Richmond newbie Be The Duck has taken up residence on a quiet section of Burnley Street. With his experience at Matteo’s and Hare & Grace, Head Chef and owner Tom Skocic introduces some fancy touches to the menu like twice-cooked pork belly and confit duck salad.

The Truffled Sweet Potato and Corn Fritters are topped with smashed avocado, bacon, a dukkha coated son in law egg and crunchy corn tuille. The fritters are crisp, and there’s additional sweetness from the vegetables. The salty hit from the bacon brings a savoury element back into the dish.

The Asian Chilli Eggs are scrambled eggs with Korean chilli paste, masterstock king brown mushrooms, brocollini, spring onions, pork lardons, and prawn crackers in lieu of bread. It’s fiery red and spicy on the tongue too; they haven’t held back too much on the gochujang, and it’s super tasty that way. Chunky pieces of pork within the scramble makes it a substantial feed.

The Banana Blueberry Matcha Hotcake is decorated with banana and coconut custard, seasonal berries, pure maple syrup and homemade super seed granola. The hotcake is wide and flat, the larger surface area soaking up all that maple syrup, making it quite sweet. Subtle banana and coconut flavours in the custard mellow out the sweetness a tad.

Skocic has also started Your Food Plate; a build your own breakfast/lunch concept for dine-in and takeaway. The choice of proteins includes roasted pork with crackling and tender lamb backstrap, and there’s a huge range of sides to pick from. With this, plus their interesting menu offerings, Be The Duck brings a bit of innovation to the Richmond cafe scene.

Disclaimer: I was invited to Be The Duck as a guest, however, opinions expressed here are purely my own, and are based on my experience at the time

Be The Duck
131 Burnley St
Richmond, VIC, 3121
(03) 9427 1760
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