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A taste of Beijing

Siji Minfu (Forbidden City branch)

四季民福烤鸭店（故宫店）

The roast duck house Beijingers actually send their relatives to. The Nanchizi Street branch sits right beside the east gate of the Forbidden City and some upper tables look straight out over the palace moat and roofline, which is why the queue regularly runs past two hours at peak. The duck is a classic fruitwood-roasted bird, carved at the table, and the rest of the menu is solid everyday Beijing home cooking rather than banquet theatre.

¥150–250 per person≈ US$22Dongcheng, 11 Nanchizi Street, beside the east gate of the Forbidden City
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

No Michelin star; known as the queue-forever local favourite for fruitwood-roasted duck with a Forbidden City view, and one of the most recommended duck houses on Chinese review sites.

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Fruitwood roast duck (果木烤鸭)
  • Mustard duck webs (芥末鸭掌)
  • Sauteed pea shoots (清炒豆苗)
  • Pork belly in brown sauce (红烧肉)

What it actually tastes like

Duck is served as fatty skin plus meat, and the full bird includes parts foreigners rarely meet: head, webs, tongue in cold starters. The mustard duck webs are sharply nose-clearing. Sweet bean sauce is much saltier and less sweet than hoisin sold abroad.

Allergens in this kitchen

gluten/wheatsoysesame

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.