Go Duck Yourself

Long time customer, first time reviewer. I first became acquainted with this business when it was located in another neighborhood, called Hing Lung Company but better known on DoorDash as Go Duck Yourself. I estimate that, starting with the pandemic, we've ordered delivery from the original location over 100 times. For a while there it was weekly.

Unlike other duck places they included the perfect amount of rice and greens with a reasonably sized serving of duck (half a small duck) which was DEBONED. Yes you read that correctly. Deboned. (Koi Palace I love you but the deboning exercise your duck requires isn't for me.) The duck is just fatty enough and includes both a sweet sauce and an au jus.

When we ordered delivery, they wrapped the to-go box with an extra layer of thermal paper, which meant that the food would make it all the way from Chinatown to Bernal and still be warm - some days even hot!

We were delighted to see a new (and I believe the only) in-person location open in the neighborhood. Some people in our neighborhood facebook group didn't like the name, but they can GDY.

I'm a sucker for the reclaimed wood / filament bulb / belt powered fan decor, and they absolutely nailed it here. We went in person for the first time tonight, and it was great. Having someone serve us food that we're used to having delivered was great - and relaxing. Service was prompt and friendly - even though it was absolutely packed and they'd only been open for in person dining for a few weeks.

Oh right, despite the higher menu prices since we first started ordering from them on DoorDash, I think it was not too crazy to go in person; the delivery fees and tips aren't small.

Freaking epic sauce, service was awesome and food was great. The restaurant was very nice and clean too.

Wow!!!! What an amazing meal & service. My wife and I had a rare night off and rolled the dice on the soft opening.
Everything was delicious!!!
We got the crispy pork belly, duck noodles, duck, bao, garlic greens and rice. The service was super warm and friendly.
Patricia the owner explained all the interior and exterior details.
They spared NO expense.
The chairs are super comfortable, and we loved all the cool steam punk robots & fans.
We will totally come back!
Xxoooo

Go *uck Yourself. Catchy name

So the history behind the owners is that they are the family of the infamous Hing Lung in SF Chinatown, which recently closed, and they have been extremely well known for their roast duck for at least 50 years. Today, their roast duck is still top notch full of flavor, skin is perfectly crisped, and meat is so moist and tender. We had all their BBQ items such as BBQ pork, soy sauce chicken, BBQ spareribs, roast pork, and duck noodles. Everything was we had was delicious! Of course we had the buns too! The meat on every dish was very tender. Don't know how they do it but definitely decades and decades of experience to make it that way! The owners are super nice! Patty was so sweet that she kept coming to check on my group to make sure we have everything we needed and wanted! I will be going back!

This is not your run-of-the-mill Chinese barbeque chop shop duck. Go Duck Yourself, and more specifically Chef Simon, puts out a decadent, well-spiced, glistening specimen of roast duck. Instead of MSG they seem to be using lots of spices like clove and cinnamon to create layers of flavor for their duck. I have to say it is one of the juiciest and tastiest ducks I've ever had. Compared to Mister Jiu's, which does dry aged duck paired with a peanut butter hoisin sauce, I would choose GDY's 10 times out of 10 (and Brandon Jiu makes a great duck).

I am so proud of brothers Simon and Eric for elevating roast duck, crispy skin pork, and using jowl meat for their char-siu. I am thrilled that they are showcasing that Chinese food doesn't have to be low-quality, greasy, MSG-laden, and one-dimensional.

This is such a great addition to Bernal. I like that it's a hip space with high ceilings and a very friendly staff. I am looking forward to recommending this place to more people. Weekends seem to get pretty crowded in the evening, so I would definitely try to come in during the week to avoid a wait.

Finally had a chance to visit Go Duck Yourself. I feel like it's been forever since I saw this place being worked on, but I guess that's just how it goes in SF. My son and I decided to head over for dinner. The place was very busy with only a couple of tables and the window counter available. We sat at the counter to avoid being close to the door, as Karl the Fog was lingering outside.

The ladies behind the counter were very friendly. After bringing us menus, they just asked for us to place our order at the register and they would bring the food right out. The menu is simple so I went ahead and ordered the roast duck, bbq pork, some sautéed Chinese broccoli and baos. Everything came out quickly and I love the sauces that they served with the duck and pork. The duck was delicious and was juicy, and I really appreciate that it already had the bones removed. The bbq pork was the right level of juiciness, not dry at all. We probably could have ordered more baos, but I'm sure my waistline appreciated our restraint lol.

These dishes brought back some good memories of the lunches I would have when I worked close to Chinatown. I'm really happy to have this place close to home and I'm looking forward to visiting again soon.

4.5 STARS

Let's get the obvs out of the way...

The name.

I know some people aren't a fan of it but they probably don't know the story behind it.

Hing Lung Company is very popular Cantonese BBQ shop in Chinatown that was awarded, a legacy business by the city. They're family-owned and have been operating for over 40 years (as a kid, it was Hing Lung for Canto BBQ and then Golden Daisy for their drummettes). The sons took over their father's business to preserve this humble culinary art.

