While in Beijing, we managed to hit up a few of the widely-agreed-upon culinary highlights, while missing out on some others. Da Dong was rated the best restaurant in Beijing last year according to some organization, and The Gourmet Pig seemed to like it quite a bit, so it was at the top of my list. Luckily, my best friend from college, Chris, who has lived in China now for three years and hosted us in Beijing, agreed, and had it on the itinerary for our very first night.

We got in a cab and my friend told the driver to take us to Da Dong. We had forgotten that there are now several Da Dong locations around Beijing. This is quite common with even the very fancy restaurants in Beijing. The location to which our cab driver drove us was apparently the original location, next to a hospital of traditional Chinese medicine. When we arrived, my friend was disappointed, and kept apologizing, explaining that the newer locations are much nicer and more hip. This place was decorated kind of like a random Chinese restaurant might be in the states, if it occupied multiple floors of a massive building, sat maybe 600 people at once, and had been open for a long time. But we met Chris's boyfriend outside and went in.

The hostess told us we'd have to wait twenty minutes, despite our reservation, but the actual wait was closer to 10. Plus, we were given our choice of several complimentary boxed wines while we waited (imported all the way from California!), which were not great, but were much better than any boxed wine I've tried in the states. Bonus. When we went inside, we were initially going to be seated at a random booth in the center of a side room--perfectly adequate by my standards, but apparently seating location is a big deal in other cities? After some banter back and forth between my friends and the hostess, we were led instead to a private dining room, given gigantic pictographic menus, and we were on our way.

The restaurant is known to Westerners for its roast duck, but its specialty, advertised prominently and merchandised to hell, is its braised sea cucumber. We ended up trying both, as well as some other items.

The roast duck? Meh. Before the duck came out, we were presented with trays with various accoutrements: radish, cucumber, hoisin, scallion, sugar, garlic, with all the veg expertly julienned. Then the duck was brought out, smelled good, and looked great. A man in a dust mask carved it with amazing precision, laying out the meat then topping it with rectangles of the crisp duck skin. We were given the choice to eat the duck in either little flour tortilla-like things, or steamed buns. I tried both. In both cases, I found them far too doughy, as if undercooked (and yes, I know the usual texture of steamed buns, but this was more flour-y). The effect of these duck transport methods was to dull the flavors of the duck. I skipped them for the rest of the duck and simply ate the duck with chopsticks, building accoutrements directly on it. However, even without the buns or tortilla things, it was still all about texture. The duck skin was perfectly crisp. Otherwise, the whole thing was unremarkable. The duck (skin included) was not much better than can be had at several Chinatown places in SF, or for that matter, at Yank Sing. I guess it's just not my thing, and perhaps I lack the experience to discern what amazing roast duck this supposedly was. That said, it was also a hell of a lot cheaper than what you'd get here. A whole roast duck was only about US$25.

The braised sea cucumber? Amazing. I made sure we ordered this, even though it sounded gross to everyone I was dining with. But I reassured them by reminding them that, should it make them sick, a hospital of traditional Chinese medicine is conveniently located right next door. Duly reassured, everyone tried it, and everyone loved it. It was really quite remarkable. Not only was it the best thing I ate in China, but it was one of the best things I've ever eaten. The texture was slippery and gelatinous but firm, kind of like a hollow cylinder made of braised pig's ear but somehow less offensive to unadventurous eaters. The flavor was actually quite beefy, like an oxtail braise without tomato, only tasting of the sea, and kinda sweet. It was deeply satisfying, familiar but unique. If you have the opportunity, you should definitely try this dish.

The other stuff we had was all pretty tasty. We got a braised halibut dish which was swimming in oil and topped with about 2 entire heads of minced garlic. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. There was a cabbage dish, with two different kinds of cabbage, rolled up and slow-cooked with various flavors. There was a dish with squat little discs of custard, and a spiced-meat filling. Someone also ordered the ubiquitous Gong Bao Ji Ding (Kung Pao chicken). And we were given some decoratively carved fruit for dessert. Had I done the ordering, we'd have gotten about nine other things and spent way more than we needed to. But everything we got was good.

Prices on wine were extremely high, the beer selection was cheap and very limited (I think they had one thing other than Tsingtao), and when one in our party tried to get a gin and tonic, hilarity ensued. First, there was a back and forth between our hosts (both of whom speak fairly good Mandarin) and three different waiters that closely resembled an Abbot and Costello sketch. Finally, after we thought all was resolved, they brought an entire bottle of gin. Then another Abbot and Costello sketch played, and all seemed resolved again. The bottle was withdrawn, and out came a glass: straight gin. We laughed and laughed, which puzzled the waiters. Finally, after another round of explaining, a bottle of tonic water appeared. Then, later, a plate containing about three entire lemons sliced into wedges, for garnish. Someone started to explain the difference between lemon and lime, but someone else wisely cut them off and advised the individual in question to settle for what they had. Our first night in China was the last time we attempted to order a mixed drink from a restaurant.

Overall, Da Dong was a great meal. There was a lot of technique, experience, and craftsmanship in the food. The atmosphere was terrible, but the service was great. If you go, don't miss the braised sea cucumber.

Posted by Barzelay on 2009/05/24 @ 23:08 | Comments (3) | Restaurants

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