The delights of Peking Duck

Duck is without doubt one of my favourite meats, and for this reason it only feels right to attribute an article to a classic Chinese dish, namely Peking Duck. Tke a China travel trip, and you will find duck restaurants nationwide so this dish is definitely a must-try on all China tours. This popular dish has certainly made itself known worldwide to the extent that the white duck is often seen as symbolic of China. Indeed, one way in which to totally engross oneself in Chinese culture is to sample this savoury dish.

The typical accompaniments to this dish consist of pancakes, trimmings of spring onion and cucumber sticks to give that extra crunch. Even the duck meat only comprises of about fifty percent of each slice with the crispy fat bringing out the flavours. Finally, sweet bean sauce is applied to top off the dish – let me add that (as I was corrected by a waitress) the sauce is for 'dipping' as opposed to 'dripping' on the pancake. When you bite in to the pancake expect a cool, sweet, slightly salty sensation as the ingredients combine to provide mouth-watering taste.

The beauty of this dish is this that customers can really experience the serving process. For instance, in many Peking Duck restaurants, the carving of the duck will actually be done in front of customers. It sure is a pleasure to see who the chefs, who are normally hidden in the kitchen can show their culinary skill by slicing through the duck ever so finely. The next part is where you come in. In traditional Chinese fashion, you and your friends will dine around a large table with a huge Lazy-Susan and share the dish. The duck per se, is generally presented on a dish which resembles a white Peking Duck. After that, the taste of the dish absolutely depends on how you arrange the ingredients!

In reference to one of my earlier articles, 'Browsing Beijing', I mentioned Quanjude restaurant which indeed ranks highly as a duck eatery. This is a well-established restaurant chain (founded in 1864) and serves over 2 million ducks yearly. Alas, prices at this restaurant do not come cheap, but this is quite obvious considering its reputation with many dignitaries having sampled Quanjude's duck. For a more cost-effective solution, then note that there a surprising amount of local restaurants which serve duck even though it may not be the specialty dish. When all said and done, the next step is to book your China flights and absorb in the culinary delights of the delicious Peking Duck.

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