Jinling Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup

The taste is special and the owner is enthusiastic 😋

This was our second time at Duck Soup. It’s a beautiful setting ( but a pain to get to if you don’t have a car). We thought the quality of the food had declined since our last visit. Nothing was terrible, but the salmon and risotto we had was uninspiring. And the kitchen failed TWICE to make sure my partner’s allergy to onions was respected. They comped the main course but it was not only frustrating but also potential physical pain for her due to their sloppiness. Maybe we just caught the kitchen on a bad day, but we were disappointed.

I’m sharing my recent experience at Duck Soup, hoping it might help others make a more informed decision before dining there. We visited on August 8, 2024, for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday—and were extremely disappointed. Our experience was far from what we had hoped for, and unfortunately, it overshadowed the celebration. First, the online menu was misleading. We were looking forward to dishes like the pork chop and belly, only to find they were not available once we got there. Instead, the menu at the restaurant was different and the prices higher. This was frustrating, especially since we had specifically chosen Duck Soup based on their online menu and recommendations. Our party of six faced numerous issues with our meals. Out of all the dishes, only one was satisfactory. We chose not to send back the majority of the meals out of embarrassment, which contributed to a ruined birthday dinner. Here’s a breakdown of the terrible food we were served: The filet was overcooked despite ordering it medium rare. It was remade, but it definitely was not worthy of an $80 steak. The Steak Diane was overcooked, with raw and burnt side vegetables that were left untouched. The noodles that came with the black cod were drenched in soy sauce, making them inedible. The pasta and prawns were overcooked and barely touched. The quail was undercooked and left uneaten. It looked like it was thrown in a microwave. My stomach turned so much that I could not eat it. The waitress never asked what if there were any issues even when 4/6 dishes remained mostly uneaten. We should have spoken up, but considering it was a birthday dinner, we did not want to spoil the night. The final blow came with the automatic $88 tip added to our bill ($528 total), which felt unjust given the poor quality of the food and service. After spending so much, most of us left hungry and had to find another place to eat. I spoke with the manager, who explained that the online menu isn’t always current, as they change their offerings monthly. She also mentioned that the main chef was in the ER that night. While I understand that emergencies happen, it doesn’t excuse the overall lack of quality and bad service. I was told we should be grateful for being accommodated without a reservation, but in hindsight, I wish we hadn’t gone at all given how disappointing the food was. We were never offered anything to remediate the crummy food and experience. We dined here previously and it was pretty good. However, after this experience, and the manager's response, we will not dine here again. I want to make sure others do not make the same mistake we did with eating here.