The mighty ducks

Eating Peking roast duck rates alongside climbing the Great Wall as a must-do while in Beijing, for both foreign expats and Chinese tourists. Among the fast-changing trends of the food world, Peking roast duck is one of the few enduring classics, with a history stretching back to 400AD.

For the Chinese, Quanjude (the name means, "a complete gathering of virtues") is the most popular of the local roast duck restaurants, but it is no longer the only famous chain serving this specialty. There are also Da Dong, Bian Yi Fang, and Ya Wang (King Roast Duck). Foreigners also like Li Qun, a courtyard restaurant, and Li Kang, a longstanding and reasonably priced duck eatery.

In the six years he stayed in Beijing, American James Heinritz went to Quanjude one or two times and Da Dong several times, but his favorite is Li Kang, "because it is not oily". The former general manager of a restaurant in Colorado admitted that he did not eat much duck before, because it is not a regular food for Americans. But now he visits the duck restaurants once in a while.