Quanjude

The Quanjude chain of duck restaurants, claiming heritage back to 1864 in Beijing, is justly famous in the Middle Kingdom but loses something in translation. The Melbourne branch is in the basement of Nonda Katsalidis' Republic Tower. Chinese artefacts, bordering on the kitsch, adorn a space designed for a contemporary restaurant. The key reason to visit can be summed up in one delicious word. duck. Peking duck is an idiosyncratic affair. Some restaurants concentrate on crisp skin in pancakes; Quanjude's are meaty. The $68 set proffers a whole Peking duck with pancakes and condiments together with duck soup. A full-on duck fest should include duck tongue and bamboo-pith soup, and the subtly fragrant stewed and seasoned duck breast with duck webs and Baling fungus with rice-wine sauce. Beyond duck, the best dishes hail from Beijing and the north-east provinces, including cold entrees such as beef with special sauce or wagyu in a sweet, rich sauce.