We enjoyed a superb duck at Xiang Man Lou restaurant the evening of May 18 (2009) - this is more of a family / neighborhood restaurant, no fancy decorations, just a full house of locals enjoying a night out with the duck as the menu highlight. Carved tableside, of course, crispy skin, lots of good accompaniments from preserved jellyfish to duck soup after the repast and fruit to end it all. From City Weekend:

Xiang Man Lou / 香满楼
Xinyuanxili Dongjie,
Chaoyang
新源西里东街
6460-6711

Open 11am-10pm
Price Less than ¥ / 元 / CNY 100 per person (my figures, not theirs)

Link to reviews.

Xiang Man Lou--I've had the duck here, and it's pretty good (IMHO, better than Quanjude), as are the other dishes on the menu. Good value restaurant, just not on the "tourist trail" and maybe a bit harder to find. I'd say it's better than Xiheyaju's duck.

Was at Duck de Chine last month and it was very good. Of course, the Firm we were with booked a private room and all that jazz, and personally I thought the setting/atmosphere was the best part.

I still think that Da Dong made the best impression on me duck-wise (the other food is very good to - unlike Liqun) closely followed by Liqun (great for a hutong stroll before/after the meal - killing 2 birds with one stone).

What I need to do is to get a group of friends together one night and hit all three places and just have some duck at each place to make a comparison.

I tell people to avoid Quanjude - the duck is quite good, but its too crowded and too commoditized in my opinion.

No pun intended, I am sure. :p

Seriously, I will look forward to reading your report! Not to mention, that will be fulfilling research on your part. ;)

If I can find the time and 2-5 people willing to join me, I'll be sure to do it and post results here...

Not a duck house but excellent food and they do serve peking duck made in the furnace near the front entrance.

Xiao Wang's Home Restaurant
Guanghualu Branch
6591-3255
6594 3602

北京小王店
光華路店

^

I'm no duck expert but sure enjoyed the Pek Duck I've had at "Made In China" restaurant in the Grand Hyatt. Also liked their Beggar's Chicken a lot.

While "Made in China" appeals to the part of my brain that likes PF Chang's (btw, this no insult coming from me) and the atmosphere sure is cool, the Guanghua Lu Xiaowangfu (that dtsm mentioned) still serves up my favorite duck in BJ. I've brought many FTers there and heard no complaints.

Yeah, I mentioned Xiao Wang above. I like this restaurant chain (he has a few restaurants) a lot, and would definitely eat there again whenever I am in Beijing. I'm not sure I'd go for the duck, however. It's good IMHO, but not as good as some other places.

For the record, the Guanghua Lu location makes the best duck in town IMO (and I've been to almost all of the other places that have been tossed around in various duck threads). I guess it all comes down to personal preference in the end.

Sorry to be a dissenter here, but Xiao Wang's (especially the one on Guanghua Lu) serves up some seriously bad slop that somehow passes for Chinese food. I have (been dragged by others) there on a number of occasions, and it never fails to disappoint. Haven't had the duck there, but I shudder to think.... XW's just gets more than it's fair share of (expat and business) traffic due to location and pricing, therefore the undeserved buzz. However, horses for courses.

Agree entirely with the above. Eating Xiao Wang's dumbed-down-for-expats pan-China dishes is only borderline forgivable if taking visiting aged parents out for meal. But given the immense range and variety of real food of all regions available in Beijing, ought otherwise to be a criminal offence.

FWIW, I'm equally offended by the set of better-then-thou types that cast stones upon anyone who doesn't cream over braised sea slug and the like.

Xiao Wang is a restaurant that I frequent when I visit because of the variety of the menu and the home style cooking. I have no idea how P-H tastes are but from a HK born Chinese with a Taiwan born wife that is a superb cook and who has lived throughout Asia for years, we can both attest that this is one of the better places to eat on a regular basis.

If you're looking for a banquet or gourmet dining, maybe P-H knows where the Kings or Emperors eat but as far as regular Chinese folks, this is a place to go.

Now, I haven't been back to Beijing in a year or so - if these opinions are from recent visits, I'll be less critical of their comments.

