Beijing Roast Duck

We had an awesome night out in Beijing. We had a ton of food of different sorts. Our friend Arthur invited us to a very nice family restaurant, which specializes in Peking / Beijing Duck.

Arthur was a great host and ordered the food for all of us. There was way too much food for us to eat it all, perhaps this is the Chinese custom. We will describe the menu for all you Canadians:

Appetizers: Cold sliced duck liver, and duck feet in mustard sauce. The liver was great, and the duck feet tasted good, although the consistency was a little chewy.

Soup: Beef strips, bean sprouts, other sprouts, carrots and sliced jalapenos in a spicy broth. We all enjoyed the soup very much.


Main courses: Famous Beijing roast duck, sliced at the table. This was eaten on a flat bread (similar to a fajita), with a really tasty brown sauce, onion and cucumber strips, all rolled up. The skin was crunchy and the meat was quite tender. We all enjoyed very much. Roya was having a particularly good time making her roll. They brought the best part of the duck (from the head) on a separate plate for us to enjoy.

Sliced duck in a brown sauce, including duck liver, gizzards and hearts. Very tasty!

Steamed broccoli, with some kind of seasoning which we are not sure what it was, but quite good.

Shrimp, with the shell and head still attached. Arthur was much more skilled at peeling them than we were!

Dessert: pastries with a sweet, custard-like filling. Arthur got them mainly for the girls, but we enjoyed them too.

We were served Chinese tea throughout the meal. The girls enjoyed having a lazy Susan on the table, and liked trying out the chopsticks. Roya is particularly adept with them now.

The food was very rich and filling. Certainly different from the Canadianized Chinese food we get at home! I can't believe Arthur's generosity. He was the perfect host. I hope that we can repay him in some fashion.


CM + NM