A Gastronomic Guide to Beijing

The duck question

Peking duck dates to the Ming and Qing courts, when the palace kitchens developed the hanging oven, and the dish remains a measure of the city’s cooks. In a hanging oven (gualu) ducks roast one at a time, to order, over fruitwood fires; the older closed oven (menlu) cooks them in batches. A chef carves the bird into more than a hundred pieces, and the usual order is skin first, often dipped in sugar, then the meat wrapped in a thin pancake with spring onion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce. The leftover meat may come back stir-fried and the bones as broth.

Da Dong is known for a leaner, exceptionally crisp version, while Jing Yaa Tang serves wood-roasted duck in a stylish Sanlitun dining room. Comparing the two is one of the pleasures of a visit.

Beyond the duck

Northern cooking is built on wheat. Zhajiangmian is hand-pulled noodles with fried minced pork and fermented soybean paste, to which you add cucumber, bean sprouts and radish at the table. Dumplings have thick, slightly chewy wrappers and hearty fillings, and pan-fried ones are generally preferred to boiled. In winter, lamb hotpot (shuan yangrou) is cooked in a copper pot with a clean broth, thin slices of Inner Mongolian lamb and a sesame-paste sauce that carries the meal; go with four or more people and avoid the 6 to 8 pm peak. Beijing food is salty, so ask for less salt if you prefer, and at breakfast look for jianbing, a crepe with egg and crisp cracker, from a hutong cart.

At the other end of the spectrum, King’s Joy, near the Lama Temple, presents vegetarian cuisine with the precision of fine dining.

Practical advice

Many local menus are in Chinese only, so use a translation app’s camera, and carry cash or set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive. Duck restaurants fill quickly, particularly at weekends, so book ahead. For a hotel near the old city or in Chaoyang, see where to stay in Beijing.

Sources: National Geographic: Peking duck; Travel China With Me: Where to eat in Beijing. Check the official websites for current information.