Originally Posted by
sajgidda
I agree 100% with the review of Da Dong above, although we felt the positives outweighed the negatives and appreciated the waitress showing us authentic ways to eat the duck. I was at the Hilton Beijing Wangfujiang just down the street so this was my local branch too
I thought the duck was a good value but there are dishes on the menu approaching $1000 I believe, a surreal experience. I have never seen so many staff in one restaurant yet struggled so much to get service
Interesting we now have 2 posters complaining about service at this branch. I have only been to the first two Dadongs (Tuanjiehu and the Nanxincang), and have not seen these service lapses there. Which has me wondering if it's unique to the newest branch or indicative of an overall trend.
Anyway, to add to one more place to eat a pretty good and cheap duck: Xiangmanlou. I've been a few times to the one in the north Xindong Lu area, not far from the Kempinski, Kunlun, new Westin, Sanlitun Embassy areas. This one is across the street from the Yuyang Hotel, about 5 minutes east of the big DinTaiFung restaurant. Can't miss the lanterns across the front, and it's popular with locals and a few expats in the know. Has pretty darn good duck (about RMB 120 for a whole duck including the condiments) and also very good homestyle side dishes. Simple atmosphere but very clean. Haven't been to any of the other XML branches yet.