Restaurant Review: Old Kingdom

Location: 197 Smith Street, Collingwood
Phone: 03 9417 2438
Cuisine: Chinese
Overall Impression: 4/10

We love a good peking duck. Golden, crispy skinned duck, cucumber and spring onion, lathered with hoisin sauce and encased in a delicate pancake – when done well it can be truly delicious.

Unfortunately, Old Kingdom was [d]ucking terrible across all fronts - food, ambience and service. Our evening started badly when, upon arrival, we were ushered in by rude, dismissive staff. ​ 

The Peking duck arrived at our table promptly after ordering and the waiter began slicing it. However, just as soon as the duck arrived at our table, it was taken back to the kitchen leaving behind a few measly slices of skin. It is no exaggeration to say that the waiter left virtually no meat at the table, just skin.

We've never felt quite as ripped off by Peking duck before as we did at Old Kingdom. ​ We could see all the juicy meat still on the bone and hoped we would see that again in our next course (fried duck meat with beanshoot) but this was not to be. Where was all our duck?

After our 3 duck courses we were still very hungry and so, we decided to order another dish and a whole lot of rice. Unsurprisingly, the dish was mediocre at best. ​We will never return.