Originally Posted by
drewguy
Da Dong is not alone in having some menu items that break the bank, and, like Da Dong, they put the glitzly menu items at the front. When I was there last month, a server walked by with a crab that was the size of a large pizza, with the claws hanging off the sides of the platter. I was glad not to be getting that bill.
That said, I thought there were plenty of reasonably priced dishes, at least as far as a more upscale restaurant goes. Sure, one could get similar dishes for less at plenty of places, but that's true of the entire menu at Da Dong - the prices are more special occasion than everyday. (Although by US standards, it's a pretty good and fancy meal for not a huge amount of money.)
None of the duck places are expensive by US standards if you only eat duck; during my high school years in New Hampshire, I routinely paid $50/duck at the local Chinese restaurant, which didn't hold a candle to any duck in Beijing (I had yet to visit Beijing at that point in my life), and that was a long time ago. As long as you avoid the crab/lobster/abalone, none of the restaurants mentioned in this thread will break your bank.