Peking Duck

Wednesday, June 11, 2008--Beijing (Continued)

All the guidebooks say that one must try Peking Duck when in Beijing, so I decided that tonight was the night for doing it. One of the restaurants that is highly recommended is just around the corner from my hotel--the Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant. It's a huge place with 5 floors. I was directed to the 4th food. Most people were there in big parties, so I am sure they hate to see a single person like me come into the place. But they treated me well. It was a fancy place. When I set my bag on the floor beside me, they picked it up, put it in a chair, and then placed a fabric cover over it. The chopsticks were resting on a ceramic duck holder. The tablecloths were gold for the bottom cloth and read for the place cloth. The room was elegantly decorated, and all the waitresses wore beautiful costumes with long, split skirts.

I ordered half a duck which is really enough duck for 2 persons. I am sure that parties of 4-5 generally order one whole duck. But I don't think it is possible to order less than a half which my guidebook had mentioned was available. The prices must have already been raised for the Olympics, because the price in my guidebook which was published earlier this year was about 60% of the present menu price at the restaurant. Instead of paying 58 yuan for half a duck, I had to pay 99. But I knew it would be an experience that I should have. I also ordered the usual dark sauce, scallions, rice pancakes (paper thin wrappers like are used for spring rolls), and a beer.

The chefs wheel the duck out on a cart and carve it at the table. They brought out a whole duck to carve my half. When they finished, half was bones and the other half was complete. First the chef cut off part of the skin and served it with a small bowl of sugar. One is supposed to eat it while it is hot and crispy and while the carver is cutting up the rest of the duck. It was delicious and felt as if I were having dessert first. They put the rest of the skin on the bottom of a plate, covered it with the bits and pieces of meat off the leg and wing, and then topped it all with the slices of the breast. Then they cut the neck and put it on another plate.

I had been watching other tables while I waited and already had surmised that it should be eaten like tacos at home--by putting some of the meat and the scallions in the wrapper and folding and rolling it up. But the waitress picked up my chopsticks and prepared the first one for me as a lesson in how to prepare them properly. She put the wrapper flat on my plate. Picked up 2 pieces of meat one at a time, dipping them in the sauce and then placing them on the top half of the wrapper. She picked up two pieces of scallions and placed them on the meat. Then she folded the bottom half of the wrapper up over the meat and scallions. Finally, she folded each side over on top to create a bundle which could be held in the hands and would not leak out of the bottom. It was WONDERFUL!! I ate, and ate, and ate. By the end, I was putting 3-4 pieces of meat in each wrapper to avoid becoming too full. But I ate all of the duck, all of the sauce, and all of the scallions while leaving a few of the wrappers. I was stuffed!!! At the bottom of the plate were the smaller pieces of skin, so I dipped them into the remaining sugar for dessert. It was a greasy, high-cholesterol dinner, but a delicious one.

I wouldn't want to have it too often because of the calories and the fat. But I noticed that most people there were having celebrations. I think it must be only an occasional treat for everyone. It was a good experience for me.

Thursday, June 12, 2008--Beijing

I have to leave Beijing on Saturday. It may be a good day for leaving, since it looks as if the forecast may call for rain. But I have been lucky to have sunny days (to the extent that the sun can get through the smog) since I arrived.

China seems to be like India when it comes to train tickets. They sell out early, so it is necessary to go to the stations and stand in long lines to buy tickets in advance of travel. I made going to the station my first priority today. I will go to Datong from here. It's a town on the edge of the Mongolian Steppes. There are several trains from the western station here in Beijing, but I wanted to be sure I could get a ticket for Saturday morning. I went to the counter that is for foreign tourists and bought my ticket getting exactly what I wanted--a reserved seat on the 8:50 train Saturday morning. It will be a 5 1/2 hour trip getting me there around 14:30. I also wanted to buy a ticket for the night train from Datong to Pingyao, but the lady said I must buy it in Datong. Guess they haven't computerized all the trains so that tickets can be sold from anywhere. I hope there will be a sleeping berth available for Sunday night when I get there on Saturday afternoon!

From the train station, I took the metro and a bus to the Summer Palace. It's another of the big tourist sites here in town. Mainly, it is a park. All the old buildings which may have been part of the palace complex are mostly used for selling food, souvenirs, etc. But it is a wonderful park for strolling. There is a huge temple complex on top of a hill at the northern entrance. I walked part of the way up to see it, but I am so tired of temples I didn't think it would be worth it for me to climb the whole way. Besides, I am still tired from everything else I have been doing this week. After taking some photos and seeing the lower levels of the temple, I walked back down and took a circular route through the park. I stopped at a small garden built around a pond filled with water lillies and enjoyed hearing a local group playing music on harmonicas and a tubular instrument. I walked around part of the lake. I relaxed and enjoyed the breezes coming off the lake. I watched people in paddle boats and on tour boats in the lake. It's a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon.

I am so tired that the only thing I still plan to do today is to have dinner and go to my room. I'll read my guidebook to see what I will do tomorrow, since it will be my last day to enjoy the city.