Peking Duck

The imperial dynasty has long gone, but the imperial cuisine heritage--Peking Duck, carrying the heavy history and culture, still survive and flourish in the civilian life in the everywhere Peking Duck brand chains. The followings are notable places to sample the Peking Duck in Beijing.

1. The most famous one is Quanjude Roast Duck(全聚德烤鸭店 Qúanjǜdé Káoyā). The oldest branch started from 1864 is located in Qianmen Shopping Street. It is rich in old world charming and can give you a time transfer illusion. Other branches can be found in Hepingmen, Wangfujing, etc.

Quanjude Official Site: http://www.quanjude.com.cn/e_about.html

Branches:

Quanjude (Qianmen) 全聚德烤鸭店(前门店)
Add: No32, Qianmen Street, Chongmen District (崇文区前门大街32号)
Tel: 86-10-65112418

Quanjude (Wangfujing) 全聚德烤鸭店 (王府井店)
Add: No.9, Shuaifuyuan Hutong, Wangfujing Street (王府井大街帅府园胡同9号)
Tel: 86-10-65228423

Quanjude (Hepingmen) 全聚德烤鸭店(和平门店)
Add: Building No.14, Qianmen Street (West) (宣武区前门西大街14号楼)
Tel: 86-10-63023062

2. Bian Yi Fang (便宜坊烤鸭店) with 600-year history is also another household brand for his closed-oven roast type (the other main school is the half-open fire roasting method like Quanjude) to block the smog and seal the duck taste using the specially-cooked soup. The meat is juicy and crispy less and greasy. Its typical ducks with tea, lotus and date scent are worthy of a try. The ducks here are mid-range compared with the national or even international recognized Quanjude Brand. Its head restaurant can be found in Chongwen district.

Head Branch: Bian Yi Fang (New World) 便宜坊烤鸭店(新世界店)
Add: 3rd Floor, The New World Building, Chongwen District (崇文区崇文门外大街5号新世界二期青春馆3楼)
Tel: 86-10-67088680

3. The American hotel chain--Grand Hyatt Hotel also houses the great restaurant for Beijing traditional cuisine. The fancy restaurant named Made In China (长安壹号)spoil the diners with the fantastic Peking Duck as well as other authentic traditional dishes and a good range of tempting deserts. Peking Duck is required reservation to avoid the long wait on the scene. If you want a wide dining option rather than the all-about-duck experience in other duck chain, this can be your luxury choice.

Add: 1 East, Chang'an An Avenue (东城区东长安街甲1号东方君悦大酒店1楼)
Tel: 86-10-65109608
Open: 11:30am---02:30pm, 05:30pm---10:00pm

4. Liqun Roast Duck canteen (利群烤鸭), in a courtyard residence of an isolated old hutong lane, was first known by the strolling foreigners and becomes popular with the diner flocks even the national directors by word of mouth. This family-run canteen is not easy to miss out since there are duck drawings (painted by the chef) on the wall leading to this tiny eatery. The duck is fresh roast, thus reservation is better to avoid waiting for at least 40 minutes. The canteen owner also the chef, rather than broaden the business, still focus on his small scale to live up to its reputation. If you look for a real Peking Duck experience in a real hutong lane and don't mind the diner crowd, not-fancy and amateur service, this canteen can be your place.

Add: No.11, Xiangfeng Hutong, Dong Da Jie, Chongwen District (崇文区前门东大街翔风胡同11号)
Tel: 86-10-67025681
Open: 10:00am-01:00pm, 04:30pm-08:30 pm

5. Da Dong Peking Duck (大董烤鸭) is also another elegant option to try the duck specialty and an immense list of other Beijing cuisine. The menu is in English with dish photos. The duck here is crispy and juicy and yet less greasy than its other traditional duck counterparts. Reservation is required to avoid the long line wait.

Head Branch: Da Dong Peking Duck (Dong Sishitiao) (东四十条店)
Add: 1-2/F, Nanxincang, International Plaza, 22A Dongsishitiao 地址：东城区东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦1-2楼
Tel: 86-10-51690329

How is the Peking Duck processed and ate?

The duck of particular kind is well fed to right weight, slaughtered, dressed, pumped, hung dry and honey mixture coated, roasted in a wood-fired oven. It is quite a process, and the labor is well paid off with the crispy and juicy duck meat. The duck will be sliced which you can roll with the regular accompaniments like pancake, cucumbers, etc. with your bare hands (so please remember to wash hand before eating).