beaverk's VirtualTourist Home Page

One of the best Beijing duck place in Beijing. Listed as top five by That's Beijing this year. Well, guess what! This whole section of hutong is going down in a big way. On my recent trip to this dirty gem in the tongs, the owner told me, "Yep!, confirmed, his place is also coming down soon!" They will relocate to some place he's not sure where yet. But gone will be the ancient oven where all the ducks are cooked to such perfection. Gone are the courtyard rooms with greasy tables and 1960s decor. Gone are the pictures of everyone from Jet Li to the finance minister of France on the walls.

What made the duck from here so special? Well, it is straight forward and pure. The duck meat is juicy. Not too fatty, and it is served with very thin tortas and simple seafood sauce, cumcumber and scallions. Nothing fancy like Da Dong or any of these other upscale joints. It's just duck in its purest form. And the place has been here forever. Well, at least it feels like it's been there since the Qing dynasty...

How did I find out about this place? Well, back in 1998..ahem..yea..been going to this place for that long. I was staying at the executive floor of the Grand Hyatts. One day I was thinking of duck and guess what...the Grand Hyatt recommended this place as one of the best in town. So of course I had to try it out. First time going there, I got dropped off at the entrance of the hutong by a cab and a waiter came out of the hutong to pick me up! We walked into this hutong, pass the little shop that sold freshly made noodles, the public bathroom, the fruit stands, the bicycle repair stand, five minutes later I am in a ally, then into a old dirty courtyard place where the ducks are cooked right there inside the front entrance!!! I was oh so hungry by the time I sat down...

This last week we went we end up with 30 people in our party and we ordered eight ducks but it just did not seem enough. I think I will go back again just to make sure this institution, before it goes the way with all the rest of old beijing (rubbles and dirt), gets the respect it deserves!

All the hutong houses around it is being knocked down! I'm freaking out just walking by these scars on the land. The restaurant is of course packed beyond belief! We went at 6PM, by the time 7PM came along, the line was out the door. Of course one should becareful of the tricycles outside. They are a bit tricky with their prices. No more than 10 RMB per cab no matter how many persons.

All gone.

Just got back from a small vacation to Hainan island. Six days of hot tropical sun and I am toasted! Now peeling non stop. Went to BED the other night and Cho the owner says I look like an Indian boy. Most of my friends either laugh their heads off or do not know who I am in the first few seconds they see me.

Hainan is awesome but with problems. Nonetheless I would definitely go back again. I took over two hundreds pictures and checked out four of the five star hotels at Yalong Bay. Will be posting the various elements in the next few days. it is weird I am walking around Beijing with this super dark tan and I stick out like a used coal cake....hehe