The consolidated Peking Duck thread
May 24, 2009, 5:46 pm
#61
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: UA MM, SQ KrisFlyer, SPG/Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,232
I also went to Da Dong on my latest trip. This was the best of all.
I hereby proclaim Da Dong the best Peking Duck restaurant in Beijing!
First off, the restaurant itself is gorgeous. There are at least two Da Dong restaurants in Beijing, and I don't know the English address, but the Chinese address as sent to me is: 大董北京烤鸭店，北京东城区东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦1-2楼(东四十条桥西南), Tel: 86 10 51690329. This is the one I'm recommending.
The atmosphere of this place is incredible. Just a beautiful, classy restaurant with a lot of atmosphere. We had ten people and our server had politely reserved a private room for us upstairs, but I would have preferred the main downstairs dining room as the atmosphere is much better. Unfortunately, they were fully booked so we couldn't change the table. If you go, I would definitely make a reservation in advance.
Beside duck, they had a lot of other incredible Peking-style dishes, and the best was it came with an English menu with lots of photos. In fact, nearly every dish had a photo so it was easy to know what you're ordering.
But the duck, it was fantastic! Not greasy at all, it looked gorgeous and tasted better than the other two famous Peking Duck restaurants we went to. They also provided a lot more condiments, with two types of hoisin sauce, sugar, green onions, cucumbers, and some kind of pickle, and they provided the thin flour pancakes as well as a type of hollowed bread. Delicious.
After we finished the duck, they brought a duck soup made from the carcass of the duck. Awesome!
I hereby proclaim Da Dong the best Peking Duck restaurant in Beijing!
First off, the restaurant itself is gorgeous. There are at least two Da Dong restaurants in Beijing, and I don't know the English address, but the Chinese address as sent to me is: 大董北京烤鸭店，北京东城区东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦1-2楼(东四十条桥西南), Tel: 86 10 51690329. This is the one I'm recommending.
The atmosphere of this place is incredible. Just a beautiful, classy restaurant with a lot of atmosphere. We had ten people and our server had politely reserved a private room for us upstairs, but I would have preferred the main downstairs dining room as the atmosphere is much better. Unfortunately, they were fully booked so we couldn't change the table. If you go, I would definitely make a reservation in advance.
Beside duck, they had a lot of other incredible Peking-style dishes, and the best was it came with an English menu with lots of photos. In fact, nearly every dish had a photo so it was easy to know what you're ordering.
But the duck, it was fantastic! Not greasy at all, it looked gorgeous and tasted better than the other two famous Peking Duck restaurants we went to. They also provided a lot more condiments, with two types of hoisin sauce, sugar, green onions, cucumbers, and some kind of pickle, and they provided the thin flour pancakes as well as a type of hollowed bread. Delicious.
After we finished the duck, they brought a duck soup made from the carcass of the duck. Awesome!
Must go back! ^^
May 24, 2009, 9:38 pm
#62
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Southeast USA
Programs: various
Posts: 6,710
OK, it's a deal! I live in Beijing (actually just a few minutes away from XW Guanghua Lu) and am mostly here over the next few months, with a few travels sprinkled about. PM me when you'll be around. Maybe I just need a professional guide to navigate me properly and unlock the secrets of the XW kitchen. 
Sep 9, 2010, 10:13 am
#63
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 66
Best place to get Peking duck in Beijing
I am going to Beijing on Nov , I was wondering where do I get good peking duck in reasonable price. I can go to fancy restaurant or local one . Moreover I heard from my friend that there is a Russia market that you need to use your bargain skills . Does anybody know what goods offered ? I will stay in Hilton Wangfujing . What is the best way to get there?
Thank you guys.
My travel blog
Thank you guys.
My travel blog
Sep 9, 2010, 10:28 am
#64
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 642
We had some good duck at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant
The google map link below thinks that A is the restaurant and B is the Hilton
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sourc...6&ie=UTF8&z=18
It not a far walk, the place is huge and for western standards it's not expensive at all.
The duck restaurant should not be far from your hotel at all. It is not on Wangfujing but off a side street. Its pretty easy to see as there is a big yellow duck in front
The google map link below thinks that A is the restaurant and B is the Hilton
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sourc...6&ie=UTF8&z=18
It not a far walk, the place is huge and for western standards it's not expensive at all.
