Peking Duck, Four Classic Ways to Enjoy Beijing’s Bird

GUEST POST: Michael Evans, a writer based in China, shares some of the best places to enjoy Peking duck in Beijing.

A Peking duck dinner is on the must-do list of every visitor to China’s capital, usually sandwiched between a long day getting lost in the labyrinth of the Forbidden City and sweating their way to the top of the Great Wall.

As a centuries-old dish that was once a regular feature of the emperor’s dinner table, Peking duck, when done right, is truly worth all the hype, with a rich medley of flavors and textures. And the ritual of eating it is simply a lot of fun, even if it can be a little tricky to master, wrapping the meat up in palm-sized pancakes mixed with cucumbers, green onions, and dipping sauce.

(By the way, if you find yourself fumbling, here’s a tip: don’t get too hung up about doing everything “the right way” i.e. with your chopsticks. Watch the locals, and you’ll see them diving in fingers-first to pick up the sticky, paper-thin…