The Duck at Restaurant Made in China is roasted in an oven that burns apricot wood

Few visitors to Beijing leave without trying Peking duck--the city's signature dish--at least once. Some can't get enough of it, but many others are less enamored, declaring it too fatty and greasy. I've found five places that will change their minds. The first is Restaurant Made in China, in the Grand Hyatt. Sourced from a high-quality farm on the city's outskirts, its duck is blanched in a water, vinegar, and sugar mixture, hung to dry, and roasted for 90 minutes in an oven that burns apricot wood. It's then carved table side (into about 80 pieces) and served with pancakes, sugar, leeks, cucumbers, and garlic and honey-sesame sauces. The industrial-chic, French-tinged Duck de Chine also cooks its birds in a wood-fired oven, where the ducks are left to linger to burn off excess fat. The result is super-lean meat and tissue-thin skin, which one can top with sauces like hoisin, peanut, and sesame. The ducks at Da Dong Roast Duck can be small--maybe not enough for very hungry diners--but the chef ensures quality by raising them himself. Their sugar-dusted skin is sweet and crackly, and there;s simply nothing else like it. Xiang Man Lou, meanwhile, is a cafeteriaesque spot where locals and expats line up for flawless, traditionally cooked (and more gently priced) duck. And all my friends tell me to try Bianyifang, whose history dates back to 1416; its closed-oven cooking method keeps the duck just a bit fatty but never greasy. 

Restaurant Made in China, dinner, $45;1 E. Chang An Ave;86-10/8518-1234;beijing.grand.hyatt.com. Duck de Chine, dinner, $45; 1949 the Hidden City, Courtyard 4, Gong Ti Bei lu, Chaoyang; 86-10/6501-8881. Da Dong Roast Duck, dinner, $35; Jinbao Place. Fifth FI., 88 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng; 86-10/8522-1234. Xiang Man Lou, dinner, $15; 19 Xinyuan Xili Zhongjie, Chaoyang; 86-10/6460-6711. Bianyifang, dinner, $15; 2A Chong wen men wai Da jie, Chongwen; 86-10/6712-0505.

For the textiles and custom-made clothes, Shi Liu Pu Fabric Market ( 168 Dong Men Rd.) is the place to go in Shanghai: four floors and about 300 shops selling cloth, from peasant-print cottons to traditional Chinese silk. Most have a tailor on premises and an extensive design-inspiration look book, and finished items can be dropped off at visitors' hotels the next day. I've found these favorites during my years as a designer. 

For bespoke button-down shirts, the best is Jazz Tailor Made Shirts (shop no.155), where clients can choose the type of collar, cuff, cloth and cut. And for businessmen and women. Shanghai Double Win Dress (no. 143) specializes in custom suits. As its name suggests. Chinese Traditional Fabric (no.105) sells all types of Asian prints and makes lovely handbags and jackets, while Hang Zhou Guo Da Silk Brocade (no.123) sews a very pretty Qipao--a high-neck mandarin-collar dress (as show in second picture)--from its seemingly endless yards of silk.

Then there's Dean Ding (86-137/9521-2352), a textile guru and tailor who takes high-profile clients fabric shopping for her custom designs, which Ding then tailors to a perfect fit.

If the scale of the market still overwhelms, I have two suggestions. At 2002 Hai Shang-Ming Qing (201 Chang Le Rd.) there are traditional Chinese prints and ready-made women's pieces. The delicate craftwork in their jackets and Qipao linings is exquisite. And for men, The Executive by T & Co. (59 Maoming Nan Rd.), on Shanghai's version of Savile Row, is a standout for suits.

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