This Day, That Year

Item from Dec 27, 1984, in China Daily: The Beijing Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, which just celebrated its 120th anniversary, is expanding operations at home and abroad ... The restaurant plans to open roastduck restaurants in Frankfurt, Bangkok and Tokyo.

Founded in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty (16441911), Quanjude is one of the country’s most renowned restaurants for roast duck.

The company became a corporate group in 1993 and went public in 2007 on the Shenzhen bourse to support its goal of growing into an international brand.

It now operates more than 30 restaurants nationwide and has opened eight several franchised outlets outside China. Food lovers can relish the prospect of Quanjude roast duck in many places including Japan, Vietnam and Australia.

Besides Quanjude, Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant opened its first overseas restaurant in New York to the public early this month. When it opened for selected reservations in October, 2,500 people tried to book a table within two hours. Prime dining times already are booked through to the end of February.

Da Dong was founded in Beijing in 1985 and now has 10 outlets in the capital and four in Shanghai. Last year when the French culinary bible Michelin published its guide for Shanghai, the first it has put out for a Chinese city, two of Da Dong’s branches in the city made the list with one star each, an honor they have retained this year.

Dong Zhenxiang, founder of Da Dong, told China Daily that the potential for fine Chinese restaurants abroad is huge.