When in Peking, eat Peking duck

Day 1 Part 2 (Wed, 19 Nov 2008)

This is supposed to be a travel, not a food blog, but we are such foodies that the meals tend to be highlights in themselves.

Dinner on our first day in Beijing was memorable to say the least. My cousin brought us to DaDong – one of the most celebrated Peking duck restaurants in Beijing. To give you an idea of how popular it is, my cousin made reservations for 7pm and we didn’t get a table until 7.45pm. The place was teeming with well-dressed locals and westerners – everyone was patiently waiting for a table, no one dared to complain. The restaurant is so overbooked that you’re lucky if you can get them to accept a reservation. This is practically unheard of in Beijing where new restaurants spring up everyday and the clientele is as fickle as the wind, in a city where gastronomic choices beckon at every corner.

At the waiting area of the restaurant, you can see an army of chefs behind a glass window roasting a factory line of ducks, at a large kiln.

We were starving by the time we got a table and if you weren’t overwhelmed yet, you would be when you saw the menu. A luxurious coffee table style book as thick as a telephone directory is presented to you – the menu. Every page has the name of a dish with a glossy picture – great for non Chinese-speaking westerners. Yet despite its western-friendliness, the food was distinctly Chinese, unlike the fakey stuff some of the fusion restaurants try to pull off. The restaurant regularly adds new, innovative dishes, such is the ingenuity of Chef Dong, the owner of the restaurant.

Of course we ordered the Peking duck – two in fact. According to my cousin and her friend who had joined us for dinner, this was the place with the best Peking duck. This is no idle boast. The duck, perfectly and freshly roasted, was carved in front of us and a waitress demonstrated the three ways of eating it – dipped in sugar, wrapped in skin with spring onion, or stuffed in 烧饼 (sesame biscuit) with radish and cucumber.

The duck was exquisite. I cannot say more. The skin was thin, crisp and without a drop of grease. The meat was tender, moist and soooo yummy. Each duck yielded two plates of duck (as in pic below) and I think one entire plate was consumed by Andre practically alone! He loved dipping it in sugar the most, and he unceremoniously licked the sugar off the plate.

We also ordered a rich, eggy tofu soup with chestnuts, mushrooms with goose liver, stir fried bamboo shoots, and another meat dish that I cannot, for the life of me, remember what. But it was all scrumptious.

My cousin's friend and colleague is a warm and incredibly hospitable person. She bought dinner, in fact. Great company, great food. No better welcome than this!

My cousin took home the two duck carcasses - duck porridge tomorrow!