Beijing Roast Duck enjoys a reputation of national dish in China. Only White Beijing Duck could be chosen to cook roast duck. Beijing Roast Duck is characteristic with crispy skin, tender meat and the fragrance from the fruit-wood. The duck tastes pure and mellow with lotus leaf-shaped cake, scallion slices and sweet sauce jam, leaving a lasting and pleasant aftertaste.
Traditionally, the cooked duck will be sliced by the chef in front of the diners. The slicing of the meat from the carcass of the duck is an art in itself. A skilled chef is able to cut between 100 and 120 slices in four or five minutes, each slice with an equal portion of both skin and meat. Normally the remaining meat and bones of the duck may be made into a tasty broth.
History of Beijing Roast Duck
During the early Ming Dynasty, the common people loved to eat Nanjing salted duck, and the emperor also loved to eat it. It is said that Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang could eat one roasted duck every day. The royal chefs in the palace tried to develop new ways of eating duck dishes to please him, so they also developed two types of roast duck: barbecued duck and braised oven roast duck. Barbecued roast duck is represented by "Quanjude", while braised roast duck is most famous by "Cheap Fang". Nanjing roast duck is made from fat grass duck, with a net weight requirement of around 2.5 kilograms.
It is said that after Emperor Ming Chengzu (also known as Zhu Di) moved his capital to Beijing, he also brought many experts in making Nanjing roast duck from Nanjing.
Where to eat?
Beijing roast duck is definitely a world-famous cuisine in Beijing. The duck is fine Beijing duck fed with meat. After roasting by coal, it looks like a ruby. With respect to its flavour, people will never find it greasy. It is really the top dainty around the world. And you can not miss it!! For your information, Quanjude and Pianyifang, also Cheap Fang, are the most notable shops selling roast ducks, both of which have hundreds of years history.
Pianyifang Restaurant
During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, roast duck spread from the palace to the people, and the old "Cheap Fang" roast duck restaurant was listed and opened in the Beijing Caishikou Rice Market Hutong, which was also the first roast duck restaurant in Beijing. At that time, the name was "Jinling Sliced Duck", and there was a special line of small characters on the front of the old "Cheap Shop": Jinling Roast Duck (Nanjing Roast Duck). The price of Cheap Fang roast duck is slightly more affordable, with a high cost-effectiveness, but the taste is not bad at all.
Address: 65-77 Xianyukou Street
Tel: 010-67132536
Business hours: 11:00-21:00 throughout the year
Quanjude Restaurant ( Wangfu Branch)
In 1864, the most famous "Quanjude" roast duck restaurant in the capital was also listed and opened, and the roast duck technology developed into the "hanging furnace" era. It is roasted with fruit wood over an open fire and has a unique fragrance. It not only makes the roast duck fragrant for thousands of miles, but also replaces "Nanjing roast duck" with "Beijing roast duck". "Jinling sliced duck" can only be seen on menus in several major cities in the south, such as Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.
Address: No.9 Shuaifuyuan Hutong, Wangfujing Street
Tel: 010-65253310010-65228384
Business hours: 11:00-20:00 throughout the year