I'm in Beijing now and have had duck twice so far.

Last night I joined the esteemed Moondog (and his cousin) at Xiaowangfu and, though it is not a duck restaurant, their duck was outstanding!

This afternoon I decided I had to go to Quanjude (Wanfujing location), given its status as the standard, the quintessential duck joint, etc. It was fine and pretty decent, but let me tell you . . . it was beyond oily! The level of oiliness was astonishing!!! Even my Chinese dining companion was turned off by its excessive oiliness.

So I don't know if that's what makes it "authentic" or not, but it's certainly how they seem to do it at Quanjude. It's not what I prefer.

Qiaowangfu was not only much less oily, but actually tasted better to me. The sauce was nice and, skin was crisper and the meat was very tender. So, based on my 2 different restaurants samples, I'm going to side with Moondog and agree that Xiaowangfu is the winning place to eat Peking Duck whilst in Beijing! ^

I'm hoping to try one more place before I leave. Will comment on it if I do.