The Roast Duck Story – 烤鸭故事

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 in: News, Travel

有一天，我的朋友说我“一起去吃烤鸭吧。”他听说有一家饭店叫“大董，”他家有北京最好吃的烤鸭。我们到了以后，他们告诉我们要等三十几分钟。一边等一边看菜单。一个服务员过来问我们“你们要不要烤鸭？”我们当然要吃烤鸭，点了一只。

以后，我们等到了坐位坐下了，服务员问我们“你们要水吗？”我们回答“要。”我们觉得在这么贵的饭店这样的问题优点儿奇怪。他又过来，给我们看一瓶水就想介绍一种很贵的酒。 二十分钟后，服务员又过来，告诉我们“你们还没点烤鸭，如果你们要吃，要再等四十五分钟。”我们有点儿生气了，我的朋友一边站起来一边说“我们来这儿就是为了吃烤鸭。我们坐下以前已经点了。如果没有我们就去别的饭店。”最后他们告诉我们“你们的烤鸭就好了。请等十五分钟。”

我们又坐下了，点了别的菜。那家的烤鸭非常好吃，不过别的菜很一般，还买很贵。 买单的时候，明白了那个水是一瓶八十快钱。但是我们已经喝完了两瓶啊！下一次去饭店的时候，如果服务员问我们”你要不要水？“我们就会说”我们要免费的。”

Towards the end of my first month here, one of my friends suggested we go out for Peking Duck. A place called Dadong is apparently famous for its roast duck, so we decided to go there with a group of friends. Close to Wangfujing in the center of the city, Dadong is a pretty fancy place. I was wowed with the interior design and layout when we stepped off the elevator–an open kitchen solely for roasting ducks in huge fire pits was humming away in the center of the main room, surrounded by a moat and stools for people to wait. We grabbed a seat and a menu and soaked in the rich atmosphere. A waitress came up and asked if we wanted a duck, since they were made to order. It was our purpose for coming in the first place, so we placed an order for one duck. She jotted it down and walked away.

About 20 minutes later we sat down to our table, a waiter came and asked if we wanted water, to which we answered “yes.” We thought it was kind of a strange question to ask at such a fancy restaurant, but in China, all sorts of weird things happen. He reappeared carrying a bottle he displayed as if it were an expensive wine. I almost heard the money leak from my wallet as he opened it before any of us could comment on it. The old water bait-and-switch: ask if the customer wants water, and then give them the most absurdly expensive bottle in your arsenal. It’s nothing short of obnoxious, and I wish I could say this is the last time I’ve fallen victim to it. When we got the bill, the damage was 80 kuai (about $13) for each of the two bottles we were given.

Some more time passed and another waitress came up and said that we hadn’t yet ordered a duck, and if we wanted one it would be another 45 minute wait. We got a little irritated and explained that we’d already ordered when we were waiting, and we had come only for the duck; if we had to wait that long we’d just go to another restaurant. After much hand-wringing and back and forth, we stood up to leave and they hurriedly told us they “found” us a duck, and it would only take another 15 minutes. We sat down to the other dishes we’d ordered, which were exceedingly ordinary, considering the expectations I’d built up around the atmosphere and price of the meal. The duck was pretty good, and the presentation was splendid, but the value just wasn’t there.

So if you’re looking for good Kaoya in Beijing, I can’t recommend Dadong; there are much cheaper alternatives out there that are just as good, if not better. The nice atmosphere can’t make up for the unremarkable menu and unpleasant service.

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