TRAVELING TO CHINA FOR DUCK DUCK GOAT WITH STEPHANIE IZARD

Duck Duck Goat

Fulton Market • West Loop • Near West Side
857 W. Fulton Market, Chicago IL
(312) 902-3825
Chinese • Dumplings • Noodles
$$

THE LONG-AWAITED DUCK DUCK GOAT opened a few weeks ago in Chicago’s Fulton Market area. The food there has many inspirations, from the Chinese-American food chef Stephanie Izard ate growing up, to the food of Chicago’s Chinatown and other Chinatowns in America. But it also came from a trip that she took to China at the beginning of 2015 with her husband Gary Valentine and five others—including myself, as official photographer.

We spent two weeks in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai (as well as other stops in between) eating, shopping, sightseeing, and eating some more. A lot of eating. And a lot of pictures, which you’re about to see for the first time anywhere. Here’s the story of Stephanie’s search for the flavors which would help make Duck Duck Goat a reality. Be sure to click the little arrow in the upper right corner to see the photos as big as you can, and get ready to get really hungry. We were.

Gallery: Traveling in China with Stephanie Izard

This is how I remember the trip—all of us picking at a plate of whole lamb at 99 Yurts, a restaurant on the outskirts of Beijing. But let's start at the beginning....

Right off the airplane, our first stop was a favorite of our handler Beichuan Yang—a place that specialized in lamb hot pot. Hot pot wasn't the first thing any of us thought of for Chinese food, but it proved to be a stellar spot—what Americans would call a whole animal restaurant.

Stephanie thought a protocol droid proficient in many languages would come in handy on the trip. This was at a mall.

This was in the mall—a branch of Din Tai Fung, the famous international dumpling chain. Though we would wait until Shanghai, where they were invented, for our soup dumpling fix.

Instead we had spectacular Taiwanese noodle soup at a branch of a well-known, 120-year-old restaurant called Du Hsiao Yueh.

Photographer envy: the menu at Da Dong, specializing in Peking duck (or as the sign says, "Super Neat Roast Duck"). The menu was as big and beautiful as any cookbook. This was one of two Peking duck places we specifically wanted to try, a massive 400-seat restaurant that looked like a Chicago steakhouse.

Carving at Da Dong. The meat was incredibly moist, while the skin was thick and crispy—almost like eating a wafer.

Stephanie's husband Gary is a beer guy, so we also visited a couple of breweries. This was at Great Leap Brewing.

What'll you have?

The team walking up the Great Wall at Mu tian yu.

When Beichuan asked his family and friends for a recommendation, they all mentioned a place called 99 Yurts. But as the cab took us miles outside the city to the neon rainbow entrance, we all had the same thought: are we going to the Chuck E. Cheese of Beijing?

One of the kitchens at 99 Yurts—specialists in whole animal cooking. It may have looked like a theme park, but it was the real deal.

The entrance to a large market, where Beichuan took us to sample different kinds of street food.

Stephanie watching a handpulled noodle maker at the market. As ramshackle as the market could be, you didn't expect to run across such skill—but we did.

More street food: shandong jianbing, basically a Chinese burrito filled with meat, scallions, chilis, hoisin, cilantro... who knows what all.

A cut noodle maker (who wasn't happy about his picture being taken) at the same market.

The neighborhood of the second Peking duck restaurant we wanted to visit had an old China feel—almost like a Chinatown in China.

The second duck restaurant, Sijiminfu, had a more rustic approach, but was equally delicious.

At the Nan luo gu xiang night market, Jan Rickerl, Stephanie's chef de cuisine, got her a gift at a stand that specialized in a particular style of carving...

Jan's gift: a stamp bearing the words "Duck Duck Goat." The imprint of the stamp is used on rice bowls in the restaurant.

Street meat at the night market. Guess what the spiral ones in front of the grill are. No, not pig tails... but nearby.

Another branch of Great Leap Brewing, at the night market.

Now we're in Chengdu. Walking from the hotel to an old Sichuan-style street market, we ran across this old style butcher shop.

A street market in Chengdu. We found ourselves here because Beichuan's grandmother lives in the complex, and she had promised to make us her dan dan noodles.

This market had every kind of meat and produce imaginable, many I had never seen before, all beautifully arranged.

Pretty ducks at the market.

Beichuan and his grandmother. I first met him in Montreal, where he was a cook at Maison Publique and other restaurants for a decade before being deported shortly before our trip to China. When I heard this, I recruited him to show us around, as a guide who not only knew Beijing but food at a high level as well. He has since visited Chicago and staged at Girl & the Goat and Little Goat Diner.

Sichuan wontons. Pork-filled wontons, sitting in Sichuan peppercorn chili oil. For me this was the most memorable bite of the whole trip; everyone craved it, and we all went back to have it for a late night snack, for breakfast... a version of it is now on the menu at Duck Duck Goat.

Sichuan hot pot to be.

And on to Shanghai: our first foray into xiao long bao, soup dumplings.

One of many examples we ate of braised pork belly, or Chairman Mao's Braised Pork. A version of this is on the menu at Duck Duck Goat, too.

We drove quite a ways outside Shanghai for this master of balletic noodle pulling.

And Stephanie gives it a try.

Our entree to the higher echelons of Shanghai noodle making was facilitated by Beichuan's friendship with chef Hanwei Zhao (left), known in Shanghai as the Noodle Boss. This was in his home and test kitchen.

Stephanie trying to shave noodles.

A multicolored sweet potato noodle, dipped Japanese-style in a soy broth.

After our noodle-making visit, we visited what we called the "Restaurant Depot of Shanghai," where we saw this display of frozen meatballs.

A fried bread-maker's street stall in Shanghai.

More street food—scallion pancakes, one of the last bites we had before heading back to America. A simple pancake, but so delicious—a version of this is on the Duck Duck Goat menu, too.

Huge Galdones is a food & lifestyle photographer, and is currently working on Stephanie Izard’s second cookbook.

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One Response to “TRAVELING TO CHINA FOR DUCK DUCK GOAT WITH STEPHANIE IZARD”

Courtney says:

April 12, 2016 at 5:19 pm

Such a great article! I love all the food photos from your trip to China! If you’re interested in some culinary and wine tours all over the world, this is an excellent place to begin! http://www.stridetravel.com/tours/activities/culinary.html?d

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TRAVELING TO CHINA FOR DUCK DUCK GOAT WITH STEPHANIE IZARD

Exclusive behind the scenes look at the Girl & the Goat chef’s trip that helped inspire her new Fulton Market restaurant

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