Peking Duck

This restaurant, Royal Peking Duck House, is known to locals (i.e. residents of Beijing) rather than tourists (even from China). When we arrived at 7 PM, it was crowded with families and small groups of adults. Attached to a culinary school, everything is traditional & perfect before being brought to table--the chefs are being monitored! Carving the duck is an artform, and the slices are all uniformly thick and arranged beautifully on the platters.

I could only eat three of the little burrito-like bundles, but the flavor & experience linger. You hold the pancake in one hand & pick up slices of duck with your chopsticks. Then you dip meat into duck sauce and smear it on the pancake. Arrange thinly-shredded scallions & cuke spears on top, wrap up, and eat. Delicious!

Forgot to name the dishes we had before the duck came: something like Kung Pao chicken (a Schezuan dish), spring peas & mushrooms, sliced pears & shredded cukes in orange sauce, duck liver paté. Amazingly good: delicate flavors, nothing overpowering. Although I hold my chopsticks in my own way, Ying and Duo said if it works for me, then it's right! Notice: no rice served with meal. We drank chrysanthemum tea throughout.