Grand Hyatt Beijing & The Best Peking Duck
My Flight:
Last month (Aug 2016), I made a business trip to Beijing and Qingdao, staying a total of 2 nights in Beijing and 1 night in Qingdao. I took the SQ flight departing Singapore at 8.30am. I was travelling Business Class, and as usual had my breakfast at the Silver Kris Lounge before my flight. This morning, I had Lontong, a Malay dish consisting of rice cakes, egg, and veggie cooked in curry gravy. I also could not resist a small bowl of Tau Suan, a bean sweet soup.
Breakfast @ Silver Kris Lounge, Changi Airport
Onboard flight, we were serve brunch. I had pre-order Nasi Lemak (coconut rice served with spicy fish cake, fried chicken and fried eggs) from the Book-a-Cook menu. As usual SQ serves a fruit platter, cereals/muesli, bread/croissants, before the main. Dessert this morning was a chocolate cake. 
Brunch of board flight
Flight arrived in Beijing around 2.50pm. I had arranged for a pick up by Grand Hyatt and was surprised to be greeted at the gate. When we reached the immigration, we were greeted by this horrendous queue! The guy who greeted us said that it can take as long as an hour, but as we were lucky and all the counters were open, it took us only about 40 mins. We then picked up our luggages and were led to the basement to our car. 
Immigration @ Beijing Capital Airport
Grand Hyatt Beijing @ Oriental Plaza:
The drive from the airport to the Grand Hyatt in the heart of the city took about 1 hour. Traffic was very heavy. By the time we got to the hotel, it was 4.45pm. The good thing to note is that there is free wifi in the car!!
We were greeted by another queue at the regular check in line so I thought of using the priority check in for Hyatt platinum members, which I am one. Unfortunately as they had a queue and had let others use the priority counter, and the guy who went to that counter was taking a long time, there ended with no priority queue so to speak.
The room was modern and had a contemporary design typical of a Hyatt. Room and bathroom were both spacious. The welcome fruit platter was 3 apples. I am always comfortable staying at a Grand Hyatt.
Grand Hyatt Beijing
I had chosen to stay at the Grand Hyatt Beijing for 2 reasons:
- The wonderful Peking duck served at its Chinese restaurant, Made in China 长安壹号
- Its proximity to Wangfujing, Beijing’s main shopping street. Grand Hyatt is also located at Oriental Plaza, and linked to the Malls at Oriental Plaza.
Dinner @ Made in China
We had dinner that evening at Made in China. There were only 2 of us, so we ordered half a Peking duck, fried mushrooms and a plate of pot stickers.
Made in China, the Chinese restaurant @ the Grand Hyatt Beijing
The duck was as good as I remembered it! We were first served the small section of skin at the breast area. This is eaten with a little sugar. It was so so good. Then the slices of breast and drumstick is eaten with the sauce and wrapped in a pancake with cucumber and spring onion. It was a truely satisfying meal and is definitely one of the reasons I always look forward to a visit to Beijing. 
The best Peking Roast Duck!
Our total bill came up to RMB564. Not a cheap meal, but totally worth it.
Breakfast @ The Grand Hyatt Beijing
Grand Hyatt Beijing serves breakfast at 2 restaurants daily. International fare on the second floor and Chinese breakfast in Made in China, on the Ground floor. Despite this restaurant being said to serve Chinese breakfast, you can find eggs and sausages too. But the focus is still mainly on Chinese breakfast, and it had a good variety and choice. I go for my usual plain congee with some preserved condiments.
Chinese breakfast @ Made in China
On our second morning, we had to leave the hotel early at 6am before the restaurant opens at 6.30am. The hotel kindly arranged a breakfast box for each of us. There were croissant, Danish pastry, crackers. Cheese, yogurt, fruits and cupcakes together with a bottle of water. All well packed and presented. It was much appreciated.
Breakfast Box prepared for us by the Grand Hyatt Hotel
I enjoyed my stay at Grand Hyatt Beijing. Service and location was good. I will not hesitate to stay here again when I next visit Beijing.
Next Up : Two Summer’s nights in Beijing (II) – Wangfujing and Ghost Street