The duck restaurant should not be far from your hotel at all. It is not on Wangfujing but off a side street. Its pretty easy to see as there is a big yellow duck in front
Sep 9, 2010, 11:31 am
#65
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 66
We had some good duck at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant
The google map link below thinks that A is the restaurant and B is the Hilton
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sourc...6&ie=UTF8&z=18
It not a far walk, the place is huge and for western standards it's not expensive at all.
The duck restaurant should not be far from your hotel at all. It is not on Wangfujing but off a side street. Its pretty easy to see as there is a big yellow duck in front
The google map link below thinks that A is the restaurant and B is the Hilton
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sourc...6&ie=UTF8&z=18
It not a far walk, the place is huge and for western standards it's not expensive at all.
The duck restaurant should not be far from your hotel at all. It is not on Wangfujing but off a side street. Its pretty easy to see as there is a big yellow duck in front
Sep 9, 2010, 11:52 am
#66
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Shanghai and Bavaria
Programs: Spire RA, 1865 Voyager, Bonvoy Titanium, FB LP, LH SEN.
Posts: 3,104
There's a thread (I admit, I haven't looked at it a lot, though): http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...staurants.html
There are numerous other threads on food in Beijing where duck is discussed in length.
Furthermore, I am not a big Beijing duck fan. Quanjude, is a very disputed chain in China. Some strongly advise against going there, including locals "in-the-know" and hotel concierges - for mediocore quality and high prices. On the other hand some love it, they at least speak (some) English and are "well-known". My advice for a first trip to Beijing is to ask your concierge, or even eat at your hotel (when Quanjude is the alternative), if there's a Beijing duck (-style restaurant) available. (Or of course, see what fellow posters here come up with
)
"Russian market" (the one near/in Sanlitun? Yabao or so?) is a fake market like any other, mostly offering clothes, bags, dvds etc. I abhor these markets, but many, many people love them. You need to bargain. Looking at your travels around SE-Asia, it's nothing much different to the tourist-fake-markets you can find there. Fun place to go, when you enjoy such things.
Enjoy your trip to Beijing!
There are numerous other threads on food in Beijing where duck is discussed in length.
Furthermore, I am not a big Beijing duck fan. Quanjude, is a very disputed chain in China. Some strongly advise against going there, including locals "in-the-know" and hotel concierges - for mediocore quality and high prices. On the other hand some love it, they at least speak (some) English and are "well-known". My advice for a first trip to Beijing is to ask your concierge, or even eat at your hotel (when Quanjude is the alternative), if there's a Beijing duck (-style restaurant) available. (Or of course, see what fellow posters here come up with
)"Russian market" (the one near/in Sanlitun? Yabao or so?) is a fake market like any other, mostly offering clothes, bags, dvds etc. I abhor these markets, but many, many people love them. You need to bargain. Looking at your travels around SE-Asia, it's nothing much different to the tourist-fake-markets you can find there. Fun place to go, when you enjoy such things.
Enjoy your trip to Beijing!
Last edited by Chinatrvl; Sep 10, 2010 at 12:43 am
Sep 9, 2010, 4:45 pm
#68
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: USA, China
Programs: Shangri-La Golden Circle, Hilton Honors Gold, Starwood Plat, United 1P
Posts: 62
I am one of those strange guys that actually PREFER Quanjude more than the others. I am Chinese, speak the language, and very familiar with Beijing and have eaten at all the major known and unknown duck joints.
If asked why I prefer Quanjude is because of the roasting of the skin. All the ducks have a crisp outer skin, but at Quanjude it seems to me that the underside fat on the duck skin is much more "vaporized" and I feel less like I am eating chewy duck fat.
Anyways my two cents..
P.S. My own opinion only applies to the main branch Quanjude at Qianmen facing Tiananmen.
If asked why I prefer Quanjude is because of the roasting of the skin. All the ducks have a crisp outer skin, but at Quanjude it seems to me that the underside fat on the duck skin is much more "vaporized" and I feel less like I am eating chewy duck fat.
Anyways my two cents..
P.S. My own opinion only applies to the main branch Quanjude at Qianmen facing Tiananmen.
Sep 9, 2010, 8:59 pm
#69
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: BWI
Programs: LH M&M, CX MPC Green
Posts: 1,757
I am one of those strange guys that actually PREFER Quanjude more than the others. I am Chinese, speak the language, and very familiar with Beijing and have eaten at all the major known and unknown duck joints.
