Have we reached the pinnacle?!
by Miss Terry Diner
The Dusit Resort in Pattaya has become much more
proactive of late, with new upscale restaurants such as The Bay (Italian
style), and now The Peak. This latter restaurant, which was opened only
recently, is more than just a make-over of their old Empress Chinese
restaurant.
The Peak is on the ninth floor of the hotel, where the previous restaurant
was housed, and that is about the only similarity. Where it was a “Chinese”
venue before, the Peak is obviously a fine dining location. Overlooking
Pattaya Bay, it has one of the finest views of any restaurant in Pattaya.
Before you even begin to sit down to eat, this restaurant is already living
up to its “Peak” image.
The decor is also anything but the usual red, gold and oversized Chinese
lanterns. It is glass along one side, giving an uninterrupted view, with
tables covered with heavy linen and dark coloured runners, with creams and
browns predominating. The opposite wall has a sweeping bar with Chinese
motifs, while at the two ends there are two semi-private dining areas for
parties of up to eight diners. Place settings are also elegant, with
rectangular porcelain plates and crystal glasses and very elegant
chopsticks.
One
‘traditional’ feature is Chinese tea, and The Peak offers 10 choices. We
settled for their special Dusit jasmine, which was a great palate cleanser.
However, we also settled for a glass of the Dusit label white wine as
another palate cleanser. More expensive wines are available, but the house
label is eminently drinkable, by the way.
We began with a hot and cold appetizers sample (available from the menu),
which covered a selection of jellyfish, drunken chicken, BBQ pork,
deep-fried prawn and crispy spring rolls. Appropriate sauces were supplied,
complete with recommendations as to which went with what. This is an
excellent way to sample several dishes, and the jellyfish with the dark soy
and chilli has a very interesting ‘crunchy’ texture, quite different from
what you would imagine.
Chef Chi is in charge of the kitchen dedicated to The Peak and I decided to
try his version of Szechwan soup and I was not disappointed in any way. The
requisite ‘bite’ in the back palate was there, and the soup was served hot
to the table (as it should be but so often one is disappointed, but not at
The Peak). In fact, mention should be made of the service staff who were
very attentive, without being intrusive in any way.
We tried several other dishes, and were not disappointed with any of them,
and despite our protests of being more than satiated, resident manager
Stefan Heintze insisted we try their Peking Duck. This was presented at the
table, with one of the service staff wrapping and saucing for us, something
I consider a great boon, as I am not all that adept at rolling and wrapping
decorously!
Madame also tried the individually plated pan-fried imported beef tenderloin
on onion mash potato with sweet Hong Kong sauce and broccoli, and was full
of praise for this dish, as I was with the pan-fried cod steak on sesame egg
noodles with bok choy and XO sauce.
The Peak presents modern Chinese dining in a five star environment. The menu
is a culinary delight, with many “plated” dishes for individual serves
offered. No longer is it necessary to have consensus at the table to always
have to cater for shared items. With an ‘average’ cost for food being around
B. 800 per head, this is not over the top for a restaurant of this calibre.
We found the service exemplary, the food exquisite, and although the final
bill will be more than at your “average” Chinese restaurants, this is not an
“average” restaurant. Look upon it as fine dining with a Chinese influence
in a superb setting. We can certainly, and wholeheartedly, recommend The
Peak.
The Peak, Dusit Resort Pattaya, 240/2 Pattaya Beach Road, North Pattaya
(opposite the Dolphin roundabout), telephone 038 425 611 ext 2276, fax 038
428 239, email [email protected]. Open every day for lunch 11.30 a.m. – 2.30
p.m. and dinner 6.30 p.m. – 10 p.m. Secure parking within the hotel grounds.
