Update: my $60 Peking duck in Flushing was better than the $180 one I had downtown
Went to a spot on Main Street in Flushing with my cousin who lives in Queens, paid $60 for a whole duck and it blew away the $180 version I got at a fancy place in Manhattan two weeks back. The skin was crisp all the way through, the pancakes were fresh, and nobody rushed us out the door. Everyone keeps saying you have to pay big money for good duck in this city and I just don't buy it anymore. Where do you all go for duck that doesn't cost a rent payment?
Careful tho, the $180 Manhattan place isn't always just hype, it's a different style of duck. A lot of the fancy spots do the Cantonese roast duck where they pump air under the skin and dry it for hours so the skin puffs up like glass. Flushing spots mostly do the Beijing style where you get the pancakes, scallions, hoisin and they carve it at the table for you. So you're kind of comparing two different things. Both can be great, it just depends what you're in the mood for. Next time try a Cantonese spot in Chinatown like on Mott or Bayard and see if the skin hits different.