Hung-oven and closed-oven are two schools. Hung-oven is crisper; closed-oven is juicier. Carving is a performance and a craft: each slice carries skin and meat, shaped like a willow leaf. The carcass becomes a clear soup. Only then is the duck finished.
Quanjude and Bianyifang are the historic shopfronts; there are contemporary kitchens that carve more precisely. Do not solve this meal at a 'Beijing roast duck' stall by a gate. Give it an evening, a pot of wine, and time to roll the pancakes properly.
Beyond duck, Beijing still has douzhi, chaogan and zhajiang noodles. They photograph less well. They are closer to the city's everyday throat.
What to do
- Book. The good places are full and the bad ones are everywhere.
- Ask for the carcass to go back to the kitchen for soup. It comes back as a milky broth and it is included.
