http://www.soshiok.com/articles/14797
Pork dishes fare better at Victoria Peak
Mon Nov 16 2009
Wong Ah Yoke
The Sunday Times
Singapore, November 15, 2009 - When it comes to Cantonese cooking, Hong Kong is still the indisputable leader. So a restaurant from Hong Kong opening here is reason to sit up and take notice.
The 21/2-week-old Victoria Peak Chinese Cuisine Restaurant on the 11th floor of Orchard Central is an offshoot of the popular Victoria City restaurants, which have outlets in Wan Chai and the Harbour City mall in the territory.
I've been to the Wan Chai branch a few times while holidaying in Hong Kong, hooked by its delectable dim sum and popular roast pork. In comparison, Victoria Peak does not deliver the same culinary finesse. It may be opening hiccups, but while the cooking generally shows good technical expertise, something is still lacking.
A fundamental weakness I found during two visits to the restaurant last week was an insipid stock.
Both the poached wild mushroom in chicken broth ($16) and the fried hor fun with seafood and egg ($22), for example, suffered for it.
The mushrooms, especially, had little else to rescue them from blandness. The hor fun, at least, was topped with succulent shrimps and delicious slices of fried fish, and the thin strips of rice noodles were smooth and well fried.
Dim sum here, such as cheong fun with shrimp and cordycep flower ($5.20) and beancurd roll in chicken broth ($4.80), were good but not great. And a steamed pork rib in XO sauce ($4.20) had too little spice to distinguish it from ordinary steamed pork rib. If not for a reddish slick in the sauce, you would have mistaken it for the non-spicy version.
But the roast pork ($10) was very good, with the crispiest crackling I have eaten. A bit less salty and it would have been perfect.
There is another excellent pork dish you should order: charcoal-grilled tender pork ($16). The cut was pork shoulder, which had a nice crunch, and combined with the smokey aroma from the charcoal, it was worth going back for.
The baked chicken in traditional style ($22 for half) was less outstanding, as the chicken was overcooked. The meat, though well-flavoured with spiced salt, was dry as a result.
One of the dishes listed under the chef's recommendations, king prawn with brinjal ($16), was an odd pairing. Both the prawn and the brinjal tasted great on their own but made a poor match.
Still, treat them as separate dishes and you will find much to like about the meaty, succulent shellfish and the melt-in-the-mouth vegetable.
One reason to visit Victoria Peak is that it offers an ambience that few other Chinese restaurants in the city share.
One side of the restaurant is covered in floor-to-ceiling glass. In the day, it looks out on a refreshing view of lush green plants on the balcony outside, while at night you can see the twinkling lights of buildings in the distance.
Inside is a spacious dining room with a mix of open tables and booth seats, as well as a row of private rooms. Facing the glass wall is a feature wall of rustic bricks that is quite charming. A constantly changing projection of firefly-like lights on the wall, however, is unnecessary.
Victoria Peak still has some way to go, but with some tweaking, it could work. One more great Cantonese restaurant is always welcome in this town.
<HR SIZE=2 width="100%">VICTORIA PEAK CHINESE CUISINE
11-01/02 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road,
Tel: 6238-7666
Open: 11.30am to 3pm (Mondays to Saturdays), 11am to 3pm (Sundays and public holidays), 6 to 10.30pm daily
Food: *** (3/5)
Service: *** 1/2
Ambience: *** 1/2
Price: About $30 for dim sum and from $70 a person for a la carte
Pork dishes fare better at Victoria Peak
Mon Nov 16 2009
Wong Ah Yoke
The Sunday Times
Singapore, November 15, 2009 - When it comes to Cantonese cooking, Hong Kong is still the indisputable leader. So a restaurant from Hong Kong opening here is reason to sit up and take notice.
The 21/2-week-old Victoria Peak Chinese Cuisine Restaurant on the 11th floor of Orchard Central is an offshoot of the popular Victoria City restaurants, which have outlets in Wan Chai and the Harbour City mall in the territory.
I've been to the Wan Chai branch a few times while holidaying in Hong Kong, hooked by its delectable dim sum and popular roast pork. In comparison, Victoria Peak does not deliver the same culinary finesse. It may be opening hiccups, but while the cooking generally shows good technical expertise, something is still lacking.
A fundamental weakness I found during two visits to the restaurant last week was an insipid stock.
Both the poached wild mushroom in chicken broth ($16) and the fried hor fun with seafood and egg ($22), for example, suffered for it.
The mushrooms, especially, had little else to rescue them from blandness. The hor fun, at least, was topped with succulent shrimps and delicious slices of fried fish, and the thin strips of rice noodles were smooth and well fried.
Dim sum here, such as cheong fun with shrimp and cordycep flower ($5.20) and beancurd roll in chicken broth ($4.80), were good but not great. And a steamed pork rib in XO sauce ($4.20) had too little spice to distinguish it from ordinary steamed pork rib. If not for a reddish slick in the sauce, you would have mistaken it for the non-spicy version.
But the roast pork ($10) was very good, with the crispiest crackling I have eaten. A bit less salty and it would have been perfect.
There is another excellent pork dish you should order: charcoal-grilled tender pork ($16). The cut was pork shoulder, which had a nice crunch, and combined with the smokey aroma from the charcoal, it was worth going back for.
The baked chicken in traditional style ($22 for half) was less outstanding, as the chicken was overcooked. The meat, though well-flavoured with spiced salt, was dry as a result.
One of the dishes listed under the chef's recommendations, king prawn with brinjal ($16), was an odd pairing. Both the prawn and the brinjal tasted great on their own but made a poor match.
Still, treat them as separate dishes and you will find much to like about the meaty, succulent shellfish and the melt-in-the-mouth vegetable.
One reason to visit Victoria Peak is that it offers an ambience that few other Chinese restaurants in the city share.
One side of the restaurant is covered in floor-to-ceiling glass. In the day, it looks out on a refreshing view of lush green plants on the balcony outside, while at night you can see the twinkling lights of buildings in the distance.
Inside is a spacious dining room with a mix of open tables and booth seats, as well as a row of private rooms. Facing the glass wall is a feature wall of rustic bricks that is quite charming. A constantly changing projection of firefly-like lights on the wall, however, is unnecessary.
Victoria Peak still has some way to go, but with some tweaking, it could work. One more great Cantonese restaurant is always welcome in this town.
<HR SIZE=2 width="100%">VICTORIA PEAK CHINESE CUISINE
11-01/02 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road,
Tel: 6238-7666
Open: 11.30am to 3pm (Mondays to Saturdays), 11am to 3pm (Sundays and public holidays), 6 to 10.30pm daily
Food: *** (3/5)
Service: *** 1/2
Ambience: *** 1/2
Price: About $30 for dim sum and from $70 a person for a la carte
