Quanjude Hepingmen Branch

Before the city's name was changed to Beijing it was known as Peking. So that tells you a lot about the history of Peking duck This place is very large but still garners an immense crowd. You may have to wait a good thirty minutes day or night. The atmosphere is exciting in that everyone seems to be anxious to have their meals. I had the pleasure of eating with a Chinese family of three, husband, wife and young daugther who I met while waiting for a table. They invited me to their table seeing I was alone. This blew my mind. They were in charge of ordering which included appetizes and the full duck. My Manadarin was as good as their english which means basically we smiled and nodded without understanding one word between us. Except the univesal word "Yum".The duck is exquisite and nothing like you have ever had. Served table side wrapped with scallions in crepe style pancake. Tender and juicy. The closet thing stateside I can recommend is Shun Lee in NYC near Lincoln Center. But back to Quanjude. I did hear there were other places some preferred possibly for decor or ambiance, I can't imagine any place better for duck than Quanjude. It is by no means elegent and does not include western style washrooms but it is very clean. I believe it has affliliations with the Chinese government to some extent. So it is a trust worthy place to dine. Be very wary of regular duck houses. Stay far away. Only eat at places recommended by Inn keepers and travel guides. Overall this was a perfect treat and one of the best meals I have ever had. And how can you beat a restauraunt that was established in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty under the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor and continuing to use receipes and techniques handed down since those palace days. They even have a "duck served counter" with over 115 million served since 1864. Oh if only there was one in NYC.....

I think this is more authentic roast duck than the Dadong Roast duck. The staff was helpful, however they didn't speak much English. The pancakes were my favorite compared to Dadong and the Hoison was thicker. The duck itself was fattier and greasier and we did not get as much meat from the duck. It was worth a visit to compare to the other more contemporary location that we tried.