Victoria Peak Chinese Cuisine

We had wanted to try out another restaurant at Orchard Central recently, and by some chance, we ended discovering Victoria Peak instead.

So, funny enough, the other place did not turn out positive, but we were intrigued by the seemingly unending traffic that was resonating at this chinese outlet just nearby.

Hence, we decided to give this place a go, and VP is neatly tucked behind some more prominent eateries on the 11th floor of OC.

Once we got in, we were quite impressed by the level of service, which reminded us strangely of East Ocean at Shaw. In fact, one of the shareholders, who manages the place used to be from East Ocean.

The decor is quite clean and mod for a chinese restaurant, and the overall feel is very comfortable yet classy at the same time. Only thing was there were some steps which were not that visible and I nearly tripped over one of them. But, maybe I was just too distracted by the surroundings :)

Smoked Tea Duck

We began with a delectable smoked tea duck. Impeccably thinly sliced, this plate was simply gorgeous, from the plating to the taste itself. Wonderfully smoked, savory and salty enough, and a nice aroma of tea to bring out the flavor of the smoked meat, this is almost perfect.

A side of sweet sauce was also the perfect companion to the duck, and a garnish of fresh onions gave a good balance to the protein. We only hoped it did not go downhill from here.

Deep Fried Shrimp Roll

The dim sum menu looked pretty much par for the course, but the fried shrimp roll did catch my eye. As you can see from the photo, it was shaped beautifully like a carrot-shaped spring roll, and while the batter could have been a tinny wee bit hard, the shrimp filling was indeed very generous and this creation seems to be a sensible hybrid of spring roll and ha gao.

Lobster Noodles in Superior Stock

One of our fav at East Ocean has always been this lobster noodles in superior stock, and since they had this as well, we just had to try it out, and the results were quite mixed.

While the portion was quite similar, it was the broth that was a letdown. Not that it was bad, but somehow they did not use butter at all like what EO does, and somehow it felt rather flat because of that. The lobster was well cooked though.

Vinegar Pig Trotters

Pauline wanted to try out something from the side section where they had a decent array of selections not found on the menu, and settled for this dish of vinegar pig trotters.

I am not a big fan of this, but Pauline did felt that there was far too much oil in the claypot, and meat on the trotter itself was quite skimpy, and the fatty skin portions were way too much compared to the amount of lean meat.

Black Sesame and Almond Pudding

Much like the mains, the desserts were also a mixed bag. Pauline had a mango sago which is pretty much what you would expect from most Chinese restaurants.

I, on the other hand, had a delightful cup of black sesame and almond pudding that was nicely contrasted both visually and taste wise. The slight burnt flavor of the sesame went really well with the smooth cold almond aroma, and for a pudding dessert, this was very palatable.

As mentioned, the service here is top notch, the servers frequently return to fill your tea cups and check on your orders.

They seemed very well trained and attentive, and even when they forgot one of our desserts, they were very prompt to rectify.

My only issue is the food is a bit inconsistent. Nothing below average, but I believe the potential to wow is certainly not yet fully fulfilled.

For a Sunday lunch with the family, this place seems ideal as the view is great, the staff on the mark and if you order the right dishes, you will not be disappointed for sure.

Victoria Peak Chinese Cuisine
181 Orchard Road
#11-01/02 Orchard Central