Peking duck is a staple of Beijing cuisine, so what better place is there to cross off your travel bucket list than Bianyifang, the oldest Peking duck restaurant in the city? What started off as a purveyor of roasted chicken and duck in 1416 during the Ming Dynasty evolved into the restaurant that it is today, which has a number of branches around Beijing. At Bianyifang, crispy, juicy duck is achieved by a method of roasting where the bird is heated in a closed oven rather than an open oven, which many other Peking duck spots utilize.
Bianyifang’s trademark closed-oven roast duck is offered in a multitude of flavors perfected over the centuries, including the flower scent, the garlic scent, and the vegetable scent. And, if roast Peking duck isn’t enough, Bianyifang also offers other duck-adjacent menu items including salty duck liver, crystal duck tongue, duck feet with mustard Sauce, and drunken duck heart with rice wine. Plus, did we mention that a whole duck, including condiments, is only 188 yuan, or around $25?