Best Peking Duck in the city-where?
Please let me know, craving and have not hit the right place yet.
-
-
Having just returned from Beijing for the first time, I find that all the peking/Beijing duck I've eaten in the US or Canada is very different and not as well prepared as the ones in Beijing.
Are there any restaurants in the area which has Peking/Beijing duck similar to those places in Beijing?
(For example, places here generally have a bbq'ed duck, skin and dark meat sliced off, surrounded by shrimp chips. The wrapper is usually a small, split steamed bun. Condiments usually feature hoisin sauce. The skin is usually mediocre.
In Beijing, the wrappers also include thin crepe like pancakes. Sometimes the wrapper will be made with a spinach dough. The skin/fat literally melts in your mouth. Condiments include sugar, hoisin sauce, some other sweet sauce, carrot, onion, cucumber, and others I might be forgetting. Also they will often feature a simple but flavorful soup made from the rest of the carcass/bones/meat. Most important of all though is the quality of the duck and its cooking. Unforgettable. I've never been a huge fan of Peking duck, but after my trip, I appreciate it more.)
›4 Replies-
re: Cary
Robert Lauriston
Oct 12, 2006 07:39 PM
I've never encountered Peking duck skin that melted in my mouth. I expect it to be crunchy.
Some places have buns, some crepes, some a choice.
Never seen any condiments except hoisin and chives. Personally I prefer the skin as is.
-
re: Cary
Melanie Wong
Oct 12, 2006 07:41 PM
What you described with shrimp chips, hoisin and steamed buns in the Cantonese presentation of Peking duck, though not barbecued but roasted with a glazed crispy skin. That said, some places that use this as a loss leader cheat by taking a Cantonese roast duck and deep-frying it...to be avoided.
In Beijing, you would not be served hoisin sauce, but a bean and wheat-based condiment called tianmian jiang. It's been a while since I've ordered it China Village in Albany, but it was served with pancakes and the tianmian jiang was available if you asked for it. (The owner said that hoisin was the default because that's what customers were accustomed to.) However, I didn't like the duck at CV that much as they don't have the special ovens to make it. Great China in Berkeley is another place that you can try for something closer to the Beijing original. The Mandarin was also known for this. Many Hong Kong-style restaurants locally, such as The Kitchen in Millbrae, will offer the duck two-ways or three-ways with the stir-fry of the meat and a soup made with the bones, but the not with pancakes. So, you may not be able to find the entire presentation you're seeking.
-
re: Melanie Wong
You're right, there wasn't a hoisin sauce served; it wasn't as cloying and thick, but it was used the same way. I forgot to ask what it was specifically.
There is another brown sauce which I couldn't identify. It seems to be primarily used when taking a small piece of the premium skin/fat slices, dipping a little in sugar (if you want), and then dipping into the sauce before eating. Any idea on what it is?
-
-
-
Robert Lauriston
Oct 12, 2006 06:17 PM
If you're venturing out of SF, Daimo in Richmond makes great Peking duck. It's a particularly good value since the price includes a second dish with the stir-fried meat.
-
-
Robert Lauriston
Oct 12, 2006 12:52 AM
-
Melanie Wong
Oct 12, 2006 12:38 AM
We've had second-hand and older reports that The Mandarin's duck is all that after all these years. Pls. let us know if you try it.
