After our long day of exploring Beijing, Chris and I were
famished. It was time to forage for Beijing Duck.
The first time I ever considered trying Beijing Duck was
when our Chinese Teacher, Jie, taught us the phrase,
“Beijing Kaoya Hen Hao Chi”
(Pronounced Beijing Cow Ya Hen How Chur”) As she said this sentence, she rolled her
eyes back in her head, and she rubbed her stomach. I knew from that moment eating Beijing duck
was on the bucket list.
After we had cleaned up from our day’s adventures, we headed
down to the concierge and asked,
“Where is a good place to eat duck?”
“Go to Quanjude Duck Restaurant. They have good duck.”
So, we headed down two blocks to a place I like to call duck
heaven. The restaurant served four
levels of hungry folks who wanted to eat duck.
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| If they didn't have good duck, at least they had a fun statue. |
Chris and I were seated in a crowded, loud cafeteria like
room. Lesson # I stopped counting: If you are going out for duck and want
ambience, make a reservation.
We ordered the duck and hoped for the best.
About ten minutes later, Chris and I embarked on what is
known as a culinary religious experience.
A man in a chef hat wheeled out the most beautiful roast duck.
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| The chef prepares to carve a work of art. |
While the chef slowly cut off the excess duck skin (the
tastiest part), a waitress set a plate of thin tortilla-like pancakes, a brown
sauce, and scallions on our table. She
then handed me a commemorative post card identifying the duck (complete with
bar code).
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| It has been mentioned that China has some food safety issues. This Duck was certified AWESOME! |
I sampled the skin… it was crispy, but melted in my
mouth. It was better than anything Col.
Sanders could EVER produce.
When the chef finished carving the duck, the real feast
commenced. There is a special way to eat
Beijing duck. We dipped the duck in the
sauce and placed it in the pancake/wrap.
Then, we added the scallions.
Finally, we wrapped it up and dug in!
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| Bring on the duck!!! |
As we took our first bites, we entered a culinary nirvana similar
to that experienced at Thanksgiving dinner.
All I can say is Beijing Kaoya hen hao chi!
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| AMAZING! I LOVE Beijing duck! |
