Posted Monday, November 15, 2004; 21:00 HKT
Unless you live in its birthplace, Peking duck tends to be a minor extravagance—a dish just for celebrations and nights out. But in Beijing, you can have a platter of juicy duck, pancakes, leeks and hoisin sauce for as little as $4. And it rarely disappoints. As connoisseurs of their local dish, Beijingers love to debate the merits of convection roasters over peach-wood ovens, or to quibble over sauce recipes. But the truth is, it's all pretty scrumptious. Indeed, it's often the setting that distinguishes a truly transcendent Peking duck from the merely excellent.

Most of the city's hoarier establishments serve the dish with such reverence that visibly enjoying it can feel as unseemly as laughing at a wake. That's why eating at Li Qun is such a joy. Located in a ramshackle courtyard a few blocks south of Tiananmen Square, Li Qun is hardly genteel. Smoke from the oven wafts over diners, and the din of clanging woks is constant. But the raucousness only throws the refinement of the duck into relief. The pancakes have a chewy pluck, the sauce is the perfect mix of sweet and smoky. And the duck? Well, it doesn't get any duckier than this.

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