BEIJING — It's hamburger versus duck burger in China's capital.
China's leading Peking duck chain, Da Dong, is deploying the iconic Chinese dish along with an American twist to take on giant rival McDonald's.
A new branch of the restaurant's chief offering is the Classic Crispy Lean Roast Duck Burger, which sells for the equivalent of $3.50. This compares with MacDonald’s Double Beef Burger and Big Mac, which both go for $3.15.
Some 400 people visited the new restaurant for lunch on its official opening day Wednesday, "way above" the expectations of chef and owner Dong Zhenxiang.
“It tastes great, I am sure the Chinese burger is better than a foreign burger,” customer Wang Zhi told NBC News.
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The Da Dong Peking Duck chain, which already had 12 outlets, specializes in the dish famed for its crispy skin and succulent meat. The new restaurant is located in the upscale shopping and residential area of Huamao, and also sells more traditional Chinese fare like noodles and moon cakes.
Dong, who says he invested some $310,000 to set up the burger joint, plans to take his classic cuisine and its burger version to New York next.
“The white-feather Peking duck will be raised in Chicago according to our specifications, and we have found a place for a three-story restaurant at Times Square,” he told NBC News.
After that, Da Dong Peking Duck is set to take over the world, Dong said.
“After it opens in July, our next aims will be London, Paris, Milan — the world’s best cities,” he added.