Be offended if you must on the negative Xiao Wang comments. I call it like I see it (or taste it). For the record, I actually do NOT like Chinese fancy/banquet/Emperor/delicacies or whatever you are insinuating. All I'm looking for is decent and tasty homestyle Chinese cooking...and I'm OK with most regional styles. But I've had better cooking in hole-in-the-wall joints (my most frequent haunt) in various places around Beijing than at Xiao Wang's. Specific comments based on multiple occasions, which consistently seem to apply whenever I've been:
1) I've NEVER had a decent vegetable dish there--always overcooked, soggy texture, and veggies not fresh enough. Goodness, if one can't even do a simple ganbiansijidou, one needs to hang up the apron and get out of the kitchen.
2) EVERY dish at XW's has too much oil, and this is even by Northern/Beijing cooking standards.
3) I've had meals where most of the sauces used in the meat dishes are suspiciously similar in taste and ingredients even when they shouldn't be. Speaking of sauces, too much cornstarch and the sauces always glue up quickly---similar to Westernized Chinese restaurants most of us love to hate back in our home countries.
These are just a few of my pet peeves about this restaurant. Service is also marginal, even when you manage to miss the worst of the meal rush hour.

I'm a decent cook at home of both Chinese and South-East Asian, and trust me, I can do a better job at a lot of the homestyle standards than Xiao Wang's. Perhaps compared to you guys, I'm just consistently unlucky when I've been there and it's been Cook's night off with the busboys behind the woks.

De gustibus non est disputandum. It's part of the human condition. :)

It's completely acceptable to disagree about restaurants. No need for offense.

I've had horrible meals at supposedly great restaurants and great meals at supposedly horrible restaurants.

Worry not. I was not offended by your comments.

Next visit, let's go together, be my guest and let's see how the food is :)

I'd be up for that. Now all I have to do is get out there...:cool:

I'll second the verdict on Da Dong! Last time I was in BJ, had Da Dong duck dinner on my last night. Exactly as written above...

Must go back! ^^

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. :D

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

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 :D

Thanks man and what should i buy back, Is there a specific gifts to bring back? I live in U.S and see everything made in china . I want o give something to my relative.

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!

Personally, I find the best Peking duck is not in Beijing.

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.

And you're more than entitled to it. I did not find anything overly objectionable about Quanjude and am no duck conosseiur (I eat it way too infrequently) other than the fact that one feels like a commodity in going there (the whole process), the prices are high and the duck IMO isn't glorious enough to justify the price or commodity process.

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.

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'll put in another vote for the peking duck at Made in China (Grand Hyatt Beijing). I thought it was excellent quality and value (by international standards).

I like Quanjude, but I'd recommend taking a taxi, even if the OP's hotel is close by. Recently, the street in front of the restaurant (which is up a short drive from the sidewalk) has been inundated with very aggressive beggars, the most aggressive I've ever seen in Asia. The taxi drops you at the door of the restaurant, so that you don't have to deal with them.

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.

thanks guys for many recommendations. I will try and report back




[URL = redacted] My travel blog[/ URL ]

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.

I loved Da Dong, visited the branch on Jinbao Jie

Never seen so many waiters in one restaurant

Da Dong RV (long)
 

I know there are lots of threads on this, but this is the most recent one, and given the post immediately above, I thought it would be an appropriate place to put this review of Da Dong during my first trip to BJ.

Reviews from several sources including here suggested Da Dong, although as with any ‘best’ list, there is always some disagreement. There are three locations, and I went to the newest one in the Jin Bai centre, in Dongcheng. It was a last minute reservation – they said I had to be there in 10 minutes, and leave within an hour. Since I was dining alone, and only wanted to check out the duck, I agreed to those terms. This branch is on the 5th level of a soul-less high end mall. I turned up, and was shown to my table. My jacket wasn’t taken, but when I draped it over my chair, someone put a chair cover over it, so clearly I did something wrong there!

I was given a menu upon being seated, but then was totally ignored for about 10-15 minutes. There was no water offered nor a drink order taken until I gave my meal order. My table was overlooking the duck oven area, which is open, so one can view the chefs at work, which helped pass the time while I waited for someone to take my order. This is a pricey place. Certain specialties, e.g. sea cucumber, were Y350/pp and up, and many other dishes were much, much more. The duck is Y200, with Y8/pp for the accoutrements. I asked for half a duck (which wasn’t on the menu, but I had read reviews that suggested one could get this). After some time, a chef (with face mask) comes out with a whole duck, and proceeds to slice it in an elegant manner. I was sl. concerned that I would be charged for a whole duck, but he only gave me half of the duck (including half of the head!) and took the rest with him. Given that everyone gets the show, I presume they use the half-duck for soup/ stock etc. A waitress shows you how to wrap a pancake in a very elegant manner, with chopsticks, that I tried to emulate, and failed miserably at.

