The Peak Restaurant Cafe sits alluringly at the edge of the winding way on the route to Yangmingshan National Park not far from Chinese Culture University (中國文化大學). It sports a stylishly rustic exterior, a pleasant garden and a formal interior dining area, but years of dining at so-called “scenic restaurants” had disillusioned me, and I didn’t embark on this culinary journey with particularly high expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the Western decor, the menu is made up predominantly of Cantonese-style Chinese food, and there was a nice balance between innovation and good old-fashioned fundamentals. Sweets are Western in style and generally quite elaborate, ideal for topping off a romantic afternoon enjoying the beauty of nature. The chef formerly officiated at the banquet kitchen of the Westin Taipei, and the five-star hotel flair can be seen in the elegant presentation.
If the weather is fine, outdoor dining at The Peak is highly recommended. The garden furnishings are of very high quality, and the seats wonderfully comfortable. There is the added bonus of a reclining function so that you can put your feet up and relax over tea after your meal. While the traffic on Gezhi Road (格致路) is invisible, hidden by a high hedge, it is sadly not inaudible.
Even for outside dining, The Peak uses an attractive matte black dinner service ornamented with cherry blossoms, and a wide range of elegant glazed ware that nicely complements the presentation. The fried rice with Chinese toon sprouts (香椿芽炒飯, NT$220) looked unusual, and its presentation in a pyramid flecked with brightly colored vegetables had an element of flamboyance. It was also flavorful and light.
The shrimp and squid with XO sauce (XO醬煲雙脆, NT$320), a more traditional dish, was lavish and richly flavored, impressing with the size and crispness of the shrimps. The green of the sugar snaps, with the lustrous red sheen of the XO sauce veiling the lighter colors of the seafood, gave the dish, a simple enough stir-fry, a boisterous energy that made it worth the price tag.
The lavishness of the shrimp contrasted rather poorly with the stinginess of the lamb cutlets (生抽羊小排, NT$480), which were perfectly tasty but just insufficiently generous in quantity. The Peak is not a particularly cheap eat, but for most of the dishes the food presented more or less justifies the price tag. The lamb unfortunately disappointed on this count.
Service is friendly if not particularly well informed, and on weekends the inexperience of staff shows through as crowds jostle for tables. There is also plenty of action on the afternoon tea front, and for those unwilling to splash out on a full meal, the dessert menu provides plentiful proof of the chef’s skill. The most widely touted item is the baked ice cream (脆皮冰心, NT$280), a hot pastry shell filled with ice cream. Tea and cake sets are NT$270, and for those who want something stronger, there is a very respectable wine and spirits menu, which is notable for its good range of single malt whiskeys.
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