The consolidated Peking Duck thread
Oct 16, 2010, 7:04 pm
#76
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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
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
Oct 16, 2010, 7:13 pm
#77
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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.
Oct 17, 2010, 10:04 am
#78
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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
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
You did nothing wrong at all. This is very standard practice.
Oct 17, 2010, 12:08 pm
#79
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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.
Oct 17, 2010, 10:39 pm
#80
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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.
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.
Last edited by jiejie; Oct 17, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Oct 17, 2010, 10:55 pm
#81
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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
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
Oct 17, 2010, 11:08 pm
#82
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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
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
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.
Oct 18, 2010, 10:14 pm
#83
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Appreciate the comments jiejie. I wasn't looking for 'fake american niceness', being a Brit and all that. And not speaking mandarin, it might well have been reticence -- I experienced that a lot on my trip to BJ. However, my gut is that my experience at Da Dong went over and above that reticence.
I still left having enjoyed my meal, and some aspects of the overall service were excellent. I think as with most chinese food, a group setting is always optimal, and one can then concentrate on the food -- the main goal -- rather than have time to be distracted by other matters.
tb
PS And good to know that my jacket issue wasn't a faux pas
I still left having enjoyed my meal, and some aspects of the overall service were excellent. I think as with most chinese food, a group setting is always optimal, and one can then concentrate on the food -- the main goal -- rather than have time to be distracted by other matters.
tb
PS And good to know that my jacket issue wasn't a faux pas
Oct 22, 2010, 11:40 am
#85
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Oct 22, 2010, 11:50 am
#86
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I think that new poster lily is local Chinese...and the purpose of the raging debate--plus the fact that not all foreigners are interested in the "most famous"--has gone over her head.
Oct 22, 2010, 11:48 pm
#87
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For example, I have one client that loves Sky Fortune (near the new US Embassy). Most of the food there is not to my liking (river snails!), but beautiful duck.
Oct 23, 2010, 1:38 am
#88
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I've eaten duck many, many times during the course of the past six weeks.... mostly at restaurants not mentioned in this thread. Basically, there are lots of amazing ducks at places you would never suspect.
For example, I have one client that loves Sky Fortune (near the new US Embassy). Most of the food there is not to my liking (river snails!), but beautiful duck.
For example, I have one client that loves Sky Fortune (near the new US Embassy). Most of the food there is not to my liking (river snails!), but beautiful duck.
Oct 24, 2010, 9:53 pm
#89
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recent experiences
Over the past 10 days, I've had duck 5 times:
-Fat Duck
-Sky Fortune
-Yihe Ya Ju (NE corner of Ritan Park)
-Made in China
-Xiaowangfu (near Kerry Center)
(I've also been to pretty every restaurant we've discussed here in the past, but will focus on this group now.)
Of the 5, Made in China was the clear winner (for me... all of us have unique tastes, and I'm no duck expert), but the others were all quite good (i.e. would blow away the best duck in NYC by a country mile).
-Fat Duck
-Sky Fortune
-Yihe Ya Ju (NE corner of Ritan Park)
-Made in China
-Xiaowangfu (near Kerry Center)
(I've also been to pretty every restaurant we've discussed here in the past, but will focus on this group now.)
Of the 5, Made in China was the clear winner (for me... all of us have unique tastes, and I'm no duck expert), but the others were all quite good (i.e. would blow away the best duck in NYC by a country mile).
Oct 25, 2010, 8:10 am
#90
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