See you on there :)
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Before the duck arrived, we were presented with individual enamel trays- rather like a very elegant TV dinner. This is something I hadn't encountered before with Peking duck, but highly approved of. There would be no waiting (im)patiently for the cucumber, or fighting over portion control with the soy, or any panic over how much spring onion was left in the bowl.
Each tray contained freshly grated garlic, sugar, grated pickled ginger, sliced spring onion and radish, and of course the thick, sweet Hoi Sin sauce.
The duck was next to arrive, sat fatly on a pile of entirely redundant lettuce leaves. It was a generous portion with a good duck to fat ratio- some of the cheaper places leave very little to eat, once the reams of fat have been greasily pulled away.
The duck was accompanied by 'duck soup'. This is traditionally served alongside Peking duck, making the most of the bird in true Chinese fashion by using every inch of the carcass by creating a soup from it's marrow. More often than not these days, duck soup is no longer served, and so we used this as a gauge for a good, traditional Peking restaurant. Da Dong safely passed the test.
The duck was devoured (good duck to pancake ration, though I believe we asked for extra pancake.) and the plates were cleaned away. My issue with duck is that I never find it entirely filling- but that's a problem of mine rather than the duck itself. Bizarrely, we were subsequently presented with a gum course- a sheet of Wrigley's chewing gum placed lovingly on a large plate with- even more bizarrely- a fork. This intriguing palate cleanser proceeded another unrequested (but appreciated) dish; a large plate of sliced watermelon and a pile of satsumas, presented on a grill over dry ice.
Street food in China can be amazingly diverse- not just in the range of food available; from the classic dumpling stalls to the Muslim influenced grills of Northern China- but also in it's ability to both delight and horrify.
A street food favourite! There are a few variations of Jiān Bĭng (煎饼- pan fried pancake) , but this one was one of the best. Huge pancakes are cooked and topped with egg, which almost melts into the batter. The vast pancake is then topped with a thick sauce (similar to that of Peking duck), spring onion, lettuce (probably the only lettuce you'll be finding in Chinese cooking!) and a sheet of batter, which adds a crunchy texture to the pancake wrap.
Food on sticks in very popular- sausages, scorpions, quail's eggs... But the most common is kebabs, a Northern Chinese food that is found all over Beijing.
Talking of food on sticks... Natalie could not resist the sausage in sweet waffle batter, sold around the lakes during Spring Festival. Sweet and savoury is a not uncommon combination- The Chinese like their baked goods to be saccharine in the extreme, and it's almost impossible to find baked goods that aren't laden with sugar. Even their bread loaves is topped with a sugar glaze or sprinkled with icing sugar, and their sausage buns are made with super sweet brioche- like bread.
No, really. The Chinese love their sugar. Keep an eye out for the caramelised fruit on sticks- often a colourful array of strawberries, kiwi and satsuma- or even a stick of five or six ful sized sugar coated apples. But be on your guard for the little red skewers. When it comes to sweet and savoury, these guys love to mess with your heads. They aren't cherries and they aren't little apples- they're sugar coated tomatoes.
A slightly healthier street side snack- It's easy to find men selling hot sweet potatoes, cooked in situ in large dustbins. You can pick the size of potato that you like and take it away with you- the ultimate healthy and comforting fast food and a real relief in the bitter minus temperatures of Beijing in January.
Beijing treats- a popular dessert during times of Festivity; Moon cakes!
Oh Bubble tea, I miss you already... A bit of an addiction of mine, even when I'm in London- though a lot cheaper! My first experience of hot bubble tea, it made a great on-the-go replacement for coffee in the morning, when heading out early to explore the city.
From ice cream to rice cakes, I've tried all sorts of matcha (green tea powder) flavoured products. Though I loved the squidgy glutinous rice balls, coated in icing sugar and with a peanut butter centre (honestly, they taste better than 'glutinous rice ball' suggests...) I really enjoyed the green tea latte. Sweet, frothy and an adorable shade of pea green!
Another dish that gets ordered with almost every meal, and another dish that is brilliantly simple- egg scrambled in sesame oil with tomato. One of China's more healthy options, and impossible for my sister and I to resist.
An absolute family favourite, very much a part of my childhood memories of China- we almost never eat out without ordering Kung Pao ji ding (宫保鸡丁) . 
Possibly one of the most important foods of China would be its jiaozi and biozi- dumplings and steamed buns. Sold in restaurants, dumplings houses and as street food on every road, they are essential to the Beijing eating experience. Our favourites are the pork and leak fried dumplings (though they have many many manifestations) and the char sui pork Boazi (steamed buns made with a fluffy white dough and stuffed with meat)- although there is something beautiful about a sopping wet plate laden with damp steamed dumplings.
A very beautiful example of boazi (包子)- these are the miniature versions. The larger, traditional boazi are much bigger than dumplings, relative in size to a baseball. Though served in restaurants and cafes, boazi are also an archetypal street food, cheap, filling and readily available. For my guide to Beijing street food, keep clicking back...
