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| - Came with a large group for a special occasion. We decided to see what's the hype in this prestigious duck. Throughout the dinner, we experienced up-selling of the duck, why this duck is worth the price. Each employee had said different things - so here is a consolidation of the differences between $88 and $118 according to the restaurant:
The $88 duck is a 4 lb duck, vs $118 is an 8 lb duck. Only the bigger duck have enough surface area to carve out the peony flower. This flower presentation is also copyrighted in China as of 2014 - therefore you can only experience the unique presentation at their restaurants.
The duck is LOCAL. Regardless what they say, these ducks are not flown in from Beijing. A waiter did tell us only the $118 is from a specialty farm, vs $88 is not (we asked the Manager to get the right story)
The pastry/pancake is from Beijing - to maintain its "quality".
The finely green spring onions are specially ordered from a vendor - as it is unique in its "fine chopping skill"
When you receive the duck at your table for the presentation of the carving, you will be given a show, including a "gong" to start the show, and to see how the peony is created.
Was this duck good? It was tasty. However as the skin was so finely carved out, I found it was difficult to appreciate the crispiness of the skin.
3 stars for the service - we did get a lot staff which came to explain to us on the restaurant history, the food detail, and explanation of the menu. We had a staff specially stayed around to serve us (why? I don't know why, he just floated next to us). HOWEVER, everyone was very courteous, and we appreciate their consistently walkthrough of each dishes and story-telling.
Were the other food good? They were all very flavourful - however generally more greasy, with higher price then typical Chinese restaurant. We anticipated to have the Squirrel Fish, which unfortunately the waiter forgot to put into our order (our table did not make a big deal, as he was very courteous. It did look good in the other table). Would we go back? For the price, we may consider going elsewhere.
Limited parking in the front compliment to customers. If not available, hotel parking is available at the back at $0.50/ half hour.
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