As a thank you for helping her with her trip to China (I still don't know what I did; all my research needed to be done anyway and Mila makes quite pleasant company), so offered to take me to a nice restaurant for dinner. This seemed like the perfect place.
It was thankfully in the Lonely Planet guide, so there were maps and numbered dots to help us find our way. Sadly, in Beijing, finding a dot on a map is never as easy as it should be. The restaurant was on the south-eastern corner of a subway stop. Under normal circumstances, I have a pretty good sense of direction. The trouble is, when you travel underground for while directions cease to exist, especially with a couple of transfers. We popped up, thinking we were heading in the right direction, then questioned ourselves, turned around and tried the other way. We walked one block, but realized this seemed like the unlikely direction, so turned around and walked back to the corner and tried to get our berrings straight. This is difficult in Beijing. Street signs are not always present, the names are all long and in Chinese, so they all blur together. Just remembering Dong-something-or-whatever is likely to get a person lost. The sun is blocked
out by the smog, so even though it was evening, I still couldn't find west. It took a total of thirty minutes to find our restaurant, which was only just across the street from where we had started. It was good we left at three for an early dinner.
We were among the first patrons; they hadn't even started serving duck yet. On the left through the entrance was a wall of awards. This was preview for the great meal to come. Being one of the few people there, we had our own private waitress, who stood near our table, refilling the tea with each sip.
To hold us over until the duck was served, Mila ordered us two fantastic dishes. Shrimp in a tomato and onion sauce and another selection featuring large pieces of cod in a delicious sauce and served in a pumpkin, both were incredible. I never much liked fish, but the cod dish was delightful enough to make me a convert. It was the first time I've loved fish. If the meal ended there, I would have walked away with one of the best meals in recent memory, but there was still the duck.
The chef walked over with a perfectly browned bird, skin glistening from the mouthwatering oil that can either ruin the duck or make it it amazing. The chef sliced the duck, putting the bird in a neat pile with the skin on top. The waitress demonstrated proper eating of the duck. The crispy, yet not greasy skin is eaten by itself after being dipped in sugar. The pieces of duck meat are first dipped in the plum duck sauce and used to spread it on a thin rice crepe. An assortment of condiments are then placed on top of the duck meat. There was julliened radish and cucumber and onions, pickled ginger, roast garlic, and some other mysterious delicious pickled substance. The crepe is then folded into a small envelope. I wish I was a skilled food writer so I could describe how amazing the flavors were, but I will leave it with saying that it is worth the trouble of traveling to Beijing just to eat it. The duck fat was made into a simple, yet rich soup.
I was nearly full before the duck came, but the taste cleared more room. With the soup finished and our bellies nearly bursting, it was time for the "best" part: the head. Mila and I each picked a half the duck's head, examined it. The brain and skull wer still intact, the eye looking at us.
We flagged the waitress, "Do we eat it whole, skull and all?"
"You put it all in your mouth. It's the best part!"
Since we ordered half a duck, we wondered why we got the whole head and not our neighbors who had the other duck half. Was this a joke on the foreigners, watch them eat head? I may have benn more scared had I not eaten an entire dish of duck tongues the night before (verdict: delicious). WIth but a moment of hesitation, we both popped the half a head into our mouths. It was good mix of crunchy and chewy. It was probably the best head I've ever eaten.
We mucst have been pretty spendy customers, because were offered free mango sorbet and some big juicy red grapes. We ignored the warning against eating fresh fruit, which was a wise decision.
It was a canonical meal. Enough food to half us rolling out into the street. Food so delicious, we wished our stomaches were bottomless. And topped off with amazing, fun, engaging company to share the experience. This is the true stuff of life.
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