Chinese food is almost always a piping hot conversation topic, in spite of having 460 dishes of major international cuisines currently served at the Olympics.

Chefs from Quanjude, China’s famed century-old Peking duck restaurant, have been hired to provide an authentic Beijing experience at the Olympic Village. The 136-year old Beijing establishment reportedly earned more than US$72,771 on the eve of the Games’ opening ceremony. The restaurant chain also has outlets in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong.

The popular Beijing or Peking duck dish consists of succulent meat slices and crispy thin roasted duck skin wrapped in feather-light pancakes topped off with a dash of sweet plum sauce. The Games caterer had to double its daily supply to more than 600 Quanjude roast ducks prepared for the athletes and ensured 100% compliance with strict anti-doping tests, for the ducks I mean.

Beijing Olympics 2008 – Peking Duck On the Menu