For a non-Chinese-speaking Westerner, eating in Beijing can be a bit of a lottery. Of course you can find the Big Mac-KFC-Starbucks usual suspects, but, we wanted to try the local specialities. We found that it's rare to see familiar items from Chinese restaurants back home. Even when photos and descriptions in English were offered, we sometimes found it hard to figure out what we were ordering, so we took a chance and ordered a different dishes at random. Even then it was often hard to tell. This menu comes from a restaurant at the Summer Palace, and much as I love duck, I was not brave enough to try the Irritable Duck Intestines.
We visited Beijing shortly after a bird flu scare. Arriving air and ferry passengers had their body temperatures measured by a scanner (not sure what they did with those unfortunates who were running a fever) and the officious travel agent who was babysitting the conference group that I was part of gave dire warnings about eating poultry of any kind. The result was that the rest of the party were confined to the (very plush) China World hotel for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while Christian and I escaped to Quan Jude (established 1864) for the legendary Peking Duck. Their marketing material calls the meal an all-duck banquet and it's nothing less.
The setting of Quan Jude is rather grand and if you have not booked, you may have to wait for a table in one of the many dining rooms. Photos of famous guests line the walls at the entrance to the building and The restaurant has a number of private dining rooms too and seems a popular venue for special occasions.
The meal starts with duck soup. Really the low point, it's flavourless, fatty and watery all at the same time, but don't despair, there is much better to come. A smartly-dressed chef (complete with gloves and face mask) arrives at the table to carve your duck and demonstrate how Peking Duck should be enjoyed. First he slices the crispy skin and places this deliciously crunchy snack on the table. Then it's on to the main event, for which he carves the duck meat and, if it's your first time, shows you how to prepare the pancake, with a hoisin sauce, spring onions and the duck meat, roll it up with your chopsticks and devour.
Quan Jude Peking Roast Duck, off Dajie Wangfujing, Beijing (although there are other branches around the city, around China and even in Australia).
We visited Beijing shortly after a bird flu scare. Arriving air and ferry passengers had their body temperatures measured by a scanner (not sure what they did with those unfortunates who were running a fever) and the officious travel agent who was babysitting the conference group that I was part of gave dire warnings about eating poultry of any kind. The result was that the rest of the party were confined to the (very plush) China World hotel for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while Christian and I escaped to Quan Jude (established 1864) for the legendary Peking Duck. Their marketing material calls the meal an all-duck banquet and it's nothing less.
The setting of Quan Jude is rather grand and if you have not booked, you may have to wait for a table in one of the many dining rooms. Photos of famous guests line the walls at the entrance to the building and The restaurant has a number of private dining rooms too and seems a popular venue for special occasions.
The meal starts with duck soup. Really the low point, it's flavourless, fatty and watery all at the same time, but don't despair, there is much better to come. A smartly-dressed chef (complete with gloves and face mask) arrives at the table to carve your duck and demonstrate how Peking Duck should be enjoyed. First he slices the crispy skin and places this deliciously crunchy snack on the table. Then it's on to the main event, for which he carves the duck meat and, if it's your first time, shows you how to prepare the pancake, with a hoisin sauce, spring onions and the duck meat, roll it up with your chopsticks and devour.
Quan Jude Peking Roast Duck, off Dajie Wangfujing, Beijing (although there are other branches around the city, around China and even in Australia).
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