Terrific Service

I had an anniversary lunch here as a solo diner, and had a great experience because of the terrific service. My SO emailed a form in to prepay for the meal, which is a nice option, and one that's not available at places like Da Dong or Duck de Chine.

I ordered stir fried cabbage, half a peking duck, duck soup, beggar's chicken, ice cream, xinjiang crispy pancake with lamb and chives, and ice-cream. Honestly, most of the food was good, but after foodie-ing around Beijing, it wasn't a revelation. The pancake and stir fried cabbage were yummy, but a little too oily. I should have specified ahead of time to use less oil. The peking duck was good, but the meat was drier than at Da Dong's, and the soup was too diluted and bland for me. I prefer a concentrated duck broth, and this version was lighter. The housemade ice cream was fresh, but the flavors didn't really sing through and there was too much sugar. The lychee ice cream tasted a little like bubblegum. However, the beggar's chicken was fantastic in both presentation and taste. It came out clay-encased, and I could whack at it with a mallet. The chicken was extraordinarily tender and had a light fragrant aroma.

The service was great. My dessert came out with a candle for my anniversary, and the manager was extremely competent and detail-oriented. When he asked how my food was, and I indicated a dish was too spicy, he whisked it away and had the chefs remake it. When he saw that my duck wraps were left uncovered, he offered to replace them with fresh warm ones. I've eaten at a range of mid and high-end Chinese restaurants, and I haven't encountered that kind of service. Usually, if you don't like your food, the attitude is that well, that's too bad, and if you argue enough, you worry that something gross is going to happen to your food. The staff was attentive without being claustrophobic, and I had a great time. The open-kitchen concept is cool, and the restaurant was surprisingly packed at lunch with businessmen, well-heeled locals, and hotel guests.