In 1978, Eddie Tsui wanted to open a restaurant specializing in unique northern Chinese cuisine. After deciding on Peking Duck as the specialty, Peking Gourmet Inn was born. Realizing that store-bought ingredients were not adequate to generate the authentic taste he was seeking, he opted to go the route of growing his own jumbo spring onions, as well as formulating his own recipe for hoisin sauce, and hand crafting each pancake. Peking Gourmet Inn continues to uphold the same methods and traditions, ensuring the delicious and authentic flavor that generations have grown to love.

I took my sister to Peking Gourmet Inn for her birthday, because she wanted to try something new and different. Peking Gourmet Inn was the perfect choice, because she had never had duck the Peking Gourmet Inn way. Prior to this occasion I had only dined at Peking Gourmet Inn once and I was hooked. Peking gourmet is great for large parties and if you decide to go in the evening, I suggest making a reservation. They get really busy especially around the weekend. You can’t miss the restaurant because of the bold red and gold sign that you can easily see from the road. The dining area is quiet interesting, because you get a sense of East meets West.  Cream walls decorated with Chinese artifacts, large Chinese lanterns, red accented chairs, white table linens, framed Chinese artwork, and photos of celebrities and politicians taken with the owners.

Peking Gourmet Inn has an array of  unique northern Chinese cuisine on their menu. I highly recommend the peking duck, because it’s their specialty. Keep in mind that the portions are pretty generous when deciding what to order.  As for the dining experience it is wonderful. We were seated at a booth by the hostess and given our menus. The waiter came over a few minutes after we sat down and was very nice, prompt, and attentive.

It took us a few minutes to decide what to order as they have a large menu. We ended up ordering the Peking Duck, pickled celery, and the house special fried rice. Everything came out shortly after we had ordered because we wanted it all to come out at the same time. The waiter brought out the pickled celery, the sides for the Peking Duck which included the hoisin sauce, julienne cucumber, julienne sliced green onions aka scallions, hot peppers in soy sauce, and the warm homemade pancake.  This pancake is almost crepe like, but not as thin. A few minutes later a server came out with a serving tray table and right behind him was our personal duck carver.  She had the succulent duck cooked to perfection and her large butcher knife. I loved watching the butcher carve the duck because it reminded me of  Thanksgiving day when the turkey was being carved.  There was something humbling and entertaining about it, or maybe it was the anticipation of gobbling up the deliciousness. The butcher started intricately slicing the crispy skin while omitting the layer of fat. She worked her way to the succulent duck meat and fans a layer of each out onto an oval shaped plate as you can see in the picture below. When she was done another server came by and demonstrated a crepe for us the Peking Gourmet Inn way; first he placed a warm crepe on a plate, second he smeared the hoisin sauce on the crepe, third he placed a slice of duck and crispy skin on top of the hoisin sauce, fourth he added julienne sliced of green onions, and lastly the hot pepper soysauce which was optional to spoon onto the crepe. Okay $38 for Peking duck might seem steep, but it was well worth every last penny. In the end  our waiter brought out a slice of cheese cake with a lighted candle which was complimentary, because we were celebrating my sister’s birthday. Everything was delicious!! My favorite was the pickled celery and the Peking duck wrapped up in crepe with the included sides. We could of done without the house special fried rice as we were so full from eating just the duck crepe and pickled celery.  It was good for lunch the next day. Check it out Peking Gourmet Inn if you are in the neighborhood or if you are looking for a great Peking Duck.

Peking Gourmet Inn
6029 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041
http://www.pekinggourmet.com
(703) 671 – 8088