The Setting: Simply decorated, this restaurant is set in a new strip mall on Buford Highway. The dining room is lined with partially enclosed tables for a more private dining experience.
The Staff: Incredibly friendly, helpful and inviting
The Food: In a word… Outstanding!
On a recent visit to Bakery Cafe Maum, we saw the interesting pie wedge shaped smoker. The smoker was filled with skewered ducks and emitting the most tantalizing scent of wood and smoked duck. Demanding our attention, we had to give this place a try. And, we are so glad that we did.
As a party of two at lunchtime, we weren’t up to gorging on a whole smoked duck. Noticing our hesitation at the size of the offerings on the BBQ menu, the staff quickly offered serving one half of a smoked duck. Perfect! With all of the accompanying side dishes (banchan or panchan), 1/2 of a duck was the perfect serving size for two.
The smoked duck was arranged over the red hot grill, smoky duck fat aromas were soon filling the air. We waited patiently as the slices of smoked duck trimmed in a decadently rich fat reached a perfect golden brown on the grill. It was worth the wait as we sunk our teeth into the first bite. Perfectly crisp, succulent and tender, we knew instantly that we would be visiting this restaurant time and time again. Piece by piece we would pull a slice off the grill and dip it into the Bavarian style mustard or pair a slice with the thinly sliced onions marinated in a drizzle of seasoned soy sauce. Grilling each slice of duck to the perfect shade of gold was the perfect diversion, allowing us time to linger and savor each slice of the rich smoky duck.
Slices of king oyster mushrooms were also provided to grill alongside the duck. Slow grilling these generous slices of mushroom concentrated their savory flavor. These hefty slices of mushroom might be our favorite companion for the duck.
We alternated between tastes of duck and the small dishes of sweet glazed potatoes, stir fried tofu, kimchi, sweet pickled beans, mung bean sprouts marinated in sesame oil, tiny dried fish, marinated bitter greens, and daikon in vinegar. At first glance, we were unsure of pairing rich smoked duck with the banchan. But, it turned out to be the perfect foil for the rich meat. The smoky sesame oil and bitter greens were a particularly flattering pairing for the duck.
Star of the Day: Oak Smoked Duck! It’s all about the smoked duck at Nak Dong Gang!!
Nak Dong Gang (Korean Duck Restaurant)
7130 Buford Highway NE
Doraville, GA 30340
