A saying is often heard that "there are two things you must do in Beijing, to eat the Beijing Roast duck and to see the ten thousands miles long Great wall." Therefore, you may see that how essential a taste of the Beijing Roast Duck is in a Beijing tour. The Beijing Duck is even dubbed as "the No. 1 Delicious Food In the world."
The duck must be the white Beijing variety of superior quality – the "Forced- Feeding Duck," which is about three kilogram when killed. When roasting the duck, compressed air is injected into the duck between its skin and flesh to make the skin glossy and shiny. By using less smoky hard fuel- fruit tree branches, pear, peach or date tree branch for instance, as firewood, the duck has a fruity flavor and rich and red in color. The serving and eating manner of the Beijing Duck is also unique. The chef presents you the whole ducking before taking it away for slicing. One duck may produce about 120 very thin slices, each containing both meat and skin. The duck slices are brought back to the table with some thin pancakes, green onion or shallot, sweet soybean paste, fresh cucumber, garlic paste and sugar sometimes. The right method to enjoy the duck is like this: take a piece of the pancake in one hand, then put 3 or 4 slices of the duck onto the pancake with each of the above mentioned vegetable and seasoning. Do not forget the soybean paste in particular. Finally wrap up the pancake into a roll and eat it.
Nearly every part of the duck can be prepared as food. The Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant serve the so called "All Duck Banquet", in which the bone of the duck together with cabbage and Chinese water melon is made a fresh white soup and is served at the end of the banquet.
The Beijing Roast Duck is not only popular in China but also abroad. The former US Secretary of State Dr. Kissinger, for instance, is extremely fond of the Beijing Roast Duck. He takes every possible chance to taste it. He thus plays an important role of advertising the roast duck in the States and many of the restaurants there try to serve this delicacy. An interesting story is heard in the US about the duck. At the beginning the cooking method of the roast duck is against the state food legislation of Californian, therefore it was banned. To solve the problem the roast duck was sent to the California University for testing. The testing result showed that the duck was safe as food finally. What surprised others was that the roast duck was so delicious that the scientists in the lab ate up all the tested duck. Ever since then the roast duck had become a best seller in the local restaurant. China Travel，China Travel，China Travel
The Bush family – the current first US family is widely known to be a real Beijing Roast Duck lover. Their tradition of eating roast duck started from the senior Bush in the 1970s when he was working in the US Embassy of Beijing. Returning home, he still can not resist the temptation of this food and often and enjoys it with his whole family at a restaurant called “Beijing Restaurant” in North Virginia. His love for the duck has already passed down to his sons and grandchildren. Of course, the celebrities to this restaurant also include many others. Good examples are the Pilipino president, Thai Queen, princes from Saudi Arabia, the former US Minister of Defense as well as the former and current US State Secretary General Powell and Rice etc. The hundreds of picture handing inside the restaurant are the best evidence.
