Rediscover a classic favorite: recommended Peking duck restaurants in the Los Angeles area

It's almost the weekend, so it's time to get friends together for a proper meal. If you're craving something celebratory, Peking duck is always a great option. This is an easy guide to some of the best roast duck in Los Angeles.

MeiZhou DongPo Restaurant

While MeiZhou DongPo is mostly recognized for their Sichuan cooking, a dish you must try is the MeiZhou Roast Duck and it's easy to see why so many people come for it.

This duck is a product of careful selection and classic Peking duck inspiration. This duck is glowing, aromatic, and an instant temptation. The carving is part of the experience: the chef expertly divides the skin, meat, and legs, assembling them in a tower display. Watching a duck being carved makes the wait seem like forever.

The restaurant takes Peking duck's defining features and elevates them: crisp skin, tender meat, and thin pancakes. The skin is crispy, but also light and the meat is delicate and clean. The thin, but stiff pancake and sauces round out the experience. The three-course approach is simple: first, dip the skin in sugar, wrap the meat in a pancake, then enjoy the duck frame in a rich soup. This duck is so thin that you can see how it lacks that thick white fat layer that can make roast duck feel overly rich. That restraint carries through in every bite. After being sugar-coated, the wrapper is light and melts in your mouth, plus there is no oily residue found in lesser quality versions. The duck meat is also fragrant, fine, and offers a lighter overall impression of the duck. Although the duck is the main attraction, the other items on the Sichuan menu are also good. Sliced Beef This dish is a combination of tongue, tripe, and beef shank. It includes spice, crunch and soft satisfying chew as well. Sichuan Heartbreakers This dish is known as 'Heartbreakers' because of the emotional reaction it may bring to homesick Sichuan natives. It is made of a traditional handmade technique using pea flour. The jelly is cool and tender, and then it is dressed with tangy lightly spicy sauce. The dish is as refreshing as it is visually appetizing with red chilis and golden colors Kung Pao Chicken Kung Pao chicken at MeiZhou DongPo is done in the traditional way, no Americanized versions here. The chicken is tender and peanuts are crisp. The dish has a lasting taste. You may also want to try the seasonal braised pork with bamboo shoots. As the old Dongpo verse puts it: “Without bamboo, one becomes vulgar;

without meat, one grows thin. “Neither vulgar nor thin, braise pork with bamboo shoots.”

Beijing Tasty House

As the name suggests, Beijing Tasty House focuses on traditional Beijing food, and their specialty is hanging-oven Peking duck.

Once the crispy skin and meat are sliced, the leftover duck body can be used to make duck bone soup at no extra cost. It is a particularly good deal; the cabbage in the soup balances the sweetness of the rich duck.

Of course there is a lot more to order than the duck. The menu features everyday dishes, and of course, the famous lamb spine hot pot from Beijing.

If the table is set with enough large dishes, you can add some warm little dishes like boiling fish, pickled-cabbage pork hot pot, or lamb flatbread. The menu is diverse with flavors like sour-spicy, and thick-sweet.

Address: 172 E Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776 | (626) 573-3062

Beijing Restaurant

Most likely, Tong Shun Ju will remind Beijing diners of duck restaurants in Beijing. Los Angeles eating establishments with chefs from Beijing have also been recognized.

The ambience is pleasant and the interior design is oriented toward Beijing.

In addition to the Peking duck, the restaurant serves classic Beijing liver stir-fry, lu zhu stew, zhajiang noodles, and traditional desserts such as rolling donkey and pea cake.

Address: 250 W Valley Blvd, Suite B2, San Gabriel, CA 91776 | (626) 570-8598

Duck House

Duck House is over two decades old and is the first restaurant in Los Angeles to offer Peking duck.

Making authentic Peking duck is labor-intensive, particularly with respect to the skin, and this restaurant is known for its attention. The skin is sliced to the appropriate thickness, and the contained fat is transformed into crunchy cracklings with no excess. Because duck skins tend to lose their crispness, the restaurant goes so far as to keep the serving plate on hot water.

The owner seems fond of understated Republican-era elegance. Supposedly, the screen at the entrance and the doors of the private rooms are antiques from prominent Republican households. The bold colors in the decor, though generous, are quite balanced.

Address: 501 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754

Phone: 626-284-3227

Hours: 11:30–15:00; 17:00–22:00

Tasty Duck

There are two main divisions in Peking duck: hanging-oven duck and closed-oven duck.

Tasty Duck offers the closed-oven variety. Some of these other restaurants have table-side carving but this one doesn’t. The duck is carved in the kitchen, so expect the duck and lotus leaf pancakes to arrive about 15 minutes after you sit down.

Boneless duck has a funny color and is sliced somewhat neatly.

When making your pancake, place some warm duck skin, and duck meat and top with a thin layer of sweet bean sauce. You should keep the sauce to a minimum as it will over power the flavor of the duck.

Address: 1039 E Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776

All the praise is well deserved, especially with meat so close to the skin and bones. It is about that time to start making reservations for this festive weekend meal.