Quanjude (Qianmen)

Quanjude is the most famous name in Peking duck, and the Qianmen branch is where it began. The business was founded in 1864, during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor, as a small restaurant in Yangrou Hutong near Qianmen. Its first manager, Yang Renquan, is said to have bought an imperial roast duck recipe from a retired palace chef. The Beijing government lists the Qianmen branch at 30 Qianmen Street as the brand's first branch, and the original facade still stands on the street near Dashilar. Today Quanjude belongs to the state-owned Beijing Tourism Group and has branches across China and abroad.

The signature is roast duck cooked in the hanging-oven style: prepared ducks are hung from hooks in the ceiling of an open oven and roasted over burning hardwood that gives off little smoke. A carver brings the duck to the table and slices the crisp skin and meat in front of you. Quanjude also serves its Peony Roast Duck, in which 16 slices of breast are arranged on a white plate in rows of seven, five, three and one to look like the petals of a peony. The Beijing government's food guides also recommend duck feet with mustard sauce and sautéed duck hearts from the wider menu, and the restaurant offers whole-duck banquets.

The Qianmen site is large. A 2014 guide from Beijing's official tourism service described three ways to eat here: a takeaway window selling whole and half ducks, a quicker dining room near the entrance with a simpler menu, and the main restaurant at the back with the full menu. It can seat several hundred diners at once, so it handles tour groups and families easily.

Quanjude's duck has a long history of official use, and it was served at the APEC state banquet in Beijing in November 2014. For a first taste of Peking duck in a historic setting, this is the classic choice, although Beijing has more modern duck restaurants if you want a contemporary version.

The restaurant is on Qianmen Street, a short walk south of Tiananmen Square and close to Dashilar, where Beijing Postcards runs its history walks. The time-honoured shaomai restaurant Duyichu is a few doors away at No. 38, so the street is a good place for an afternoon of traditional Beijing food.