Peach Garden, Novena Garden

I've been wondering about this place for a while now because I've passed it by on numerous occasions and it was the only restaurant along the stretch behind closed doors. Turned out from what I've been told, I've been here once for a Chinese New Year dinner some years back. I had totally no recollection of that event. So I decided to come (back) for dinner with my family after recommendation from a good friend that told me it was worth checking out. Peach Garden is a Cantonese restaurant. They've two outlets, the other's located Thomson Plaza.

To start, a couple of starters. Haha.

crispy eggplant with pork floss

This dish was deep fried eggplants topped with pork floss and fried garlic bits. Never had something like this before. It got the unanimous thumbs up for being tasty though.

roasted pork

This was roasted pork minus the fat and sliced into cubes instead of strips. Underneath the crackling was just lean meat. Tender ones though.  The dish was served with a rather powerful mustard that packed a bit of kick. Suspect the purpose of the mustard was to musk the pretty prevalent porky-ness. The taste of pork was much stronger than usual. We were told it is because that young pigs are used for them. Not sure how that made sense.  The toasted peanuts on the side were nice.

The other dishes we got were the signature roast duck, wasabi prawns, kung pao fish noodles with venison, fried cereal crusted fillet of sea perch, poached seasonal vegetables with garlic, century & salted egg in superior stock and braised legs of lamb.

roast duck

We had originally wanted roast goose, but were told by the server was that the import of goose from Hong Kong has been banned because of the bird flu. Had to settle for duck. The roast duck came with a sour citrus sticky sauce which I didn't really think much of. Not bad as roast ducks went, but nothing exceptional.

wasabi prawns

The wasabi prawns it seemed to be a popular dish in this restaurant. It was present in almost every other table. They were lightly battered deep fried prawns that are coated in a mix of wasabi and mayonnaise and sprinkled with prawn roe. Tasted like how it looked. Pretty looking dish.

fried cereal crusted fillet of sea perch

Thought their fillet of sea perch was one of the better dishes. Pictured is a single portion at $12. Was really enjoyable with the sweetish cereal crust that's paired with bits of chilli and curry leaves. Definitely recommended. This item was not in the menu though.

poached seasonal vegetables with garlic, century & salted egg in superior stock

Liked this dish. It's probably because of the eggs and the rich tasting soup.

kung bao fish noodle with venison

I'm not sure why these were called fish noodles. I was thinking that there might be slices of fishes in the noodles along with the venison, but no, there was only venison. Noticed that some of the noodles have burnt marks on them so I think they must have been stir fried at some point. Loved the texture (not being too soft) and I thought it was enjoyable. My gripe with it was that the plate is filled with inedibles - chunks of onions and dried chilli. What you got to eat was half of what's on the plate.

braised leg of lamb

This tender braised leg of lamb was not on the menu. What I found compelling of it was the simplicity of the taste. There weren't any complex flavours involved, just simple light oyster sauce and the natural flavour of lamb. Paired nicely with the fresh vegetables on the side. Another recommended try.

I forgot this dessert was, but it tasted pretty good. In the husk of a young coconut, chilled bubor hitam with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There was a thin layer of coconut flesh in the husk. Easily scraped out with a spoon. This was much better than it looked.