I cannot go to Beijing and not try Beijing Duck!
Just a couple of blocks from my hotel is a famous Beijing Duck shop. I will call it CheapEats although that is not its real meaning. The actual meaning is 'convenient to people.' It has a history going back to the 1400's. Being alone I was relegated to a table in the corner next to the ovens.
I ordered half a duck. Pancakes, scallions and sweet sauce are bundled. Duck soup comes with it too. I also ordered fish sticks which were quite good.
It was quite interesting watching your duck being skinned and shaved before you.
Was it good? Not really. Many places in Hong Kong and Los Angeles make better crispy roast duck.
The cost of the meal was RMB 121 with a beer, or US$18.
The second most distinctive cuisine in Beijing is "scrub lamb" or lamb and other meats in a hot pot. In the past this has been a communal affair but lately there are individual hot pots. That is great for me traveling alone. In one of the Gourmet Streets in WangFuJing I tried "scrub lamb."
I ordered a set meal of lamb and beef. The clear broth soup base was RMB 1 and the sauce was RMB 1 for all you want. The set meal comes with vegetables and cellophane noodles, plus some small dumplings. I ordered in addition a tray of shrimp balls and one tray of stuffed pork balls. I also had two 500-mL glasses of beer.
The picture shows only the beef as the plate of lamb had not arrived. As you can see that's enough food for two.
This place is a series of counter seating. When someone comes in the greeter yells out a welcome and all the staff responds. The same when someone leaves so it was quite noisy. But it was great fun and I got stuffed for about US$10.
Finally a picture of a meals that cost US$2.50, including the beer.