Madame Taekwondo is back in town for the weekend, and instead of meeting her in Hong Kong, Jelloman arranged a weekend of activities for her north of the border. That meant, on Friday night immediately after work, I had the pleasure of dragging little nugget along to Shenzhen, joining the two of them who had already gotten a head start.
Our dinner destination was Jingzhifang (京炙坊), a Beijing cuisine restaurant I had heard great things about but never had the chance to visit until now.
Originating from Beijing, Jingzhifang specializes in crispy roast duck (what else?). Despite being relatively close to Futian Station, it's located in a bit of a no-man’s land — not quite far enough to justify a cab ride, but a bit too far for a comfortable walk (about 10 minutes on foot).
Aside from its signature Peking duck, the restaurant is also known for something else: its notoriously long waiting times. Fortunately, Madame Taekwondo and her best friend had arrived early to secure us a table (lifesavers!).
Beijing roast duck with caviar (京炙酥不膩魚子醬烤鴨) (¥238) – We unanimously agreed to skip the small talk and go straight for the star of the show — the whole roast duck.
Interestingly, they even provided a tracking number for our duck. While I appreciated the transparency, I didn’t quite feel the urge to trace its family tree.
As usual, the duck was carved table side right next to us.
Soon enough, our Peking duck was ready for action.
This was served over a small flame to keep the slices warm. A really nice touch and something I haven’t seen often.
The crispy duck skin was absolutely divine — succulent, rich, and possibly the best I’ve had in Shenzhen this year. Definitely up there with heavyweights like King de Duck (金鴨季) and Jingwei Zhang Roast Duck Restaurant (京味張).
The usual condiments of cucumber, melon, sugar, and hoisin sauce were more than enough to complete the experience (though no hawthorn jelly here).
For the second serving, the duck skin was cut into small squares, each topped with a dab of caviar, then served over a slice of melon and a piece of brioche. Unexpectedly delightful!
Steamed crab meat and winter melon with 5J ham (火腿蒸蟹肉冬瓜) (¥78) – We decided we needed a veggie dish to balance out all that meat. This light and elegant dish was the perfect choice. The combination of soft winter melon, sweet crab meat, and the umami-rich Spanish 5J ham, all in a clear broth, worked beautifully.
JD meat cake (京東肉餅) (¥28) – Beijing style pancake stuffed with juicy minced meat. Simple, hearty but where were the rest of the pieces!???
Hand-crafted black sesame ice-cream (黑芝麻手工冰淇淋) (¥38) – Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time I’ve had a black sesame dessert molded into the shape of an imperial jade seal (玉璽) — the last time was at a modern European restaurant, Brian McKenna@The Courtyard, next to the Forbidden City. But this one was no less impressive. Rich, nutty, and creamy. An elegant way to end the meal.
It was a pretty special experience for little one.
Glutinous rice roll with red bean paste (驢打滾) (¥22) – Always have room for the donkey up side down. The chewy glutinous rice and red bean paste are a match made in heaven.
Despite not ordering a ton of food, I was absolutely stuffed by the end. Thankfully, we had a 10-minute walk ahead of us to help walk it off.
We weren't quite ready to call it a night yet. We have plans for some game time before bed. Fingers crossed we managed to crash before midnight.
Food Rating: 6.8/10
Price: ¥¥¥¥
Address: 5/F, Jiangsu Building Tower B, 6013 Yitian Road, Futian, Shenzhen, China
深圳市福田区益田路6013号江苏大厦B座五楼
Closest Metro Station: Futian (福田)
Tel: +86 (755) 8306-8088
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:00pm daily
