As its name suggests, th Peking/Beijing cuisine originated in Beijing (Peking) and is also formally known as Mandarin cuisine.
Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine was influenced by people from all over China, and Beijing cuisine itself, in turn, also greatly influenced other Chinese cuisines. The Emperor's Kitchen was a term referring to the cooking places inside of the Forbidden City, Beijing, where thousands of cooks from China's different parts showed their best cooking skills to please royal families and officials.
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A small insight from 'Metropolasia-Man':
Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine was influenced by people from all over China... Especially by those thousands of cooks who came to the Emperor's Kitchen from China's different regions, to please royal families and officials...
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There is an emphasis on dark soy paste, sesame paste, sesame oil, scallions, and fermented tofu is often served as a condiment. In terms of cooking method, methods relating to the different ways of frying are often used.
The cuisine's most notable dish, Peking Duck, is mostly prized for the thin, crispy skin with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat. The duck is air-dried, then coated with a mixture of syrup and soy sauce before roasting.
Most Chinese restaurants will make two dishes out of one duck : one with thin slices of skin with a small layer of fat, or none at all, underneath, and another one with the duck meat. The latter is often a stir-fry dish.
Other famous dishes of the Peking cuisine include Bird's nest soup and Hot and sour soup.
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