Day 6: Peking Garden (Pacific Place)- Admiralty, Hong Kong

After a stroll in Hong Kong Park, we headed downstairs for a meal at Peking Garden in Pacific Place. We would have gone to Shang Place in Island Shangri-La (apparently where the mango and pomelo sago dessert was created), but since it was full, we headed towards Peking Garden, one of the two large Chinese restaurants in Pacific Place.

Peking Garden, as the name may suggest, is famous for its Peking Duck; however, it does serve up a  plethora of fine Chinese food in an environment that Pacific Place says "resembles an ambiance of modern metropolitan America." It does certainly feel decidedly western; the crown moldings on the walls and comfortable chairs give a sophisticated, not tacky, Western feel.

We were seated next to a wavy wood and glass wall that gives a modern touch to an otherwise classic environment.Yes, we could see the people in the elevators and vice versa, but this is undoubtedly a cool touch.

Even the tea had a Western influence. The typical Chinese tea cups are substituted here at Peking Garden for silver-lined tea cups with handles and plates underneath.

Before, I thought Peking Garden was this restaurant in Pacific Place with only one location; however, that is not the case. The moist towelette placed next to the plate reveals all; Peking Garden is in fact a small chain of restaurants that is part of the Maxim's Group, a company that basically has terrain all over Hong Kong. Below Peking Garden at the Admiralty MTR is a Maxim's Bakery. Across a bridge to Admiralty Centre is Canteen, a Maxim's owned fast-food chain. Genki Sushi and Arome Bakery (multiple locations of each in Hong Kong) is also owned by Maxim's. Yes, those Maxim mooncakes at your Asian supermarket are also by Maxim's.

The point is, chain restaurants are so prevalent in Hong Kong that it's extremely easy to eat at such restaurants instead of individually-owned, non-chain restaurants. Funny enough, all the Hong Kong restaurants that I have posted about are chain restaurants. Funny enough? Chain restaurants may be considered bad to some, but in Hong Kong most chain restaurants are certainly at a good standard.

Anyways, we were presented with an amuse boche of bean curd, cucumber, and peanuts. There was some heat from the sichuan peppercorn infused oil and the vinegar and chicken broth/powder made the dish quite palatable.

Since we were not extremely hungry, we ordered some smaller bites off the menu. Peking Garden's Green Onion Pancake is certainly delicious with its multiple layers and crunchy, pan-fried exterior, but it is also somewhat greasy. I would have prefered that more green onion was added though.

 

We also ordered Peking Garden's juicy pork buns, which come in a set of six. 

These are tasty; each dumpling has plenty of tender, fatty meat, tons of broth, and thin, chewy skin. What I didn't care for is that the broth and the meat is greasy; too much fat is included in the meat mixture. Otherwise, these juicy pork buns are a great rendition; it has all the aspects of what a juicy pork bun/dumpling fan should be looking for, other than the greasiness.

We ordered the pea sprouts with reconstituted dried mushrooms and bean sprouts in supreme broth for some vegetables. Here, the pea sprouts chosen are young, tender pea sprouts, and the bean sprouts have both of their ends cut off. The vegetables are fresh, and the broth rich and flavorful. We certainly enjoyed the fresh vegetables and the rich broth.

The pork and bell pepper stir fry on the other hand is nothing too special in my opinion: plenty of fresh, julienne bell peppers and pork slices stir fried together with some soy sauce and other seasonings/

We were somewhat disappointed with the sea cucumber here, but I guess that could be because we are spoiled with the sea cucumber available in California that is not only reasonably priced but delicious. Here, the flavors are fine; it is a Shanghai style ginger/leek/chive and soy sauce based sauce, but the sea cucumber is not only expensive, it also was harder in terms of chewiness. Instead of having a texture similar to that of soft gelatin, this sea cucumber had a texture similar to that of agar agar or konjac that has been mixed and formed with very little water.

We were thinking about ordering the Peking Duck, but we already had enough food.

It was fun, however, watching the servers expertly slice the peking duck skin and meat into thin slices. They slice the duck not in front of the customer, but rather at a small table before serving the plate of sliced duck. We just happened to be seated right next to the waiters' final preparation station before service.

After the meal, we strolled around the mall for some light exercise. 

The multitude of various spotlights at the My Christmas stage allowed for some fun bokeh shots with the camera!

Back at the Island Shangri-La, the Island Gourmet display greeted us with plenty of beautiful chocolate sculptures. It was a great Christmas Eve/Christmas and holiday decoration!

Peking Garden (Pacific Place)

005, LG, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty
金鐘金鐘道88號太古廣場LG 005號

Tel: (852) 2845 8452

Find the rest of the posts in this series at this trip's TRIP INDEX.