17.022 Half Peking Duck

Cycle 17 – Item 22

Post 5,866

27 (Tue) January 2026

Half Peking Duck

3.0

at Mao

-Cheongdam, Gangnam, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with W

Yesterday, we’d dropped by our apartment in Oksu, now vacated (see generally 17.021 Kimchi Kongnamul Daegu Tang).

Today, we dropped by our building in Cheongdam, now vacated – in late 2023, we’d been fortunate to get a single tenant for the entire property even before it was completed (see generally 14.323 Pungcheon Minmul Jangeo); a tech start-up that shelled out loads for fancy new furniture and internal upgrades (e.g., conference rooms, lounges, kitchens on every floor), only to go belly up less than 2 years into their 5-year lease.

Afterwards, we walked down the street and had dinner at Mao, featured once previously on GMTD (see most recently 2.108 Beijing Duck).

Amazing that the restaurant, as well as the barbecue restaurant above it, remains in business after all these years (restaurants in Gangnam are not know for longevity).

At the time of that prior visit, I noted:

I haven’t tried Beijing Duck in Beijing, even though I’ve been there. I’ve had it once in San Francisco, once in LA, half a dozen times in Seoul, and once in Shanghai. Never have I had a particularly great experience with this most famous of Chinese dishes, certainly not to an extent that revealed to me what all the fuss is about. I’m hoping that it’s better at the source.

Since then, I’ve tried it at the source: “Certainly the crispiest that I’ve ever experienced, but perhaps a bit too much, more on the side of crunky (I just coined this word). But beyond the bite, not much flavor (see 7.146 Peking Duck).”

Empty at 17:00, but more customers would arrive by the time we were leaving.

Through 17 years of documentation on GMTD, the returns for Beijing Duck have been consistently disappointing:

- Beijing Duck (Seoul, Korea): 2.5 (1.271 Beijing Duck)
- Mao (Seoul, Korea): 2.0 (2.108 Beijing Duck)
- China Place (Manila, Philippines): 2.5 (5.009 Peking Duck)
- Corniche – Diamond Hotel (Manila, Philippines): 1.0 (5.095 Peking Duck etc.)
- Jing Zun (Beijing, China): 1.5 (7.146 Peking Duck)
- Crystal Jade Dining IN (Manila, Philippines): 2.5 (7.244 Roasted Peking Duck)
- Modern Sichuan (Manila, Philippines): 3.0 (8.340 Beijing Duck Wraps)
- Buggyeong Sanghoe & Beijing Duck: 2.0 (12.131 Beijing Duck)
- Beijing Duck (Seoul, Korea): 1.5 (14.168 Beijing Duck)
- Chef Chu’s (Los Altos, California, USA): 4.0 (15.180 Classic Beijing Duck)
- Da Ding Hong Kong Duck (Seongnam, Korea): 1.0 (16.053 Imperial Hong Kong Roast Duck (Not))

Average rating = 2.14 (2.21 with today’s rating boost).

I suspect that the problem lies largely with the restaurants, many of which simply don’t have the capacity to prepare such a majestic dish.

Also maybe because it’s just not my thing (by contrast, Cantonese Roast Duck tends to rate consistently quite high).

Of course, the top item is jjajang myeon, but a few non-standard items, like kungpao chicken (gongbao chicken).

Dare I say that my own home-cooked attempts at “Beijing Duck” – not employing traditional techniques, but served in the manner of Beijing Duck – have been more successful (see for example 15.275 Roast Soy Duck with Mandarin Pancakes).

Prices in 2011: 50,000 (whole) / 30,000 (half).

15 years later, the Beijing Duck at Mao was much better than I remembered. The skin was very nicely crisp, but not enough of it. The meat was a bit dry and slightly gamy. But the kicker was the handmade pancakes, perfectly sized, perfectly thick, perfectly delicious. I would definitely come back for more.