If there is one single dish that Beijing is most known for around the world, it is Peking Duck. It’s supposed to be this amazing heavenly delicacy, and many restaurants in town fight over whose duck is the best in the land. I spent a bunch of time reading reviews, with people saying that this one restaurant is the best while others saying that a different restaurant is way better. I finally settled on a place called Duck de Chine. They serve their duck with a unique type of Hoisin sauce that is supposed to be incredible.
I took a cab across town (25 mins). The guy drops me off, and i start wandering around trying to find the place. Finally, I find a security guard and show him the name of the place on my phone. He starts shaking his head and does an “X†motion with his arms. Uh-oh. It turns out that the place has been closed for 6 months. Not only that, but the entire complex that it is in has been closed, and the bar i wanted to go to was in that complex too. I had planned my whole night around this, and now i was across town for nothing and it was getting late.
After frantically searching on my phone, I found another duck place that was also highly rated and not too far away. When i got there, it turned out that they were out of half ducks, so i had to get a whole duck breast which ran me $50+. Ouch… that’s a lot by China standards. Well, at least the duck was amazing right? Umm.. no. It was… ok, i guess? Just fine and tasted good, but nothing i would get excited about. They also brought out a broth that is made from the duck bones that literally tasted like hot water. Basically zero flavor.
So yeah… i got to try the world famous duck. Not sure what all the hype is about. I was also told later that the place i ate at is so fancy that it is known for being the place you would take an important business client from out of town to impress them. Hmm, not so impressed.
