Peking Duck: Where to Eat It and What to Pay

Peking duck (北京烤鸭, Běijīng kǎoyā) is the one dish worth planning a Beijing evening around. Done properly, the bird is air-dried, glazed with maltose and roasted — over fruitwood in the traditional guàlú open oven, or in a closed oven — until the skin separates from the fat and shatters when you bite it. It arrives on a trolley and a chef carves it in front of you into a hundred-odd slices, skin-first.

You assemble it yourself: a thin wheat pancake, a smear of sweet fermented bean sauce with the flat side of a chopstick, two or three slices of duck, batons of spring onion and cucumber, roll, eat. Some places offer sugar for dipping the pure skin pieces, and it works better than it sounds. The carcass usually goes back to the kitchen and returns as soup.

Honest ranking of the well-known options: Siji Minfu (四季民福) gives the best combination of quality, price and atmosphere and has a branch on Nanchizi Street with Forbidden City views — expect a wait. Dadong (大董) is polished, expensive and does the leanest, crispest skin in the city. Quanjude (全聚德) has the history and the tour buses; the duck is fine, the value is poor. Bianyifang (便宜坊) does the older closed-oven style, softer skin and more mellow flavour.

Budget ¥200-400 ($28-56) for a whole duck. Add two beers and a vegetable and two people eat very well for around ¥300 ($42) at mid-range places.