What is it about the crispy, fire-blasted skin of Peking Duck that makes it the most intriguing and addictive thing and keep us wanting more? For those of you who are not familiar with this famous national dish of China, Peking Duck is a type of oven-roasted duck from Beijing, known for its thin and super crispy skin. Situated inside a nondescript building near Jardine's Bazaar in Causeway Bay, Old Beijing has been a long-standing Hong Kong eatery that serves cheap, authentic Beijing and Northern Chinese cuisine. Craving for some Peking Duck, we decided to go there with San and Sam on a Friday night.
Old Beijing is the kind of brightly-lit, down-to-earth restaurants that offer the no-frills Chinese cuisine. Although we didn't mind that the place was small and intimate, loud and open, the service was appallingly impolite and unfriendly. Some of the waitresses snapped at us while pronouncing that they were too busy to take a picture for us. We would suggest you not to mess with the waitresses as they all seemed to have attitude problems. However, considering that dinner was priced at around $150 to $200 per person, perhaps all should be forgiven.
(1) The Chinese style 酸辣豆腐湯 Hot and Sour with Tofu Soup ($55/Small) offered a pleasing sensation as a starter to warm up our stomachs. Each spoonful of it was a delightful appetizer, with just the right level of spiciness and sourness.
(2) Even though there were many delicious dishes at Old Beijing, the signature had to be the 北京烤鴨 Beijing Roast Duck ($168/Half) that C pre-ordered. The dish did not disappoint at all and it was the highlight of our meal! Each slice comprised of a paper-thin layer of skin with an alluring, tender piece of meat from the underbelly underneath that made the dish pristine! When wrapped within the traditional Mandarin pancake, the green onions and sweet hoisin sauce just elevated the experience to utter pristine. San, visiting from Toronto for Christmas break, noted that the skin was not too oily or too fatty and she thought it was done "just the way she liked it"!
(3) The 蔥爆牛肉 Braised Beef with Beijing Onion ($120) was tasty. The onion, chili sauce, and garlic also added exciting flavours to the dish. We were happy to find that this rendition of a tradition dish was also scrumptious too!
(4) The 韭菜豬肉水餃 Chives Mix Pork Dumplings ($60/Boil) Sam picked was simply irresistible. The boiled dumpling wrapping was incredibly thin and the pork and vegetable fillings within were soft and gentle-flavoured. The portion was generous and it proved to be a very hearty and satisfying dish. Sam, a dumpling fan, also thought that the dumplings had a hint of home-made taste to it which was well done.
(5) Lastly, our dessert, the 拔絲香蕉 Banana Braised in Sugar Oil ($70) was a beautifully constructed and enticing dish. We all adored the strands of fried syrup that formed a nest over the fried bananas. The taste was intense, and it made the overall dessert extra addictive!
Overall remarks: While we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Old Beijing (as we honestly couldn't remember the last time we had a delicious Peking Duck) and many dishes were more impressive than we had expected, the unattentive service significantly affected our dining experience. We would seriously recommend the restaurant to work harder on improving the service as it was glaringly the weakest link of the restaurant and no more melt-in-the-mouth Peking Duck skin would be able to draw its customers back!
Food: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Ambience: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Service: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
INFO
Old Beijing is the kind of brightly-lit, down-to-earth restaurants that offer the no-frills Chinese cuisine. Although we didn't mind that the place was small and intimate, loud and open, the service was appallingly impolite and unfriendly. Some of the waitresses snapped at us while pronouncing that they were too busy to take a picture for us. We would suggest you not to mess with the waitresses as they all seemed to have attitude problems. However, considering that dinner was priced at around $150 to $200 per person, perhaps all should be forgiven.
(1) The Chinese style 酸辣豆腐湯 Hot and Sour with Tofu Soup ($55/Small) offered a pleasing sensation as a starter to warm up our stomachs. Each spoonful of it was a delightful appetizer, with just the right level of spiciness and sourness.
(2) Even though there were many delicious dishes at Old Beijing, the signature had to be the 北京烤鴨 Beijing Roast Duck ($168/Half) that C pre-ordered. The dish did not disappoint at all and it was the highlight of our meal! Each slice comprised of a paper-thin layer of skin with an alluring, tender piece of meat from the underbelly underneath that made the dish pristine! When wrapped within the traditional Mandarin pancake, the green onions and sweet hoisin sauce just elevated the experience to utter pristine. San, visiting from Toronto for Christmas break, noted that the skin was not too oily or too fatty and she thought it was done "just the way she liked it"!
(3) The 蔥爆牛肉 Braised Beef with Beijing Onion ($120) was tasty. The onion, chili sauce, and garlic also added exciting flavours to the dish. We were happy to find that this rendition of a tradition dish was also scrumptious too!
(5) Lastly, our dessert, the 拔絲香蕉 Banana Braised in Sugar Oil ($70) was a beautifully constructed and enticing dish. We all adored the strands of fried syrup that formed a nest over the fried bananas. The taste was intense, and it made the overall dessert extra addictive!
Overall remarks: While we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Old Beijing (as we honestly couldn't remember the last time we had a delicious Peking Duck) and many dishes were more impressive than we had expected, the unattentive service significantly affected our dining experience. We would seriously recommend the restaurant to work harder on improving the service as it was glaringly the weakest link of the restaurant and no more melt-in-the-mouth Peking Duck skin would be able to draw its customers back!
Food: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Ambience: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Service: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
INFO
老北京 Old Beijing
5/F, Jardine Center, 50 Jardine's Bazaar, Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣渣甸街50號渣甸中心5樓
Telephone: 2203 4321
5/F, Jardine Center, 50 Jardine's Bazaar, Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣渣甸街50號渣甸中心5樓
Telephone: 2203 4321
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