Monday, October 10, 2011

The dish that put Peking on the map: Roast Duck

As cliche as it sounds, when in Beijing a Roast Duck has got to be done. After considering these luminary eateries known for their version (Duck de Chine, Made in China, Da Dong), I decided to go less upscale and check out Liqun Roast Duck, tucked up in the Beixiangfeng hutong.

Off the Tian'an Men drag, we ambled over loose bricks and a dusty path led by handpainted ducks on the brick wall towards the restaurant.






Never one to shy away from a little shabby chic, I instantly loved the small hole-in-the-wall feel and local flavour of Liqun. Run by a Beijing family, the first image that hits you as you walk in are the ducks being hoisted out of their huge stone oven and hung out on a rail.

It’s as if we’d entered a secret gambling den. The place isn’t large and its segmented into little rooms. On one table a chef is rummaging through what looks like a mound of duck’s tongues. On another a family has already finished their Beijing Kaoya (Peking Roast Duck!). My tummy growls and it’s not even noon.







Just as well we’re early as we’re told our duck will take at least an hour to roast. We order vinegared peanuts as a holding dish and regret it immediately as the sour, crunchy nuts don’t do our appetite any favours. But lo and behold, a chef bounces over in 40 minutes gesturing towards a beautiful, looking bird “Ni de kaoya/Your duck”. He wastes no time slicing it up, its dark bronze armour glistening and teasing my heart erm, tummy. Its meat is ever so slightly pink and so succulent we could have passed up on the hoisin sauce. Tasting spring onion, cucumber, crispy duck skin, meat in a paper thin wrapper has got to be one of the best things in life. Note: the hoisin sauce was kinda different to what I’ve known. This one had a black bean element lurking in the background. 





I’ll have to try the other famed kaoya places in Beijing, but I really took to the boho feel of Liqun. Speckled mirrors, old furniture and no English add to the fun of this place. Roast duck with the classic trimmings (and a proud little doggy bag at the end) for 2 people was circa RMB 230. 


11号 Beixiangfeng Hutong
Dongcheng, Beijing, China
010-67055578

12 comments:

The Yum List said...

Brave girl! I don't know if I would have thought my tummy could handle that little shop.

Mr Noodles said...

I never did make it out to Liqun, but as you quite rightly say, it has that shabby chic quality!

As an alternative to really posh places like Da Dong, I can recommend Ya Wang (aka Duck King - no English sign though). It's smarter than Liqun but not too pricey and popular with locals. There's a few branches around the city.

Baby Sumo said...

I love the feel of the place too. But probably may have been a little scared to step foot inside :P

Sean said...

wow, i LOVE the drawing of the duck on the wall pointing to the restaurant! it's like something out of a scavenger hunt!

Kay said...

..amazing you could find this place..the roasted duck hanging outside the so-call oven looks very very delicious....loh...

Hungry Female said...

Yum, Yen: It looks like a hole-in-the-wall but it's got a great atmosphere. And awesome duck of course:)
Mr Noodles: Thanks for the tip! I will surely be comparing and constrasting!
Sean: Yeah! All the guides say to follow the ducks!
Kay: Was so tempted to take one for the road!

J2Kfm said...

Great find, I guess this would be a place that even the locals would go for their roast ducks.
But then again ... 40 minutes-1 hour? No pre-ordering option?

Hungry Female said...

Motormouth: there is a pre-ordering option actually, we just weren't so organised! Definitely very local.

Lex (A Food Story) said...

Wow that place has some good looking duck, don't think I'd ever get to a place like that though, you might have to be my tour guide around Asia :)

Hungry Female said...

Hi Lex! Book the flights! I'm at the ready! Shu

Mirko said...

Hi! I am a friend of Hsiu ling who intro'd me to your blog....love it!

Hungry Female said...

Hi Mirko! Thanks for reading my blog! Posting has been slower here in CN but I'm doing my best to still post about fun and interesting things so stay tuned! Hi to HL for me:)