Day 1 was a bit of bad planning on my part. The weather forecast did warn about rain. I ignored it, and I did not bring an umbrella out. You can probably guess how this goes.
The plan was simple. Take a cab to Wudaoying Hutong (五道营胡同), have lunch, then walk over to the Lama Temple and Ditan Park for the autumn leaves. And the timing is really on point. It’s peak autumn season now, and the roads are all lined with yellow ginkgo trees. Very pretty from the cab window.
First problem: the place was packed. Second problem: it started to rain.
We wanted to have lunch first at Ju Qi (局气烤鸭·老北京四合院餐厅, the Yonghegong branch), a famous spot for Peking duck set in an old Beijing courtyard house. The queue was crazy long. We took a number and went off to wander the hutong while we waited.
It rained shortly after. No umbrella, remember? So we ducked into a cafe for shelter and sat it out with a couple of warm drinks.
As for the hutong itself, it’s basically a walking street with lots of shops and food. Touristy, and honestly nothing worth mentioning.
We finally got into Ju Qi after 90 minutes or so. Inside it’s a big hall with red lanterns and a giant 北京你好 (Hello Beijing) on the wall, and every table was full.
We ordered half a duck, and the duck was good. It comes with the usual tray of sauce, cucumber, leek and sugar, plus a steamer of thin pancakes to wrap it all up.
The surprise for me was the 乾隆白菜 (Qianlong cabbage, raw cabbage leaves tossed in a sesame paste dressing). It’s nutty and flavourful, very similar to those Japanese salads with lots of sesame dressing. I would order this again.
The lamb was delicious too, stir-fried with leek and served on a little hot skillet.
Then there’s the black dish. It’s glutinous rice that gets set on fire at the table. Good for Instagram. That’s about all I’ll say about it.
The dessert pudding looks funny (a little bunny in a red jacket), but it tastes so-so. Cute to look at, skip if you’re full.
Total damage for the two of us was about S$60. For a famous duck place in Beijing, I think that’s fair.
By then the rain had no plans to stop, so the Lama Temple and Ditan Park were out. We decided to head to Sanlitun Taikoo Li instead, thinking a mall would keep us dry. It didn’t, really. The mall is not fully sheltered, so you still end up walking in the rain between buildings. Not very pleasant either.
My wife did manage to buy a pair of shoes here, from a local brand called PANE. There was a long queue and everyone was trying to get their hands on a pair. Cannot understand why. But she’s happy, so that’s a win.
Another interesting find: a cocktail bar inside the Starbucks Reserve. Bar Mixato, with a proper back bar full of bottles. Not something I’ve seen at a Starbucks back home.
For dinner we walked next door and randomly picked a hot pot place from Guizhou. Apparently its famous soup base is made from beans. It was inexpensive, but the crowd seemed to be mostly teenagers and it was rather cramped. I won’t recommend it. Bad choice on our part.
So, an uneventful day overall. We went back to the hotel, where they gave us a complimentary dessert, which was a nice way to end it. And we called it a night.
Lesson learnt: check the weather forecast, and bring the umbrella.
Restaurant: Ju Qi Roast Duck (局气烤鸭·老北京四合院餐厅 雍和宫店), near Wudaoying Hutong
Damage: About S$60 for two
