One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
By day, he’s a radiologist. For kicks, he’s That Peking Duck Guy
Hong Pham, aka That Peking Duck Guy, takes a roasted Pipa duck out of his outdoor oven.
(
Fiona Ng
/
LAist
)
Listen
4:18
How a South Pasadena doctor became That Peking Duck Guy
Josie Huang speaks to Fiona Ng about Hong Pham, who makes and sells Peking ducks from his backyard.
Got a taste for ducks cooked the Chinese way? Your quest may take you to a quiet suburban backyard in South Pasadena.
That's where That Peking Duck Guy cooks and sells his birds. His clients, he said, include Phil Rosenthal and Roy Choi.
The guy behind That Peking Duck Guy is Hong Pham, who started the social media account in late 2025 as a way to document his latest culinary obsession: making the perfect duck, be it Peking or Pipa (deboned and flattened into the shape of the namesake Chinese string instrument).
The intention was not to sell. "I have a day job," Pham said. A radiologist, to be precise.
"I was actually making so many that neighbors wanted to claim it and offered to buy it," he added. "So I'm like, 'OK, that makes it easier 'cause I don't have to eat it all.'"
Soon came DMs from strangers asking for the same thing.
These days, That Peking Duck Guy caters events and holds takeout pop-ups where people can purchase and pick up a duck (which comes with sides and duck soup) from his South Pasadena backyard — right where he cooks them.
Sponsored message
Peking duck from That Peking Duck Guy served with Chinese sweet sauce, chopped spring onions and cucumber slices.
(
Fiona Ng
/
LAist
)
Duck is the latest obsession
Duck is not his first rodeo. Pham said he and his wife are foodies who've always been curious about delving into Vietnamese and other Asian culinary traditions. For Pham, that also means replicating some of these dishes at home, from scratch.
He'd gone on a tofu bender — making gallons of the stuff, as blocks, drinks and pudding — and also a bánh cuốn spree, or Vietnamese steamed rice rolls. He landed on duck as his latest subject only because he had wanted to make better heo quay, or Vietnamese roasted pork belly.
It's the oven
Pham and one of his special outdoor ovens he uses to roast duck.
(
Fiona Ng
/
LAist
)
Sponsored message
He researched how to get that extra crisp online and landed on an oven people in Asia use to make roast and Peking ducks.
How to get your duck
Pham hosts takeout pop-ups from South Pasadena backyard. Follow That Peking Duck Guy's Instagram for updates.
Visit the official website for catering requests.
"It was called the Apollo oven 'cause it looks like an Apollo space capsule," he said.
He bought one and then another. In between, he experimented cooking different meats with the new oven to get a feel before turning to the waterfowl.
He even got advice from Top Chef winner Mei Lin, whom he messaged cold: "She's like, 'Keep it simple. Keep it basic. Keep it traditional.'"
Three Pipa ducks inside the oven.
(
Fiona Ng
/
LAist
)
Hundreds of ducks later, Pham said he still learns something new. That's one reason why his side hustle has stuck around.
Sponsored message
"I didn't create like, you know, That Bánh Cuốn Man," he said. "Yeah, duck's gonna last."
How That Peking Duck Guy cooks his ducks
Pham starts 7to 10 days before cooking. Here's the preparation process:
- He usually trims off the legs and the wings, because those parts get burnt in the oven.
- He insufflates the duck. He sticks an air pump in between the meat and the skin to separate the two, so the entire duck blows up into a "huge balloon essentially," he said.
- He scalds the skin with a combination of vinegar and maltose to make it "aerodynamic and tight" to get that crispiness.
- He seasons the inside of the duck.
- He then hangs and dries the ducks for about 7 to 10 days.
- Then in the Apollo oven they go. Peking ducks take about an hour and 15 minutes to cook. Pipa ducks take about 40 minutes.
When does he know they're done? "Well, you know the color, we're looking for that beautiful mahogany glistening skin, you know?" Pham said.
Two Pipa ducks fresh out of the oven.
(
Fiona Ng
/
LAist
)
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
