66723 Wed Feb 16 03:41:57 -0800 2005 5 2 Los Angeles Area 0 361054 hit ludingee tonight with a coupla friends. the idea of peking duck stuck while playing tennis and i had to have it. its in the old location of what used to be "jzy cafe" or something like that. used to do northern bread and noodle dishes, nice ambience. since there were only three of us we got the duck three ways: 1.carved peking duck with crepes scallions and cucumber 2.bean sprouts with duck 3.duck bone soup. and the sliced fatty pork with garlic sauce. frankly i was kinda disappointed. i know there have been some good reviews here but i thought it was so so. it quenched my hankering for peking duck for sure, but was nothing mind blowing. the duck tasted like it had been out for a bit of time. perhaps cooked and cut before we arrived. (we ordered an hour ahead of time as suggested) skin was crisp, but not done to perfection. the carved meat was not particularly oily and was of a texture that almost made me think the meat was boiled. (i actually asked how it was prepared, and they said that the whole thing was stuck in the oven) i think perhaps the main problem is the quality of duck they use. while outside, i noticed some boxes in the trash can and they were the boxes of frozen ducks. without heads. without organs. frozen. i dont know how ducks are normally sold but i remember the duck at quanjude being carved at the table, head in tact. meat juicy and oily. crepes were decent (but not right out of the steamer) the scallions were precut and slightly wilty. as were the cucumbers (and slightly soggy) the pork dish was okay as well. perhaps im spoiled becuase i normally eat these dishes while in beijing. i definitely remember quanjude being much better than this duck, although i havent eaten there for about 3 or 4 years. bean sprouts were decent. couldnt complain. the soup was a bit lacking in long cooked bone flavor. kinda wimpy. oh well. it satisfied my craving. Wed Feb 16 03:41:57 -0800 2005 0 modernist 1 361056 oh yeah, judging from the accents. i think the place is run by taiwanese. which you can use to evaluate for yourself any way you like Wed Feb 16 03:51:44 -0800 2005 361054 0 modernist 1 361098 Too bad. Not tried it but had PD recently at King's Palace in San Gabriel and liked it there. Wed Feb 16 13:28:19 -0800 2005 361054 0 vidia 1 361119 I'd agree it's nowhere near what QJD was, but I'm just so thankful to be able to eat duck with crepes & tian mian jiang for a change, after wandering in the man tou & hai xian jiang wilderness. Like if there were only one taco stand with fresh tortillas and good salsa verde, I'd be there even if the carnitas were not the best. Wed Feb 16 14:20:03 -0800 2005 361054 0 Robert Lu 2 361168 robert, yes, i agree, i forgot to mention that the tian mian jiang was quite tasty! overall, it still does the trick nicely... Wed Feb 16 16:05:31 -0800 2005 361119 0 modernist 3 361190 So there is no X*@&!()#! Santa Claus. Well, I'll still try it. I was hoping against hope. The Kings Palace is a huaiyang place. I wonder if they have real beggars chicken. Saw today that empress pavilion has beggars chicken, they call it fugui though in chinese(bad sign #1) but it might come in the baked clay. Someone else can be the guinea pig for that one. Advance order required. Wed Feb 16 17:58:25 -0800 2005 361168 0 Jerome