Book your ticket in China Flights and hotel in Beijing Hotels, and then you are free from those troubles and just countdown to your visit to Beijing. But no visit to Beijing is complete without tasting Peking Duck! For your information, this page highlights Peking Duck.
Why is this dish special?
First it is the history. The Peking Duck enjoys a history of about 600 years, dating back to the Ming Dynasty, when cooks from all over China travelled to the capital Beijing to cook for the Emperor. It was a prestigious occupation as only the best chefs could enter the palace kitchens. A top cook was even able to reach the rank of a minister!
It was in these kitchens where dishes of exceptional quality such as the Peking Duck was first created and crafted to perfection by palace chefs. However, many of the recipes for such “foods of the Emperor” were later smuggled out of the kitchen and onto the streets of Beijing. With the eventual fall of the Ching dynasty in 1911, court chefs who left the Forbidden City set up restaurants around Beijing and brought the Peking Duck and other delicious dishes to the masses. When you eat the Peking Duck, you are experiencing a long history too!
Secondly it is its unique way of cooking.
The ducks are raised for the sole purpose of making the food. Force-fed, they are kept in cages which restrain them from moving about, so as to fatten them up and make the meat comparably tender.
After rubbing it with spices, salt and sugar follows a rather interesting step, where air is pumped into the duck so as to separate the skin from the fat. It is then hung up to dry in the open air before being roasted in an oven until it is crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside.
Has the dish make your mother water？Can’t wait to taste it? Here are some tips for you to enjoy authentic Peking Duck.
Where to go
The most prestigious is Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant (32 Qianmen Dajie, Chongwen), a seven-story palace, which has been roasting for the public since 1864 and now has several other locations around Beijing. Da Dong (Building 3, Tuanjiehu Beikou, Chaoyang) in the embassy district is a white tablecloth spot popular with the embassy set.
If your restaurant preferences skew toward the tiny and hard to find, Liqun Roast Duck Restaurant (11 Beixiangfeng Hutong, Chongwen) is a good bet. Reaching it requires meandering through narrow hutong alleyways, which can be an exhilarating pre-dinner adventure. The reward is a feast in a courtyard garden for a fraction of the price of larger restaurants.
To avoid a lengthy wait at hot spots like Quanjude and Da Dong, call at least a day before to reserve a table. At less popular restaurants, you can often simply show up.
How to eat
When the duck is ready (an average-sized duck will feed up to 8 or 10 people. Single diners and couples are advised to order half ducks, Local beers such as Yanjing Beer and Beijing Beer go great with it), a chef will arrive with your duck and carve it. Carving is an art form; a skilled chef can carve up
to 120 slices in four or five minutes, with at least a sliver of deep red skin on each piece to strike a balance between succulence and crunchiness. Watch closely and compliment his carving skills. Don’t be afraid to applaud when he finishes.
The basic ingredients for wrapping the duck include crepe-like pancakes, scallions, cucumbers and a hoisin (plum) sauce. Spread a thin layer of plum sauce over a pancake. 
Add a few slivers of scallion and cucumber, then one or two slices of duck. Fold the bottom and side flaps of the pancake. The ingredients should poke out the open top, and you should be able to munch on the finished wrap with one hand, as you would a burrito. Don’t stick to just the leaner parts of the duck. Savor the skin.
Popular side dishes include boiled duck liver, shredded duck wings, seasoned duck feet, even fried duck hearts. Eat these without pancake, and try other condiments such as pickled vegetables, crushed garlic and white sugar. If you’re squeamish, opt for vegetable or seafood sides, or duck in spring rolls and steamed buns. Soup prepared with the leftover bones of the duck is also common.
More information is available on Beijing Tours.
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