During the pandemic, Hing Lung sold their Cantonese BBQ rice plates under "Go Duck Yourself" for delivery. It caught on and they ended up also being known as "Go Duck Yourself".

IMO, it's a catchy name and it's better than something basic AF like "Chinese BBQ".

Besides, as long as the food is bomb, it shouldn't matter what the name is.

After nearly 3.5 years, the long awaited Bernal location of Go Duck Yourself is finally open! Their original Chinatown location is temporarily closed and moving to the TL.

For the soft opening, it's takeout and delivery (UberEats) only with dine in available at the end of April. For takeout, order via QR code/Toast. No upcharge for delivery.

M E N U
Expanded menu from their original CT location.

But for the soft opening, they only have two items available a la carte: roast duck and char siu (bbq pork).

When they get up and running, they'll have their full line of Cantonese BBQ (roast duck, char siu, siu yuk, soy sauce chicken, etc) with Chiu Chow dishes and vegan dishes. They'll even have a taro crusted duck and duck with pop rock candy.

No msg.

I ordered delivery via UberEats which promptly arrived in 20 minutes. My order was meticulously packed with each box wrapped in insulated foil paper and the bag had a tamper proof sticker.

F O O D
* 烤鴨 Roast Duck w/ plum sauce, au jus ($33) // 4 stars: https://tinyurl.com/yube5dn6

Hing Lung/GDY arguably makes the best Cantonese roast duck in the city.

Nicely rendered, crispy-crackly skin with very tender meat. It's deboned and not fatty. I like that it's lightly seasoned so you can taste the duck in all its glory. Not hella salty like how some roast ducks can be.

The sweet and sour plum sauce perfectly cuts through the richness, and the drizzle of au jus adds a salty umami.

But...I was taken aback by the price, hence the 4 stars (but it's really 5 stars). You get 1/2 duck for $33 at GDY's Bernal location (not indicated on the online menus). The nearest Cantonese BBQ shops in Excelsior, San Bruno Ave, and Ocean Ave charge around $28-$32 for a whole duck.

But...this is the nicest Cantonese BBQ shop in the city and they do make a superior duck than nearby competitors tho so ymmv.

* 叉烧 Char Siu w/ ginger-scallion sauce ($18) // 5 stars: https://tinyurl.com/2wprz3cy
Tender, meaty bbq pork (pork collar) with a sticky orange blossom honey glaze and smoky charred edges.

The lean, thick cuts low-key feels like you're eating ribs but boneless.

The accompanying ginger-scallion sauce is so good over some freshly cooked rice.

S E R V I C E
Fast, prompt service.

A M B I A N C E
Takeout only for now.

When they open for dine-in, there will be about 20 seats in the hip, moody dining room.

P A R K I N G
For the city, street parking is pretty easy on Cortland.

Overall, after years of waiting for their Bernal opening, I'm SO happy to have a Go Duck Yourself location close to home. The duck and char siu is just as bomb as their CT location but with their higher duck prices, unfortunately, it's going to be more of special treat spot.

So happy that my favorite bbq pork/roast duck spot in SF just opened their new location in Bernal! I've had their takeout countless times from their old location and it has always, always hit the spot. They serve high quality meat - their prices reflect that. I had a sit down meal at their new location and loved the modern interior. Service was fantastic. I will definitely be back!

4.5 stars - still in disbelief that this exists in Bernal but so so glad because the food is straight up legit. Everything was great and about what you would expect from a family with generations of Chinese BBQ experience. You should hedge your expectations though - this isn't a HITW one-dollar sign type of place - it's definitely taken up a notch here or two - everything is perfectly cooked - nothing is too greasy; just the right amount for the correct mouthfeel and flavor but without weighing you down. Portions are smaller than average but still reasonably priced for what it is. Space is cool and completely redone.

At the time of this review (4/30/24) they do not have a liquor license - so I believe it is BYOB ATM. They're still working out kinks so bear with them but I promise you it'll be worth it. Can't wait for the soft serve. It's counter service - but very warm and friendly. A lot of items were sold out when we got there (6:30 pm for dine-in) - noodles and fried rice would've been rad but they were 86'd early. The sauces are so so good - everything is good. Just go already!

We live in Bernal Heights and went for the first time this evening for some take out. We got the duck and a small order of char siu.

Is the duck supposed to be Peking Duck or roast duck? Our order was mostly skin (most pieces were burnt), 1 small drum stick (skin was burnt throughout) and maybe 4 pieces of duck meat. I get that the duck is deboned, but where did the rest of the meat went? I wish I took pictures of the duck.

We were so excited to finally have a good Chinese place in our neighborhood, but our purchase was very disappointing. The very little duck meat we got were flavorful, but the skin were not crispy and mostly burnt. The char siu was better. We feel ripped off that our duck order feels like half the order was missing. Very disappointing purchase.