Duck de Chine

Price guide: Expensive

1949 – The Hidden City, Courtyard 4 , Gongti North Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing

Price guide: Expensive

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Duck

By Tom O'Malley, your Beijing expert

I write for Travel and Leisure (SE .... Read more
#1 of 30
expert-rated restaurants in Beijing
Expert overall rating:4.9 out of 5
Food and drink:
4.8
4.8
Ambience:
4.7
4.7
Service:
4.8
4.8
Location:
4.3
4.3
Value for money:
4
4.0
Recommended for:
First-time travellers, Foodies, Special occasions, Trendiness

Expert review of Duck de Chine

Last updated 15 April 2011

Delicious roast duck and classy Cantonese fare in one of the sexiest dining rooms in the city.

This swanky roast duckery is hands-down my restaurant of choice if I’m out to impress. The loft-like, industrial-chic space extends to adroit chefs in slate grey robes, who deftly carve Beijing’s signature into moist slices of pale meat attached to brittle skin the colour of burnt treacle. Though the locals would be loath to admit it, this Hong-Kong operation is beating Beijing at its own game.

Food and drink: 

Cantonese father-son chef duo Peter and Wilson Lam have formulized what they believe to be the perfect Peking duck: 43 day old, 2kg birds, roasted for a longer than usual 65 minutes over 30 year-old jujube wood. Dipped in a zappy, Cantonese-style duck sauce, and folded into gently steamed pancakes, the results are hard to refute. Supporting dishes are largely faultless too, and the dim sum is up there with Beijing’s best.

Ambience: 

Effortlessly chic and stylish, and probably the only duck restaurant in town you could deign to call romantic.

Service: 

Most other restaurants in Beijing don’t come close to the composed, attentive service here.

Location: 

Inside the ‘1949 – The Hidden City’ complex, which, like the name suggests, is tricky to find. Head southeast from Sanlitun Village and make your way through or around the Pacific Place Century building – it’s just behind it.

Price advice: 

Any restaurant that boasts ‘Beijing’s first Bollinger Bar’ gives you an idea of the price. Look out for half-price dim sum deals at lunch – a steal for the quality.

More information on Duck de Chine:

Price guide:
Expensive
Type:
Restaurant
Food:
Chinese
Address:
1949 – The Hidden City, Courtyard 4 , Gongti North Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Telephone:
+86 10 6501 1949
Serves:
Lunch, Dinner
Opening times:
Daily 11am-2.30pm, 6-11pm
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Reservations:
Essential at peak times
Free tags / Keywords:
Peking duck, Cantonese, dim sum

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