Duck Feet at Din Ho

Whenever I’m eating at an authentic Chinese restaurant, one such as the Din Ho Chinese Barbecue up on Austin’s mid-northish side, I am faced with the dilemma of choosing between ordering a dish that I know will be delicious or one which I know will be interesting. Generally I choose the interesting option. During previous visits to Din Ho this taught me the very valuable lesson that I do not like bitter melon. No sir, I do not like it one bit.

Luckily there is a middle ground. On my last visit, I chose a dish that I could be certain would be memorably delicious, but also weird enough to appall all my dinner companions arrayed around the Lazy Susan.

Duck feet. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

On rare occasions I get the opportunity to eat chicken feet (and it’s only a matter of time before I bring some home from the grocery and try my hand at preparing this delicacy). They say that chicken feet tastes more like chicken than anything else. Duck feet are exactly the same, only they taste more like duck, and we already know that duck simply tastes richer and more flavorful than chicken.

I know you’re thinking about that webbing, the way that it peels off onto your tongue. On top of being tastier than chicken, ducks also have much larger feet, which is not something you would imagine, since they seem to otherwise be about the same size as chickens. But that just means more meat for me. I would pick up the feet one by one, and suck the stewed flesh off the bone like a popsicle. After a little while I was left with a pile of knuckle bones on one corner of my plate.