January 18: Peking Duck Day
What does everyone think of when they think of Peking duck?
They think of that scene from A Christmas Story where they go to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner and the duck comes out with its head on, and then the dude decapitates it in front of them. At least that’s what I think about when I think of Peking duck.
I was happy that Peking duck fell on a Friday and I was able to round up a group of folks to head to Chinatown in San Francisco with me for some authentic Peking duck. And some authentic Mai Tais, because apparently Chinese people (or people who hang out in Chinatown) love themselves some Mai Tais.
This is half of a duck. It didn’t come with a head. As I’d heard, it’s super fatty. You use those little bun things to make sandwiches with duck, onions and sauce (duck sauce? probably?). It was okay. I liked the crispy skin, but the fattiness kind of grossed me out. I will stick to the Mai Tais.
Me, a Mai Tai, and the best take-out bag ever (a horse carousel for Year of the Horse!)
Tomorrow: National Popcorn Day
Weirdly, I think of something else when I hear “Peking Duck”–another movie, GHOSTBUSTERS. I think a video game version thereof that I played some as a child had “Peking Duck” as a power-up item or something. And indeed, in the movie, there is a quick shot (during a musical montage) of some of the Ghostbusters getting fresh Peking Duck handed to them by the proprietor of a Chinese food street-vendor or the like.