiting never stray too far because the three numbers in front of us weren't there, which meant we were seated instead. Always best to stay near so you don't miss out and have to requeue.

Kangkong with sambal

Sitting down at the table we all scan the menu, deciding that we'll pick a dish each to share with some steamed rice. It's smelling great, and the restaurant is completely bustling. When we place our orders, our waiter is a little impatient, writing down instead of answering questions so we have to ask him to repeat our order since we're sure it's not quite right.

At 8.20pm on a Saturday night we're told they've run out of roast pork. Devastating! Our plan to order a BBQ combination is slightly adjusted so instead we pick half a roast duck to go with kangkong with sambal and salt & pepper squid. It doesn't take long for our food to come out, and in the mean time we're happy chatting and creeping on the tables around us as their food is delivered. Loving the look of the steamed perch that the table behind us orders, it is wafting the most incredible aroma our way.

Roast duck

The kangkong is really good, fresh and with a little bite still in it's texture. I like my veggies cooked as they should be, keeping a little firmness and highlighting just how fresh they are. I love sambal and that salty, mouthwatering burst of flavour it brings to a dish. This is one of the best ways to enjoy Asian vegetables for sure!

Roast duck in Perth seems to be a bit contentious to devout addicts. I know in my circles, Hong Kong BBQ is the only option. But for others, Good Fortune is the one and only. I have to admit, it's been years (maybe 5-7?) that I tried Good Fortune in Northbridge where I found the duck dry and heavily flavoured with aniseed. I wasn't a fan. So going to Good Fortune in Vic Park was a risk for me - but I was interested to see if it was a one time bad incident and I was actually missing out all along.

The duck here is actually quite good! Juicy, tender and just the right amount of fat to inject that addictive tastiness that comes with a good piece of duck. It doesn't have the same flavour that Hong Kong BBQ's version does, but it's nice to see a different offering for different tastes.

Salt and pepper squid

The salt and pepper squid comes out golden and steaming hot. We had wanted salt and pepper prawns but sadly these weren't on the menu, but the squid was still fantastic. So much garlic and chilli that you could scoop up the topping and add it to your rice for a guaranteed yummy bite.

The batter is light and crisp, highlighting the taste of the squid rather than a heavy coating. I really enjoy this dish in all it's simplicity.

So while I haven't been converted to Good Fortune's duck over my normal stomping ground, I have to admit I really liked their offering. It is a shame that because they're so busy on a Saturday night (and assumedly other nights too) that their service is so rushed, but it's good to see that the food still is presented as it should be - fresh, tasty and piping hot. I would have liked to try their roast pork but I guess that'll have to be next time.

Sticky date pudding

Finishing up at Good Fortune we could have stayed for fried ice-cream but the menu tells us it's sold out currently - and Linda's keen to go to The Imp for their sticky date pudding. We don't take much convincing!

Grabbing the last table out front we place our orders at the counter and then before we know it our desserts are delivered. Linda and I share the sticky date pudding, which is a huge serving! Definitely a share dessert otherwise it would be way too much to handle. Vee orders a chocolate fudge muffin which is heated up and served with ice-cream - there's melted chocolate sauce everywhere and it looks divine! It tastes pretty good too from what I can tell from my little spoonful.

The sticky date pudding is so good! It's sweet but with the vanilla ice-cream it's paired back to stop it from being cloying. There's not quite enough sauce to get through the whole pudding but nearing the end we're both super full anyway so we give up and proclaim ourselves done. Food comas all round!

I love Vic Park and the way it's continually on the up and up. There's so many places to go and so many great little shops to visit before or after eating. It's definitely a hotspot to visit these days for sure.