Headed to Beijing? How does a scrumptious, memorable meal sound to you? Fresh in our memories from our recent trip to Beijing is the Da Dong Roast Duck restaurant and we highly recommend it!
On our first night in Beijing, we tried another Peking duck restaurant – Pein Yi Fang. We paid about RMB180 per duck (~USD30). The duck was delicious but it wasn’t spectacular. The skin had a layer of fat and was not crisp as we had expected. We were also disappointed that the no smoking rule was not enforced at this restaurant – the room was full of cigarette smoke towards the end of dinner.
Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant however was a world of difference! Even the no-smoking rule is enforced which we were very happy with.
Asking someone in Beijing where to eat the best roast duck is like asking someone in Japan where to eat the best sushi. There are various different roast duck restaurants in the city and you will no doubt get different recommendations depending on who you ask. But if you were to ask us, it is Da Dong, hands down!
There are plenty of Peking duck restaurants in Beijing (obviously!) but the best has got to be Da Dong Roast Duck!
We were happy that the no smoking rule was enforced at Da Dong!
Loved the touch of class that the various decors added to the place!
The ducks hang from hooks, taken fresh from the brick ovens. It all happens behind this glass. The glass was overly reflective unfortunately, so we weren’t able to get a good shot of the cooking process from where we were at.
While waiting to be seated, you can hang out at the bar area or on the side tables while admiring the duck roasting process.
What makes a good Peking roast duck? It’s all about the skin! On a regular roast duck, the skin is still fatty and attached to the meat. On a Peking duck, the fat is mostly gone, leaving only a thin layer of skin wrapped around the flavorful and juicy duck meat. The skin is crisp, light, thin and melts in your mouth. Dip it in sugar and it’s pure heaven. I could eat an entire plate of just good roast duck skin for dinner!
Your roast duck is skillfully prepared and served table side.
It’s all about the skin! The skin is crisp, light, thin and melts in your mouth.
This plate of garnish is an extra RMB8 per person charge on your bill – totally worth it though! The plate contains grated garlic, sweet black sauce, white spring onion, grated radish and julianned cucumber. Dip the crispy skin in sugar and it’s pure heaven! Use the rest of the topping for eating with the duck meat.
In traditional Peking duck, you wrap the duck meat in a thin layer of pancake. In Da Dong, you’ll also be provided with crisp buns besides the thin “pancakes”. Don’t worry, the server will demonstrate exactly how to eat and fully enjoy your roast duck using all the garnishes and wraps that are provided.
Use the pancakes with loads of duck meat and garnish and eat it like a spring roll! Save the skin for dipping with sugar.
Besides the duck, they have a host of other dishes (the menu is about 100 pages thick!). Most dishes are illustrated by beautiful pictures and are well described in english. Every dish we ordered were delicious – from the seahorse soup to the veal to the tofu to the roast duck!
We love the attention to detail in every dish we were served.
We ordered a separate duck dish besides roast duck and it too was delicious!
At the end fo the meal, we were served some sort of citrusy sorbet and a fresh plate of lychees, on the house. What a great way to end our meal!
There are also private/VIP rooms that you can reserve for a larger group. It was RMB400 (~USD63) per room if we recall correctly (no, we didn’t reserve a private room. Too expensive in our opinion plus we loved the ambience in the dining area outside).
Our meal at Da Dong was definitely memorable – one that we’ll remember Beijing by, besides the Great Wall of China!
The other famous roast duck restaurant we heard about is Quanjude. We unfortunately did not have time to visit that restaurant on this trip. If you’ve been to Quanjude and Da Dong, what did you think about the two? Which did you like better?
[notification type=”star”]TAKEAWAYS:
- Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant – we highly recommend having dinner at this restaurant on your trip to Beijing!
- There are several locations of Dadong. The Da Dong restaurant branch we went to is located at 1-2/F, Nanxincang International Plaza, 22A Dontshishitiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China. Phone: 86-(0)10-5169-0329
- It is very easy to get to. Just take the Beijing Subway and stop at Line 2, Dongshishitiao (东四十条). It’s a short walk from the station.
- You can just ask anyone in the area, say “Da Dong” and they’ll point you to the restaurant.
- The roast duck at this restaurant will set you back RMB238 (~USD38). Totally worth every penny. One duck is probably sufficient for about 2 – 4 people.
- The restaurant enforces the no-smoking policy.
- Be sure to make a reservation. For walk-ins, it’s best you try to get there early (e.g. before 6pm) or later at night (e.g. after 8pm). We were not able to get a same-day reservation, so we showed up at 8pm and were seated within 30 minutes.
- Another way to get a reservation is by reserving the VIP room for a price RMB400 (~USD63). You should check with the restaurant for the most up to date pricing.
Have you been to Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant? Is there a better roast duck restaurant in Beijing you’d recommend?
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18 Comments
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I am Omar Larrazabal from Venezuela, and I need to talk to Miss Qiuling,
, Who I understand has a chain of restaurants called “Beijing roast duck”.
It is difficult to contact people from America to China, so I thank you if this restaurant belongs to the young woman indicated, let you know the content of that email
Thank you very much -
Beautiful restaurant and your food pictures are making me drool.
Emme Rogers recently posted..A Rainy Day Adventure at the Museum of Vancouver
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Thanks Emme! Now that we’re back in Seattle, we’re definitely missing the delicious food in Beijing!
Jeremy & Shirlene recently posted..{Spain} Best Peruvian Style Ceviche at Ra, Barcelona
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This looks delicious! Will definitely have to pay this place a visit when we move to China in a few months. Thanks for sharing!
The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen) recently posted..A visit to America’s First Cathedral-
We highly recommend it! The duck is one of the best we’ve had!! Let us know what you think of it after you try it 🙂
Jeremy & Shirlene recently posted..{USA} Creative Omakase at Sushi of Gari in New York
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OMG. We were totally going to go to Da Dong when we were in Beijing. But our friend took us out to Duck de Chine. Totally fancy and probably the best peking duck we’ve had. We didn’t have as good as lighting as you did though. 🙁 Glad it lived up to the hype for you!
Gerard ~ GQ trippin recently posted..Sushi to Dai For-
Sounds like another stop back at Beijing is due for you guys then! LOL – if only we get equally good duck restaurants here in the US!
Jeremy & Shirlene recently posted..{USA} Creative Omakase at Sushi of Gari in New York
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/MgejjzBo via @idelishTravel
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/G1Y2fY1A
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That really looks like the absolute perfect duck. I have only eaten Peking duck a few times in Hawaii, but never in China. When I do have the chance to visit Beijing, will surely check out Da Dong. Very nice that they enforce the no smoking rule, can be quite annoying to eat a meal in a stuffy smoky room.
Mark Wiens recently posted..VIDEO: Day Trip to Galle, Sri Lanka-
Yes, it was refreshing to find a restaurant that actually enforced the no smoking rule. We were at too many restaurants that didn’t enforce it and was thrilled this one did. Roast duck aka Peking duck in this restaurant is very different from roast duck we get here in America! Definitely something to try out on your stop in China!
Jeremy & Shirlene recently posted..{Spain} Best Peruvian Style Ceviche at Ra, Barcelona
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/VtdPPV0y via @idelishTravel
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/NwU1faHW via @idelishTravel
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/Ia3y02Iv via @idelishTravel
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/1UWO7O9x via @idelishTravel
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/D68VON6s via @idelishTravel
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{China} Beijing’s famous Peking Duck at Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant http://t.co/cTwWqErH via @idelishTravel
