As mentioned in an earlier post, after several Peking Duck adventures of mine during a short work stay in Beijing, I've come to the conclusion that some of the most raved about ducks there, or for that matter even those being trashed by the media or bloggers alike such as Quanjude 全聚德 , turned out to be rather more of the same in the end. Sure Made in China 长安一号 may be often mentioned on everyone's lips as the no.1 Peking Duck in Beijing or in the world. But Dadong 大董烤鸭店 with their super-lean roast ducks naturally can't agree with this generalisation before putting up a fight. And then there are some existing establishments or late comers also in the scene. My duck served in Made in China was not entirely roasted nor sliced to perfection in the end. In fact, their sister restaurant in Macau's Beijing Kitchen 滿堂彩 made me a more crispier yet moister, flavourful duck than here and that was carved better! *Which is the other way around with Jason Bonvivant's visits of the same restaurants, so it shows they must all have a consistency problem of some sorts?! This rating is therefore purely of this particular visit. May be on another day, it will fare better?
Entrance
Fruit Wood open oven for roasting Ducks,
as is expected in most duck shops in Beijing -
as is expected in most duck shops in Beijing -
Pu-Erh Tea -
Very good, Made in China really takes care of their connoisseur's tea selections ~ 8/10
Appetizer of Young Vegetables -
Very good for cleansing effect ~ 8/10
Appetizer of White Beans -
A bit boring, don't understand it's role here ~ 3/10
A bit boring, don't understand it's role here ~ 3/10
Open Kitchen -
..seems to be the theme in most Hyatt's I've visited.
Here, pastry chef is making my next pancake dish.
..seems to be the theme in most Hyatt's I've visited.
Here, pastry chef is making my next pancake dish.
Black Truffle and Scallions Pancake -
To be honest, I really regretted ordering this. It is dense, has little truffle taste (and if any, it's only truffles paste). I also wonder where the scallions went. Totally forgettable and I should have ordered another dish to try ~ 3/10
To be honest, I really regretted ordering this. It is dense, has little truffle taste (and if any, it's only truffles paste). I also wonder where the scallions went. Totally forgettable and I should have ordered another dish to try ~ 3/10
Chef Carving away on my Duck -
fresh from the fruit wood roasting oven
fresh from the fruit wood roasting oven
Duck Plate #1 / 3 - Skin from the Belly
Nouveau style Peking Ducks, served in Macau, Hong Kong or Beijing, are often recommended to be sliced up into 3 ways. Firstly, the crispy belly skin should be dipped into caster sugar and eaten by itself. This was more crunchy than crispy, but quite fat. Overall, pretty good ~ 7.5/10
Condiments -
Cucumber, Beijing Winter Leeks, Minced Garlic, Hoisin Sauce, Sugar.
The stand out was the Hoisin Sauce, which was not overly sweet but slightly smoky with depth.
The sauce served with Peking Ducks, is sometimes what distinguishes it between it and its competitors, and this was definitely within Top 3 I've tried ~ 8/10
Mandarin Crepes -
Fairly dry and floury, a little thick. Almost like a Tortilla.
I don't mind both chewy or doughy types of crepes, but this was so dry, you can see it has curled upwards in a funny manner. Definitely could be improved ~ 5/10
I don't mind both chewy or doughy types of crepes, but this was so dry, you can see it has curled upwards in a funny manner. Definitely could be improved ~ 5/10
Duck Plate #2 / 3 - Pure Meat & Duck Head
This is meant to be eaten alone dipped into the garlic mince and hoisin sauce, or could also be put into the wraps. Unfortunately sigh, this was quite dry, even though this was carved from a Whole-Duck rather than from Half-a-Duck. It was also quite bland in both duck or marination taste. I was quite disappointed with this outcome ~ 6/10
This is meant to be eaten alone dipped into the garlic mince and hoisin sauce, or could also be put into the wraps. Unfortunately sigh, this was quite dry, even though this was carved from a Whole-Duck rather than from Half-a-Duck. It was also quite bland in both duck or marination taste. I was quite disappointed with this outcome ~ 6/10
Duck Plate #3 /3 - Meat from Mostly Duck Back and Part of the Thigh
This fared slightly better than above, but was still dry and didn't taste much of anything. It was also sliced way too tiny compared to every other restaurant, which exacerbates the dryness even more. The skin wasn't very crunchy nor crispy either. Look, I'm nit picking here, this was probably acceptable, but when touted as the top Peking Duck in the world, I think it failed to deliver. It is certainly not within the Top 3 Ducks I've had in say Macau or Beijing or anywhere in the world. May be Top 10 at most ~ 6.9/10
This fared slightly better than above, but was still dry and didn't taste much of anything. It was also sliced way too tiny compared to every other restaurant, which exacerbates the dryness even more. The skin wasn't very crunchy nor crispy either. Look, I'm nit picking here, this was probably acceptable, but when touted as the top Peking Duck in the world, I think it failed to deliver. It is certainly not within the Top 3 Ducks I've had in say Macau or Beijing or anywhere in the world. May be Top 10 at most ~ 6.9/10
Pancake Crepe with Fillings -
Lovely Interior -
Pity about the Duck and the food on this visit
Score: ★★★★☆☆
Opening Hours:
Lunch - 11:30 am to 14:30 pm
Dinner - 17:30 pm to 22:30 pm
Address: 中国北京市东长安街1号东方广场, 100738
1 East Chang An Avenue (Grand Hyatt Hotel), Beijing, 100738
Ph: 010-85181234
I've never been too impressed with the Peking duck I've had in Beijing (went to Quanjude and some others which I forgot the name of). Maybe I am too used to the localized HK-style 烤鴨?
ReplyDeleteI found the BJ duck to be too fatty but then the meat was also a bit tough. (Don't get me started about eating 白切雞 or most chicken dishes in China either - the dishes I had have been very tough and stringy, except in Taishan/Shunde area)
Dear Maria,
ReplyDeleteI was never a stern supporter of Quanjude, it seems everyone has had bad experiences with it in the past including myself. But after this visit and compared to a few shops I've visited, I think I really 'owe' Quanjude a favour ~ because seriously, yes it was fatty, but at least it was moist and HAD duck taste. That's why in the end I scored there similar to here.
I have a few more coming up - I would reiterate again. They're all pretty much the same, but 2 shops impressed my slightly more (though not perfect!). I think HK's Peking Ducks aren't that bad afterall! Or chickens ! I actually agree with you about the chicken bit as well, because I go to Canton/Shenzhen area a lot ~ and a lot of so called fresh chickens are either over-cooked or under-cooked, or tasteless. Its not only a matter of freshness or not, but the chicken's cooking method, diet, DNA, male or female, all those sorts of things : )