In addition to the usual spring onions/ cucumber/ sauce, there were many other things one could put in the pancake, including radish, ginger and some pickles. There is also sugar to dip the skin into. On top of the duck skin dish, I was also brought a bowl of duck soup, which was rather delicious. I also ate the duck brain that was in the half-head, which was pretty good actually! The duck itself – it is extremely rich. Much more so than any peking duck I’ve had in the west. In fact, it was too rich for my taste, and I love fatty foods! I enjoyed it, and though I pretty much finished my serving, I wouldn’t have been able to have more (again, unusual for me). I had chrysanthemum tea to drink with it (this, at Y20 for one glass is the cheapest tea on offer – there were some teas that were 10 to 20 times that price).

After the meal, a complimentary dessert of (I think) fresh crab apples on a bed of ice was brought to the table, which I thought was a very elegant and fitting end to the meal. They were so delicious I had 5 or 6 of them. The total damage including a 10% service charge was about Y135, which was pretty good value. However, I could see how a more elaborate meal could become many times that price (per person).

On the good side: the whole spectacle of the duck was great, especially for a first time tourist such as me. Despite being in a charmless room, there was an elegance to the place. The meal, if one just has the duck, is good value. The duck itself was not my thing, but it was very succulent. I had duck two more times in my brief stay (on the next two days, at meetings). All were similarly rich, so I guess that that’s the authentic taste to the dish. The one at Da Dong was more refined, but not leagues above the others.
On the negative side, the staff (not the chefs, who are silent behind their masks) are very arrogant. The place appears to be packed all the time, and unlike most of my other experiences of china, there was no friendliness in the albeit ruthlessly efficient and elegant service. I would recommend it to a tourist as a show, but if I were a local, unless one gets treated differently, this would not be a regular haunt.

tb

The timing of your thread bump was nice for me because I had a new duck experience last night and was planning on doing the same.

I went to Fat Duck, which won the "best duck" award from TBJ this year. Simply put, it was a delicious product, though the ambiance isn't quite as nice as Made in China.

Regarding Dadong, some people like the long waits because of the complimentary beverages.

Response to bolded..

You did nothing wrong at all. This is very standard practice.

Last trip to Beijing went to Ya Wang which supposedly is up there with Da Dong and Quanjude. I haven't been to Da Dong, but was mightily impressed with Ya Wang. I'd say it was quite close to Quanjude.

Yes, it's to protect your coat from spills, stains, and theft.

Trueblu, you shouldn't have been ignored for so long at the beginning, that wasn't right of them. Are you a Mandarin speaker? Some restaurants have staff that are just intimidated or feel awkward about interacting with foreigners, since they can't communicate properly. However, Dadong gets enough expats and foreigners that this should not be an excuse for them. Drink orders taken ahead of ordering the meal is not the custom in China, as you will find out elsewhere--it's all done at once, UNLESS you are specifically able to tell them to bring the drink now, in advance. As to lack of "friendliness", I'm not sure what you are expecting in China. There's none of that fake-o "Hi I'm Cindy, your waitress" faux friendliness that you see in the USA. Sorry, I have to interject a grin here. Most experienced China visitors are content with having competent service that addresses initial needs to be seated and menu'd up, that gets the orders right, delivers them without slopping half the dish on the tablecloth, and stays aware enough to respond promptly to requests. We really don't care about them not smiling or not, as that could be pushing our luck. :D As with all Chinese restaurants, Dadong is best with a group of people. At a previous dinner for 10 at Dadong (3rd ring road location), we had 2 ducks + about 8 other dishes + rice + beers, sodas, water, the total damage was only about RMB 160 per person, so the per person price doesn't necessarily scale up for a group as you might think.

For the record, the main instances of true staff arrogance that I've seen in Beijing restaurants has always been at hotels. No names will be named, but I've found it to not be very frequent. And it's not always easy for the inexperienced to tell the difference between arrogance and reticence.