If asked why I prefer Quanjude is because of the roasting of the skin. All the ducks have a crisp outer skin, but at Quanjude it seems to me that the underside fat on the duck skin is much more "vaporized" and I feel less like I am eating chewy duck fat.
Anyways my two cents..
P.S. My own opinion only applies to the main branch Quanjude at Qianmen facing Tiananmen.
If asked why I prefer Quanjude is because of the roasting of the skin. All the ducks have a crisp outer skin, but at Quanjude it seems to me that the underside fat on the duck skin is much more "vaporized" and I feel less like I am eating chewy duck fat.
Anyways my two cents..
P.S. My own opinion only applies to the main branch Quanjude at Qianmen facing Tiananmen.
OP - check out the threads linked in above posts... Names you can look up are: Da Dong, Liqun (my favorite for the food and walk around the restaurant - hutong and all), Duck De Chine, Grand Hyatt restaurant, Xiao Wang Fu (this one is particularly polarizing, I've never been).. I am sure there are another 1-2 names that I am missing here.. Next time I am in town, I have to do a multiple duck dinner run with a few friends (same night) to sample...
As for gifts, something a bit more unique (if you look) could be at Panjiayuan market, which is the "antiques" market. I still kind of like it and though I am sure there are some actual antiques there, most of it is fake/new and cheap junk, but there are some interesting ideas there, propaganda posters, old b/w photos of Beijing with or without frames etc.. Otherwise, some kitsch is available at Nanluoguoxiang at places like Plastered T-Shirts (the original designs are nice but the newer stuff...ugh) or near Houhai at Beijing Wen Fengtang on Di'anmen Wai street (google Beijing Wen feng Tang and the address pops up). Once again, not cheap, but pretty cool, at least when I went a while back.
Again, people much closer to the scene may prove me wrong/outdated and I more than welcome that.
Sep 10, 2010, 7:16 am
#70
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: YYZ > PEK > YYZ
Posts: 315
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8900/4.6.1.250 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/107)
I've lived in BJ for about 2 years and of all the restaurants that we've tried with duck, most of my relatives and friends, including myself, think Made in China has the best tasting duck.
The DaDong on east third ring is our second choice. A third lesser known one is ZunJing (??sp?) On GuangHuaLu near XiDaWangLu due to value.
Was talking to a local Beijinger friend of mine recently and she mentioned QuanJuDe as one of the better places to have duck.
I've lived in BJ for about 2 years and of all the restaurants that we've tried with duck, most of my relatives and friends, including myself, think Made in China has the best tasting duck.
The DaDong on east third ring is our second choice. A third lesser known one is ZunJing (??sp?) On GuangHuaLu near XiDaWangLu due to value.
Was talking to a local Beijinger friend of mine recently and she mentioned QuanJuDe as one of the better places to have duck.
Sep 10, 2010, 9:48 am
#72
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Newport Beach, California, USA
Posts: 36,062
We had some good duck at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant
The google map link below thinks that A is the restaurant and B is the Hilton
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sourc...6&ie=UTF8&z=18
It not a far walk, the place is huge and for western standards it's not expensive at all.
The duck restaurant should not be far from your hotel at all. It is not on Wangfujing but off a side street. Its pretty easy to see as there is a big yellow duck in front
The google map link below thinks that A is the restaurant and B is the Hilton
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&sourc...6&ie=UTF8&z=18
It not a far walk, the place is huge and for western standards it's not expensive at all.
The duck restaurant should not be far from your hotel at all. It is not on Wangfujing but off a side street. Its pretty easy to see as there is a big yellow duck in front
My wife, who is Chinese, says that the Grand Hyatt has the best Peking duck. We've also eaten at Da Dong, but were both disappointed -- the restaurant is fancier and the duck is served, "fine dining style," but Quanjude easily beats the food for taste and preparation.
Sep 11, 2010, 3:31 am
#74
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 41,990
It's all about Xiaowangfu guys.
OP: We debate this topic (in a cheerful manner) about 3 times per year. If you search for "Peking Duck" or "Beijing Duck", you'll find these gems.
OP: We debate this topic (in a cheerful manner) about 3 times per year. If you search for "Peking Duck" or "Beijing Duck", you'll find these gems.
