‘Must Go’ Peking Duck Restaurants In Beijing

What’s do you eat in Beijing? Peking duck, of course or ‘kao ya’ as the locals call it. Two trips to the Imperial City in recent times helped me flush out some of the best kao ya restaurants in town which gets our seal of approval as SimplyFab places to eat.

Da Dong (Numerous Branches)
First up, Da Dong is THE place to go. With a number of outlets around town, this famous kao ya restaurant is slick and contemporary, serving up not just the famous poultry but an encyclopaedia full of mod-Chinese dishes which rivals the best in Singapore and Hong Kong. The 160 page, hard cover menu itself is a work of art – the photographs within and the food styling is impressively droolworthy by any standards – and the dishes there boldly goes where no Chinese chef has gone. Innovation here has not gone out of hand and the food is fantastic. Even though you wait at least 20 minutes for your table with an advance reservation as a norm, it is worth every minute of patience. They treat you well by plying you with all the box wine and fizzy drinks you can help yourself to. In the middle of this restaurant, an elevated area is the stage (top pic) where the chefs roast and prepare the ducks, and where you can watch the action, leaving you in no doubt what the speciality is here. Don’t worry about being forgotten - it’s a logistical feat, but the manageress and staff are so slick with handling the hoardes of waiting customers, and they know exactly where to find you in the sea of waiting patrons when your turn comes to be (finally) seated!

 

Get your duck ordered first as it takes a while to be prepared. The winner of various ‘Best restaurant of the year’ awards, Da Dong is not just a Peking duck restaurant, and it’d be a sin if you left without feasting on its sea of other dishes like poached wine chicken, braised eggplant, smoked dace with black glutinous rice and lots more. They are so progressive that some of the dishes on the menu incorporate molecular techniques! (This place really throws out any remaining stereotypical views of restaurants in China. In fact, restaurants in Singapore and elsewhere can surely learning a few valuable lessons from these guys.) The duck here is served with a plethora of toppings from the usual cucumber and spring onion, to pickles and sugar, quite unlike what we are used to elsewhere. The skin is also somewhat thicker and pillowy soft compared to what we have here. What’s more, complimentary sherbert is served too to clear the palate.

 

 Made In China, Grand Hyatt Beijing

 

A close second in line is the Peking Duck from the Grand Hyatt Beijing’s restaurant Made In China (which closely resembles Straits Kitchen in the Grand Hyatt Singapore). Typical Hyatt luxe and an easy going vibe, this place is popular among residents and tourists, so make a reservation in advance. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you!) The duck is cooked in an open kitchen so you can watch the chefs at work, heaving the glistening duck out from the flaming oven on a hook. The skin is crisp and steaming as the chef slices it at your table, and the flavour of the meat absolutely moist and lovely. The restaurant’s other northern Chinese dishes are also worth a bite including their guotie (above), sesame spinach, and do not miss out on the desserts! Fabulicious!

 

Chynna, Hilton Beijing Wanfujing

Chynna, the Chinese fine dining restaurant in Hilton Beijing, Wanfujing is probably the best kept secret so waiting to be discovered. It is a beautiful restaurant and the Iong entranceway leading to the restaurant itself is a luxuriously evocative journey. I was there recently and was surprised to find it being pretty quiet in the evening. The huge restaurant is lusciously decorated with mod chinoiserie, the tables were dressed sumptuously and you were served hand and feet with the plethora of wait staff eager for something to do. The food here is excellent, plus the fact that it is equivalent to Singapore’s ‘zichar’ prices, it’s a deal that can’t be beat!

 

The Peking Duck (RMB198) is flavourful and tender, and as always, carved by your tableside. They had incorporated some Chinese herbs to make it healthy, but it was exceedingly mild if anything at all, and didn’t get in the way of the traditional ‘kaoya’ flavours. The other dishes are well worth trying, particularly the fresh fish soup (right) which was prepared also by your table, with a rich unctuous fish stock, generous slices of tenderly cooked garoupa, mushrooms, vegetables and a host of other delicacies. At RMB288 – the most expensive item on the menu – this soup was fantastic – not only was it really good and rich, it yielded a large portion enough for 8 people. We ordered it both nights even though there were just three of us eating. Can’t get enough!

 

We also liked the delicate five spices beef shank (RMB36), cold braised pork shoulder slices with pancakes (RMB28) and the stir fried lamb with leeks (RMB48) and their traditional panfried guotie, dumplings filled with prawns, pork and mushrooms. I was stuffed by the time we finished the main dishes, if not would have had dessert as well. The selection was incredibly creative and unusual like maotai ice cream, wolfberry cheesecake, green tea madeleines with huatiao wine sauce, black, yellow & pink ‘wu liang ye’ ice cream with chrysanthemum mango sherbert, ranging from RMB48 – RMB68.

 

Address Book:
Da Dong –  1-2/F Nanxincang International Plaza, 22A Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng District Tel: +86 10 5169 0329 (They have several branches, so ask your hotel concierge for help. This is the newest I believe and on which the review was based.)
Made In China – Grand Hyatt Beijing, 1 East Chang An Avenue, Beijing, 100738 Tel: +86 10 8518 1234
Chynna – Hilton Wanfujing, 8 Wanfujing East Street, Dongcheng, Beijing 100006 Tel: +86 10 5812 8888