Wood fired peking duck

This article first appeared in the Sep/Oct 2010 issue of World Gaming magazine.

Answering my phone I was greeted with the husky growl of a very demanding Dragon who made it clear that I would be taking him out to dinner that night. Hoping to make the atmosphere a little more affable I suggested The Tiger might like to join us, an option The Dragon found agreeable. Considering that we’d all had a busy week so far (it was a Wednesday), we decided we would first meet for a couple of beers at the Hard Rock casino before making our final dining decision. There is nothing like a cold beer and some rocking tunes to get you in the mood for a big dinner with two very good friends with healthy appetites.

Peking Duck in Three Style

After a brief flurry of discussion I got my own way in choosing where to dine that night. My choice was the Beijing Kitchen at the Grand Hyatt at City of Dreams (COD). It was only a short walk through the City of Dreams casino from Hard Rock though with my dreadful sense of direction we still managed to take numerous wrong turns. At one stage we ended up in a construction zone and then a rather nice function centre before finally making it through to the lobby of the Grand Hyatt. If you are staying at the Grand Hyatt, or if you enter COD from the Grand Hyatt entry, you will have no trouble; the struggle is if you approach it from the other direction.

For a Wednesday night we were surprised to see how quiet it was. However, we were warmly greeted and after The Dragon made a fuss of our seats we were quickly and politely ushered to our own corner of the restaurant. Once seated we felt instantly comfortable with the deep dark décor of rich reds and glowing woods providing a tranquil setting. The wood ovens burned away in one of the many open planned kitchen areas and our experience kicked off in an agreeable mood.

The service at Beijing Kitchen was exceptional. We were taken care of by Chinese and Pakistani waiters who both spoke excellent Chinese and English. I graciously handed the ordering honours over to The Dragon and with the help of our friendly waiter he made some seriously good suggestions.

We started with a refreshing cucumber and Chinese lettuce salad that was perfectly dressed in a sesame sauce. Following this we had a wonderful green noodle and chicken starter that was served cold. It appeared to be a Vietnamese-inspired dish though it still retained a uniquely Chinese flavour. This dish was definitely one of the highlights of the evening. We tried the duck liver that was served between little pancakes; they were good without being breathtaking. Finally we washed down our starters with a sweet and sour soup that was tasty but not quite sour enough for this panda’s palate.

Honey glazed king prawns

The feasting continued with a dish of honey and ginger king prawns that were simply out of this world. They were perfectly cooked and certainly worth the expense. We followed this with wood fired Peking duck, BBQ pork and a serving of Kung Pao chicken. The duck was excellent but I have to say I was expecting a taste explosion after watching it being cooked in front of our very eyes in a wood fired oven. The pork was succulent and had the perfect amount of sweetness while the chicken added that spicy element. The Tiger, our spice fanatic, loved it.

I washed down my meal with some reasonably priced French reds and the range on the wine buffet seemed incredible value at around MOP$100 per head. Our waiter offered us the dessert menu which combined Chinese and Western delights, but I must admit for the first time in recorded history not one of us could fit another morsel in. No reflection on the menu – simply a statement in gluttony.

I would certainly recommend this restaurant. The décor and service were fantastic and the food on the whole was excellent. A few of the signature dishes were a little disappointing considering their price but that was balanced by a couple of outstanding dishes that would stand up in any excellent Chinese restaurant in Macau or Hong Kong.