Duck, Duck, Goo.... Duck

Well, my friends, my third day off has come around which means I have an opportunity to write a little bit more, considering I don't have to come home straight from work and go to bed. As I sit in my dining room, enjoying a bag of blueberry potato chips,

I can't help but look back at the meal that I had last night, and smile. There was one dish that I told myself that I had to eat before making my way back to the states, and that dish was Peking duck. Peking Duck, or Beijing Duck, is a long process, that begins with blowing air into the bird to separate the skin from the meat, then roasting it in a wood-burning oven, all the while basting the outside of the bird with a sugar solution to ensure the skin is deliciously crispy on the outside and the meat is mouth wateringly (is that a word?) tender on the inside. There is a small duck place right around the corner from my apartment, and I have gone there a few times, but I wanted to experience the real deal Holyfield. There are said to be two restaurants in Beijing that serve the best duck; DaDong Reastaurant and Made In China in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We chose Made In China.

First of all, when we pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel, my outlook on Beijing shifted just a little bit. "This place is beautiful," I thought to myself as I stepped out. It is a completely different Beijing than the one that I am staying in, a place full of five star hotels. I felt like Burt Reynolds, or something.


The restaurant was gorgeous, the service was outstanding, and we got to meet the chef. He gave us his business card, and we are all going to take him out to dinner one night. It should be interesting to share ideas with a world-class chef!

Anyway, we ordered the duck as soon as we got there. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare before it gets to our table. So in the meantime we ordered a bottle of wine, and a couple appetizers to tide us over until the main course arrived. The appetizers were as follows; lamb pancakes (which was more like a quesadilla filled with lamb. Taco Bell eat your heart out!), poached cuttlefish with cilantro and smoked bamboo, smoked and chilled duck breast with kimchi, geoduck clam with glass noodles, beef knuckle salad, pork dumplings (which were made right in front of us in one of three open kitchens), and duck gizzards in a spicy peanut sauce. Each dish was good as the next but I must admit that I was quite fond of the duck gizzards and the geoduck clam. Both items that I have never had before, and both items that would eat again, and again, and again for the rest of my life!
But these dishes couldn't even compare to what I was about to experience. The dish that made made my meal. The dish that forced me to put my night at Made in China in my top ten food experiences of all-time. the dish that I took one bite of, threw down my chopsticks, sat back in my chair, closed my eyes, and enjoyed every bite. All I can say is.... if Heaven has a roast duck restaurant, that's most likely where you'll find me in the afterlife.





The duck is carved tableside, and is put on the table in three courses. The chef was gracious enough to come back to our table and explain to us the method of eating each course. The first course that came out was the skin. It came out hotter than Haiti, and we all took a piece of the crispy skin and we were to dunk it into the little bowl of sugar they had layed out in front of us. You put the skin in your mouth and you immediately get the sensation of sweet and savory, but it only lasts a short moment, before the skin melts in your mouth. It was a flavor sensation, one that I could not re-create even if I tried. The second course was the breast meat. Tender, and moist, we dipped the breast meat in sugar and hoisin sauce, and rolled it in a thin pancake with cucumber batons,and a julienne of leeks. Next came the thigh meat. We did the same with this meat as we did with breast, except added a little chopped garlic to the pancake before we rolled it up. Freakin' AWESOME!!


Oh ya, I created my own fourth course of duck for the evening... duck head. Yes, I did eat the brain. And it was delicious! Plus, I feel smarter now.

We finished our meal, finished our third bottle of wine, and uttered our praises for the meal, as we waited for our check (which came out to just about $42.00 per person). I was completely content. I didn't want to leave. But we had to.

On our way out of the hotel we decided to sit in the lobby lounge and have an after dinner drink. We were sipping our port, I was still smiling like a kid on Christmas, and there was a band serenading us with the musical stylings of Tom Jones and Air Supply. It was the most relaxed I have been in the past three weeks. I needed a night like last, and look forward to taking in even more of this place in the next month.

I just hope that I was able to convey just how special last night was. I know that typing really doesn't do it justice, but it was, by far, the best night that I have had since landing in Beijing. I just hope that each and every one of you are able to experience a night similar to this at least one time in your life. You need it!