We couldn't believe that this restaurant's turn would also close
After 44 years of activity, the Pekin restaurant will close its doors this month for the last time, and for us it is the end of an era.
So until when can you come to eat an oily egg roll with a phosphorous sauce?
And what did her owner sadly tell us, in the midst of the Corona crisis?
Yael Laur
08/08/2022
Monday, August 8, 2022, 2:20 p.m. Updated: 2:31 p.m.
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Beijing restaurant.
Nostalgia (photo: Eyal Granit)
In the 1970s, when the culinary scene in Israel in general and in Tel Aviv in particular, was light years away from its current state, the dominant cuisine in the country was Chinese cuisine.
It was one of the favorite and popular cuisines in Israel, at least in the local interpretation they gave it, mainly thanks to two prominent representatives of the genre.
Chef restaurants weren't really here yet, and when we wanted to indulge we went to the Red Chinese, or Peking.
Well, we all know the fate of the Red Chinese, and now, after 44 years, it's time to say goodbye to the northern Pekin and Tel Aviv.
Pekin Restaurant opened in its first incarnation in 1978 on Yad Harutz Street in Tel Aviv and was one of the first three Chinese restaurants in Israel and the only one that remains to this day.
After that, it moved to operate on Dizengoff Street and for the last 30 years it operated in the Tzahala neighborhood in Tel Aviv.
Six years ago, the management of the restaurant was also changed, which wanted to maintain its image.
In recent years, Beijing has tried to freshen things up a bit by hosting leading chefs such as Israel Aharoni and Roi Sofer.
Beijing restaurant.
Fought to the end (photo: Anatoli Michaelou)
Benny Kanter, the 74-year-old who founded Pekin, 44 years ago, returned in recent years to manage it.
In an interview we conducted with him two years ago, in the midst of the corona crisis, he painfully said, "Life will change. I have always said that I am intrigued to see what of all the threats of Armageddon will come in the end. I did not think that I would sit on the balcony of my home and watch how the world deals its cards again," Kanter testifies, while that he is trying to learn some lessons from the crisis.
"We have never been a restaurant-chef. Our hearts have never backed out, but yes there are restaurants that need to take stock now," he said.
This is a new life, and this is also an opportunity for a new life, for the industry and for all of us."
The interview with the mythical owner of Pekin
I didn't think I would sit on my balcony and watch the world deal its cards again"
To the full article
Restaurateur Lee Fenn, the owner of Pekin in recent years, responded, "Sad. The beloved Pekin, where I grew up as a child and became its owner, is closing. After much deliberation, it was decided to close the place and start a new path. This is an old chapter that has closed so that a new chapter can be opened I invite our guests to come and enjoy the iconic and beloved dishes in the last month of the restaurant."
The Pekin restaurant will operate until the end of the month, August 31st, and until then you can come and eat the iconic dishes such as beef in eggplant, sweet and sour chicken, chicken in cashew, corn soup and of course egg roll with a phosphorescent red sauce.
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