In today's connected world, you can pretty much get any dish from anywhere in the world. Recipes are available, chefs are well traveled and replicating cooking methods, while they take effort, are not impossible. Why then is the Peking Duck so difficult to make? From being told that eating the crispy skin is a tradition and served two pieces of it in fancy 5 star hotels in India to being served sad looking soggy ducks without even taking the skin off, the Peking Duck is one dish, you probably have to eat only in Beijing. Not just in China, but in Beijing as it is pretty much a disaster everywhere else.
Every table ordering a Peking Duck, whether it is a full or a half duck, gets its own chef carving it out live in front of you. For a restaurant as large as Da Dong, it looks like they have a battalion of chefs just for this. And when the chef arrives, they do it with surgical precision. So besides the cooking that takes a few centuries, the carving and serving also requires crazy practice. It is then possible that no other restaurant in the world can train and retain and make business sense to have so many chefs trained to exclusively serve the Peking Duck, unless it is a specialty Peking Duck restaurant.
And so, the only way to get the perfect duck is possibly to get it in Beijing.
So a few minutes after you order your duck, the chef walks out with the duck, armed with his tools. As you watch, he expertly carves it out in front of you, and gives your pieces of the skin dipped in sugar to taste while he does the job. The skin is crackling crisp.
The duck is completely then plated on a plate and served on the table along with the condiments.
The waiter then explains how to roll your own rolls. Dip a few pieces of duck in the soy sauce, rub it on the pancake, place a piece of two of scallions, roll it and gulp it down.
I ordered half a duck and was able to eat the whole thing. Didn't have space for anything else, but the pancakes are so thin and so many and the whole thing so freaking awesome that you can easily order a whole duck for just two of you!
The duck soup is then served as you finish your duck. A bland soup made with the bones, it kind of washes down the fatty duck, but if you want the taste to linger on, skip the soup.
There are various branches of Beijing Da Dong and I went to the one on Jinbao street as it was right opposite my hotel.
Every table ordering a Peking Duck, whether it is a full or a half duck, gets its own chef carving it out live in front of you. For a restaurant as large as Da Dong, it looks like they have a battalion of chefs just for this. And when the chef arrives, they do it with surgical precision. So besides the cooking that takes a few centuries, the carving and serving also requires crazy practice. It is then possible that no other restaurant in the world can train and retain and make business sense to have so many chefs trained to exclusively serve the Peking Duck, unless it is a specialty Peking Duck restaurant.
And so, the only way to get the perfect duck is possibly to get it in Beijing.
So a few minutes after you order your duck, the chef walks out with the duck, armed with his tools. As you watch, he expertly carves it out in front of you, and gives your pieces of the skin dipped in sugar to taste while he does the job. The skin is crackling crisp.
The duck is completely then plated on a plate and served on the table along with the condiments.
The waiter then explains how to roll your own rolls. Dip a few pieces of duck in the soy sauce, rub it on the pancake, place a piece of two of scallions, roll it and gulp it down.
I ordered half a duck and was able to eat the whole thing. Didn't have space for anything else, but the pancakes are so thin and so many and the whole thing so freaking awesome that you can easily order a whole duck for just two of you!
The duck soup is then served as you finish your duck. A bland soup made with the bones, it kind of washes down the fatty duck, but if you want the taste to linger on, skip the soup.
There are various branches of Beijing Da Dong and I went to the one on Jinbao street as it was right opposite my hotel.
