I had a chance to visit Asia recently and was in great company with my in laws and their relatives. They had suggested that I try the birthplace restaurant of where the "Peking Duck" came from, Quanjude restaurant.
Here is a small blurb from wiki about Quanjude:
Quanjude was established in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty under the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor. Although Peking Duck can trace its history many centuries back, Quanjude's heritage of roast duck preparation – using open ovens and non-smoky hardwood fuel such as Chinese date, peach, or pear to add a subtle fruity flavor with a golden crisp to the skin – was originally reserved for the imperial families.
The first Quanjude manager, Yang Renquan, who started out selling chicken and ducks, paid a retired chef from the palace for the imperial recipe. Soon after, Quanjude began to serve roast duck from the imperial kitchen to the common masses. Yang Renquan opened his first, small quanjude inside Yangrou Hutong in Qianmen (前門), which at the time was one of the busiest areas in Beijing. His restaurant became an instant success and has since grown into the current branch in Qianmen that employs over 400 staff members and can occupy 900 guests at one time. The Qianmen restaurant, along with the many other Quanjude branches, together form one of the largest food enterprises in the nation.
I was lucky to make some online reservations for this restaurant (the original location that started the global trend). If you didn't, there was like 25+people waiting downstairs (I remember seeing a matrix of chairs - at least 5x5). I just arrived in time for dinner from our short walk during shopping along the route and didn't have to wait a single minute.
Food Rating: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Atmosphere:
The interior looks like old fashion restaurants settings you see in the Qing Dynasty but with a modern twist in colour. It was absolute fine in details (even the railings and wall arts) with a beautiful ancient light fixture in the center of the restaurant. We were seated on the second floor and the restaurant was very busy with customers.
Service:
The servers were very helpful. They all coordinated over the microphones in the ears and worked fast. They even took the time to teach us how to eat Peking Duck properly.
Food Comments:
The meal was very expensive for "Peking Duck" even by Canadian price standards. I have to say that it was one of the best tasting ducks I had. The duck had the right ratios of fat, meat and crispy skin. The skin texture was very unique with the sweetness from the fruits infused. The dough skin wrap was as well perfect. It wasn't too sticky and dry or hard. With the many factors that can go wrong, it was the perfect combination all together. My dear was in total agreement with me once we bit into our duck wraps.
Youtube Videos From Event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVkeS7ZoUF4 - how to eat Peking Duck
Food Photos:
Non Food Photos:
Here is a small blurb from wiki about Quanjude:
Quanjude was established in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty under the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor. Although Peking Duck can trace its history many centuries back, Quanjude's heritage of roast duck preparation – using open ovens and non-smoky hardwood fuel such as Chinese date, peach, or pear to add a subtle fruity flavor with a golden crisp to the skin – was originally reserved for the imperial families.
The first Quanjude manager, Yang Renquan, who started out selling chicken and ducks, paid a retired chef from the palace for the imperial recipe. Soon after, Quanjude began to serve roast duck from the imperial kitchen to the common masses. Yang Renquan opened his first, small quanjude inside Yangrou Hutong in Qianmen (前門), which at the time was one of the busiest areas in Beijing. His restaurant became an instant success and has since grown into the current branch in Qianmen that employs over 400 staff members and can occupy 900 guests at one time. The Qianmen restaurant, along with the many other Quanjude branches, together form one of the largest food enterprises in the nation.
I was lucky to make some online reservations for this restaurant (the original location that started the global trend). If you didn't, there was like 25+people waiting downstairs (I remember seeing a matrix of chairs - at least 5x5). I just arrived in time for dinner from our short walk during shopping along the route and didn't have to wait a single minute.
Food Rating: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Atmosphere:
The interior looks like old fashion restaurants settings you see in the Qing Dynasty but with a modern twist in colour. It was absolute fine in details (even the railings and wall arts) with a beautiful ancient light fixture in the center of the restaurant. We were seated on the second floor and the restaurant was very busy with customers.
Service:
The servers were very helpful. They all coordinated over the microphones in the ears and worked fast. They even took the time to teach us how to eat Peking Duck properly.
Food Comments:
The meal was very expensive for "Peking Duck" even by Canadian price standards. I have to say that it was one of the best tasting ducks I had. The duck had the right ratios of fat, meat and crispy skin. The skin texture was very unique with the sweetness from the fruits infused. The dough skin wrap was as well perfect. It wasn't too sticky and dry or hard. With the many factors that can go wrong, it was the perfect combination all together. My dear was in total agreement with me once we bit into our duck wraps.
Youtube Videos From Event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVkeS7ZoUF4 - how to eat Peking Duck
Food Photos:
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| greens with sides for the peking duck |
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| Duck soup - it was great - i was actually very thirsty for something cold |
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| Cute Duck red bean pastry snacks |
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| Sweet yellow bean dessert |
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| Main entrance to Quanjude |
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| I ate you! |
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| Water wasn't cheap ... |
| Address: | 30 Qianmen St, Dongcheng, Beijing, China | ||||||||||||||
| Phone: | +86 10 6511 2418 | ||||||||||||||
| Website: | NA | ||||||||||||||
| Hours: |
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| Map: |
