It was my dad’s 59th birthday on Friday and it was definitely an occasion worth celebrating considering what had happened just the month before. Dinner was at Peach Garden with my immediate family and a few relatives. For easy choosing, we went for the set dinner.


As with Chinese tradition, one has to start off with longevity buns.


Next up was Peking Duck. The skin was nice and crispy – no complaints there.


Of course, there was also the rather politically incorrect shark’s fins. There was a substantial amount of it in each bowl, and I reckon that set our pocket back the most.


Then came this orange ball-like thing. I had no idea what it was until I bit into it.


It was actually some prawn cake sandwiched in between a scallop which was then deep-fried, and then coated with a layer of salted egg. The latter added an interesting note with its saltiness and powdery texture.


Steamed “Soon Hock” – the usual fare and nothing very exciting, though it tasted fresh.


Tiger prawn with sweet and sour sauce. I like prawns but I thought this sauce was a bit too sweet and masked the ‘sweetness’ of the meat.


The braised chicken was a disappointment – it tasted flat and the meat was rather tough. The ginger bits, ham, and sauce didn’t help to lift its taste either. I would say this was the biggest disappointment of the dinner.


Surprisingly, the humble beehoon that was fried together with the meat from the skinned Peking Duck was really delicious. It had ‘wok hei’ and had the right amount of moisture that was infused with flavour.
Dessert was the Hong Kong dessert Yang Chi Kam Lok that contained mango, pomelo and sago in a mango cream mixture. I forgot to take a picture of that as I was caught up in eating the praline mousse cake that my uncle had bought for my dad. Anyway, the mango dessert wasn’t exceptional; perhaps it’s all due to the fact that I’m not a fan of milky cream-like stuff.
While the service at Peach Garden was impeccable, I was a little disappointed with the quality of food this time round. A few dishes in Friday’s dinner were lacklustre and fell short of expectations. Not sure if I’m ready to go back any time soon…