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A long march to Krč

In Prague 4, a new outpost of Westernized Chinese cuisine
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By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
January 31st, 2007 issue

RENÉ JAKL/THE PRAGUE POST
Looking the part in Peking: friendly service and grand style at the I.P. Pavlova sibling.
Traditional Chinese delicacies often rely on painstaking ritual to achieve peak flavors. Bird’s nest soup, for example, involves tremendous patience while swifts construct nests of mucus on cave walls. To create a perfect, pungent green-black “thousand-year” egg, aficionados must carefully pack them in mud and ash and other substances, then schedule a few months of downtime while the eggs cure.
If your palate accepts only the more familiar stir-fry of international Chinese cuisine, not to worry. These indulgences don’t appear on Peking’s menu — at least not on the Occidental version.
The restaurant does, however, offer Peking duck, a less bewildering but equally demanding specialty. Typically, restaurants serving this dish require advance notice of at least one day to allow proper time for air-drying, inflating the skin, stuffing with ginger, scallions, anise and other seasonings, coating in honey and so on. The result of such treatment is always dramatic: taut, crisp skin the color of weathered copper backed by a concentrated layer of fat and meat imbued with complex aromas and rich flavors. Without this caveat, chefs must compensate by shortcutting tradition or reheating previously cooked pieces.
It’s a dangerous compromise, but pulled off rather well at Peking, the new outpost of the longstanding I.P. Pavlova restaurant set in the corporate wilderness of Krč. Although rectangles of prized skin wilt, presumably under a second round of heat — brittleness giving way to a less welcome tacky, chewy texture — the fat undercoating remains breviloquent and intense. The meat itself reaches a point of rustic audacity, recklessly piling absorbed smoke and gamey flavors on the palate. A drizzle of hoisin sauce strikes appropriate sweet and tainted chords.
Peking

Pujmanové 10
Prague 4–Krč
Tel. 241 730 688
Open daily 11:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.–11 p.m.

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Overall
Unfortunately, the pancakes are dry and unappealing. Served along with the usual accouterments, it’s a freshman 101 survey of this ancient dish: entirely adequate, touching on key points, but skipping some of the intricacy.
From the Menu
  • Piquant soup 55 Kč
  • Spring rolls 55 Kč
  • Steamed beef dumplings 80 Kč
  • Fried dumplings with taro 80 Kč
  • Chinese noodles 89 Kč
  • Fried rice 65 Kč
  • Kung pao chicken 159 Kč
  • Spicy deep-fried beef 169 Kč
  • Peking duck 599 Kč
  • Gambrinus 39 Kč
  • Pilsner Urquell 45 Kč
Other entrees are equally appealing and restrained. Peking’s kitchen muzzles the kung pao, for example, turning out a breezy yet flavorful adaptation, more remarkable for fresh, crisp vegetables and a surprising streak of ginger sneaking in from the flank than fiery blasts of chili.
There are a few notable stumbles. Spicy deep-fried beef is correct only in one respect — it contains strips of beef. Otherwise it’s a one-dimensional fizzle, with whatever spices are involved beaten, broken and washed away by an unrelenting torrent of salt. And the spring roll, weighty with oil-soaked dough and packed with a flat, forgettable wad of vegetables and meat, deserves nothing more than a quick, confused “How did they mess this up?” grimace.
Of course, these could be one-off tremors. Overall, the three meals I had at Peking suggest a norm of modest consistency. Standouts include many of the soups, starters, sides — and the room itself. The interior screams “Chinese restaurant” in the classiest, most Westernized possible tone. Draped in reds and golds and wood and glass, with painted panels and costumed staff, it’s the type of place where you can hold a business meeting or family dinner (there’s a play area for kids). Many tables accommodate large groups. Private rooms are available as well.
Food service plays to the same level. Piquant soup, a sharply acidic broth balanced by an earthy combination of sprouts, nuts and ground pork, allows darts of chili to slip underneath. Ugly, grayish-brown masses known as steamed beef dumplings are actually an intriguing tightrope act, tipping carefully between bright herbs and more rough-hewn flavors. Both the noodles and fried rice exhibit a compelling smoky character punctuated by fresh vegetables — including some very sweet peas that seem to explode from the murky backdrop.
There is more to try at this new iteration of Peking. Perhaps if you ask, your waiter will even bring out some more authentic and adventurous plates. But the familiar items, with a few exceptions, will not disappoint.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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