The Quanjude roast-duck dynasty was established in 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi of Qing dynasty) and outlasted even the Mandate of Heaven. During its long history, Quanjude roast duck has acquired a worldwide reputation for both special techniques and outstanding quality.



Once when Premier Zhou Enlai was hosting foreign guests at Quanjude, one of the guests asked, �what does Quanjude mean?� Premier Zhou answered with a smile, �Quan means perfection without a flaw, Ju means gathering without departing and De means virtues to be supreme.� Therefore Quanjude together implies perfection, union, benevolence and virtue.



This is the original front of the restaurant from 1888. It is now incorporated inside the restaurant at the spot indicated in the Placemark. (See the round table through the doors? My wife, friends, and I enjoyed a great meal there in 2002.)

While many have heard of "Peking Duck", few realize that the Quanjude restaurant has a menu listing over 400 dishes consisting entirely of duck. Of course there are the mainstays, like the famous Quanjude Roasted Duck, Quanjude Mustard Duck Web, Quanjude Boiled Duck Liver, Quanjude Seasoned Duck Gizzard, Quanjude Shredded Duck Wing, and Quanjude Quick Fried Duck Heart. But there are also pages and pages of more unusual duck selections. For example, during a banquet there in 1993, I was presented with one dish consisting solely of duck toungues and sliced green onion. It was a big, heaping platter of tiny toungues. There were easily hundreds of ducks represented there. Whenever I see ducks flying quietly overhead, I wonder where all those tongues came from.