Before I left the hotel for my first day out in Beijing, I had a banana from the fruit bowl that had greeted me in my room when I arrived the night before. On the frozen tundra that was Tiananmen Square, I was dying for something hot. Surprisingly, there were no food vendors on the square. So I did without. In the Forbidden City, I got what turned out to be a very popular treat at Beijing attractions–a (bunless) hot dog on a stick. It was a little funny to see the locals chowing down on these. Later in the afternoon, I went to a Chinese fast food restaurant and happily got an order of “Golden Nuggets”. I’m certainly not going to go to McDonald’s in China. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to enjoy some nuggets! I washed them down with a Mirinda. I looked this up to find that it’s an orange soda originally from Spain but now produced by Pepsi.
In the evening, it was time for my most anticipated meal of the trip. Peking duck! I started out with an appetizer of cold spicy chicken Sichuan style. This was definitely intended for more than one person. As you can see in the picture above, it came with the with the same orange oil slick that my braised catfish in Shanghai was served with. It was tasty, a little weird, and definitely oily. I got a side dish of tender peas with ham in olive oil. Surprisingly, this was a tiny serving. Lovely presentation though, isn’t it?
The picture below shows the condiments that came with the Peking duck. I’m not sure what they all were. On the right is the sugar for dipping the skin. Scallions were strategically cut at the ends so they could be used as brushes to paint the sweet bean sauce onto small pancakes. The duck meat is placed in the pancakes, which are then folded up into bite-sized portions.
This was another time where I had a super-cute, super-sweet waitress and also a somewhat nonchalant waiter. I ordered the “super lean duck”. Seemed like a good decision to me. While waiting for my dinner to arrive, a waiter and then a manager came over to comment, “Oh, you got the big duck!” Finally, the waitress presented the bird and announced, “Your big duck, sir.” Then she took it away. I was pretty confused by this point. I could see that a cook looked like maybe he was slicing up the duck further away in the dining room. Then the waitress came back with the sliced-up bird. She proceeding to demonstrate how the duck is eaten (as described above).
I had some of the skin dipped in sugar. It had a strong, pungent flavor. It reminded me of the aroma of grilled street food being prepared at sidewalk stands I had passed by. On the street, the smell was interesting. But the flavor of the skin just wasn’t working for me. And the addition of sugar just created an incongruent combination. The meat worked out much better. The preparation, however, was a lot of work. Naturally, my folded-up pancakes weren’t nearly as neat and tidy as the one the waitress had prepared. After a while, a bowl of soup appeared. I realized that the soup had been prepared with the scrapings of the roasting pan and flavored with duck innards. Nothing goes to waste! But it didn’t look entirely appetizing to me. I think maybe I tasted a little bit.
Despite what it may look like in the picture above, it was a lot of duck. And the pancakes made the meal even more filling. Because I left most of the soup and the skin, I made an effort to finish all of the meat. I was one stuffed bird myself when I was finished. I overhead an English-speaking couple at the next table order. They were asking about the size of the servings. They ended up getting a small duck, which the waitress assured them was sufficient for 2 people. It was at this time I realized my duck would have easily served 4. No wonder the staff was making such a big deal of my order! (Was it ironic that the super lean duck came only in large?)
No, they don’t give you fortune cookies at the end of your meal in China. But at the end of my duck dinner, I was presented with these delicious mandarin oranges(?), tangerines (?). They were a satisfying end to a momentous meal.
Yes, my dinner of Peking duck was the most momentous meal of my trip. A dinner of Peking duck makes for a very ceremonial experience. This only makes sense as it was regularly prepared for emperors over centuries. But I wouldn’t get it again. It’s sort of like lobster. A lot of work for diminishing returns. I could have completely passed on the skin and the soup. Oh, and what was with those twin Sichuan oil spills with the appetizer? Yes, unfortunately, six days down, and I was still looking for the first deeply satisfying Chinese meal.
[Disclaimer: Many people have heard me state that I don’t eat red meat. However, I do eat red meat when I travel overseas. This is for two reasons. One, I don’t want to unnecessarily restrict myself when it comes to trying local dishes. Two, sometime it’s hard to get something that doesn’t contain beef or pork when eating overseas. And who could resist a hot dog on a stick at the Forbidden City?]
I totally would order Peking Duck, but what is with the sugar as a condiment? And they say Americans have an unhealthy diet. Wow!
I had Peking duck once. That was enough for me.