Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant

Of the foods I wanted to make sure my guests (my parents) had when they visited, Beijing Roast Duck was at the top of the list. So walking along the main street in Wangfujing, we stopped at the Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant in one of the hutongs. We were immediately greeted upon entering, shown to the elevator to the fourth floor and brought to our table. We had attentive service, and the duck was excellent. We ended up ordering off the "For 3 People" menu, though we could've done without so many of the extras (and saved us some money) since all we really needed was the duck, the pancakes, the sauce and the fruit plate at the end. Our waitress even showed us how to eat the duck with the pancakes.

Besides the extras, one would think that a restaurant that has a lot of tourists would carry some forks & knives for those not well-versed in chopsticks. I had asked for a set, but they did not have any. Other than that, my experience at the Wangfujing Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant was very good. I do recommend this location, as I have not been to the others.

Peking Duck is synonymous to Beijing cuisine. Naturally there are many places in the city that serve the crispy roasted bird, but the most famous of all is the Quanjude restaurant chain, which now has 6 branches around town.

Though the thought of a 5-story restaurant packed with tourists sampling Beijing's most famous dish can be a bit off-putting, the reality is actually not all that bad. Yes, it is a big place, and yes they serve so many ducks it could resemble a food factory rather than a restaurant, but the actual dining rooms are small and cosy and the staff quite attentative (unlike what is written in the Lonely Planet) topping up your tea regularly and happy to give you instructions on how to eat the sliced duck and pancakes.

The duck itself is delicious. As a specialty the Quanjude recipe stipulates that ducks are roasted over fruit-tree wood, giving it a special fragrance.

As a nice bonus each duck comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Me and my buddies went to the famous duck restaurant to have our treat of Duck meal. The place is very old, been open since 1864 and they already served 115 million ducks!!! when you order a whole duck you get a note with the serial number of your duck (ours was 115,186,847).

The duck itself is amazing, much better than in the normal chinese restaurants, and the plum sauce is amazing.

The restaurant is really recommended, and it's better to reserve a place upfront, although worst case you wait half an hour.