It was our last night in Beijing - we were walking up and down this street trying to decide where to have our dinner. I was hungry, exhausted, sticky, grouchy and missing home.
Then I saw a Chinese restaurant which was quite crowded, so I told J that we should just eat here and get it over and done with, and I was prepared to pay a bomb after my experience in 大董。
I saw the words 全聚德 - but it still didn't register because I read Chinese words real sloooow.......until finally, it hit me! I'm in the legendary 全聚德 famous for their Peking Duck!!
I perked up and started to read their menu more enthusiastically and told J we MUST have the Peking Duck!!! J said "NO" because he was afraid of a 大董 de-ja-vu! But I told him this is 全聚德 and we must eat the PEKING DUCK!!! *stare fiercely at him*
And I'm glad I "persuaded" him to order the duck :)
This was supposed to be the best part of the duck - the skin from the breast - and it was served first with a flourish by the waiter.
It was good! Really crispy with a thin layer of fat, and it tasted heavenly dipped in sugar! Who would thought of that? The crunchy sugar crystals goes really well with the skin as it helps to lighten the taste of the fattiness. Will they look at me strangely if I ask for sugar when I eat Peking Duck in Singapore now?
The duck meat also tasted good with a hint of smokiness to it. And although you can still see a layer of fat under the skin, it doesn't taste that oily in your mouth. I think the sugar really helps!
I ordered this dish because it was just too "eggy" to resist :) I love salted eggs, century eggs and century quail eggs?? Now this dish I must try! And it just sounded so decadent to eat 3 different types of eggs at once! I love the salted eggs best because they were served in black vinegar with some garnishes like spring onion - simple but nice. The sour vinegar made the salty eggs even more umami! Nice combination.
This is the BEST vermicelli prawn in claypot I've ever had! Big bursty prawns, with well seasoned vermicelli - I couldn't help spooning more of it onto my plate!
Just as we were about the surrender to good food coma, the vegetable dish arrived! This is grilled mushrooms stir-fried with some green vegetables in chili oil. Sounds complicated? But you have to try this dish to believe it! The mushroom was so fragrant and chewy - it reminds me of bak kwa! And the chili oil added a nice spicy kick to it. It was so addictive that I couldn't stop myself from eating more pieces of the mushroom although I'm bursting full.
It was a satisfying meal indeed and the bill came up to about SGD70 for the two of us, which is quite ok given that it is considered a high end restaurant that has served many emperors before! Yes, they have a history of hundreds of years!
It was indeed a good end to our holiday!
