Duck Duck Goose Launch

31-37 Artemis Lane
QV Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9005 0888
Email: bookings@au-ddg.com
Website: Duck Duck Goose


Duck Duck Goose is the highly anticipated new restaurant that has opened in the Melbourne QV complex. The Kam Food group (owners of numerous large scale dining establishments in Sydney), have opened up a similarly large scale dining establishment in Melbourne, with Duck Duck Goose seating 200 people.

The name Duck Duck Goose aptly describes the new restaurant, as the duck represents the Chinese influence, whilst the goose represents the French influence. The restaurant is billed as a unique blend of Chinese/French cuisine, encompassing a fast style Chinese Yum Cha on one side, with a fine dining French restaurant on the other side.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the launch event, and it was a large scale party. The guests easily numbered into the hundreds and filled out the beautifully BURO designed building. You are wow-ed at the entrance via the grand arches before being led into the sophisticated bar area. Patrons can have a drink at the large open bar or sit at the sumptuous lounges whilst waiting for their friends to arrive. Once you move from the bar area into the fine dining area, you are greeted by a tranquil pool of water in the centre of the room, surrounded by tables. Moving past that area, you go through the "birdcages" adjacent to a state of the art kitchen that has independant air extraction systems. Lastly, going past the kitchen brings you into the clean open spaced area with lots of round yum cha tables.





The head consultant chef running this whole show is Harunobu Inukai, head chef at Blanc Haru. Chef Inukai, along with Chef de Partie Yoshitaka Kojima and Dim Sum Chef Takaaki Harada head a large team working in the kitchen to serve food to a large number of guests both on that launch night and during normal service.



A large and varied array of guests were invited to the launch, with some familar faces that I knew, and some that I knew of from the world of media, gastronomy and sport. I spotted some fellow food bloggers in Ed and Sarah talking to Fiona Brook from Harvey Publicity. I also noticed some footballers in Wil Minson from the Bulldogs and Brendon Goddard (second from left in below right photo) amongst the crowd.


There was lots of glamour at the event too, exemplified by the very beautiful Samantha Lane from Before the Game and model Chelsea Butler.


The world of food was also well represented, and I spotted the wonderful Elizabeth Chong, who I used to love watching on Good Morning Australia. I also spotted one of the chefs of the moment, the enthusiastic Paul Wilson from Middle Park Hotel, flanked by Ling and Sarah. Both Elizabeth and Paul were very generous with their time and answered my questions about their current projects.


Whilst the champagne and wines flowed freely, an assortment of food was brought out in the form of canapes. The food definitely was an ecletic mix of Eastern and Western influences. The BBQ Pork Skewers below was a big winner for me, as I loved the soft pork with a hint of sweetness. I also especially loved the Crab Balls, which I would say was the best dish of night. A host of other dishes were presented throughout the night, with examples being Risotto, Roast Beef with Avocado, Mashed Potato, Potato Wrapped in Ham, Siu Mai, Watermelon Wrapped in Prosciutto, Beef Balls, Pickled Vegetables and a dessert of Ice Cream in Cucumber.





At the time of writing, the exact menu of the restaurant was still unknown, but I assume it would follow along the lines of the dishes presented at the launch, a mixture of Eastern and Western dishes depending on which section of the dining area you are in. The industrial design and furnishings of the restaurant make for a beautiful location right in the heart of the city in which to dine at. I'm sure you'll never be short of something to eat at Duck Duck Goose.

Thanks to Eugiena Pratley, Clemence Harvey from Harvey Publicity and Duck Duck Goose for inviting me to the launch party.