Peony Chinese Restaurant 牡丹軒中菜廳 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

It's been a while since little nugget and his friends last played at the beach. With the long weekend coming up, Jelloman thought it might be a good time to hit the beach one last time before winter but as a pessimist, I was worried about the unstable weather. But I am not going to pour cold water on this one. Not when I still want to be alive after the weekend.

But I was happy to be proven wrong. Despite the cloudy skies, there was no rain since that morning. So once the kids settled in at Tai Pak Beach (大白灣) in Discovery Bay (愉景灣), I walked away to do what I do best – to explore the local dining scene.  

I made my first stop at Peony Chinese Restaurant (牡丹軒中菜廳), trying to get the kids some afternoon snacks. Billed as the one and only Chinese fine dining restaurant in Discovery Bay, Peony really impresses me with its décor and vibe. They have a strong team in the kitchen too, headlined by Head chef Chu Ting Kwok, formerly of T’ang Court, and dim sum head chef Tony Chan, previously at Ying Jee Club and Duddell’s. Out of necessity (cuz I haven't had breakfast or lunch) and curiosity, I decided to order a number of dim sum to go for everyone. 

Steamed shrimp dumpling with water chestnut (蹄香鮮蝦餃) – Still very nice and warm after 10 minutes (when I got stuck in the heavy rain). These were really tasty, with the sweetness from the water chestnut complementing the shrimp delightfully. 

Steamed pork dumpling with crab roes (蟹籽燒賣皇) – Pretty delicate as well. 

Steamed rice flour rolls with honey glazed barbecued pork (蜜汁叉燒腸) – It's always a pleasant sight when you have more barbecued pork than steamed rice rolls. Look at all these diced barbecued pork falling out of from the rice rolls!

Steamed barbecued pork bun (蠔皇叉燒包) – Perhaps I was way too hungry, these were amazingly delicious.

I didn't get to take photos of the rest of the dim sum I bought cuz at this point in time, heavy rain came back to haunt us. We had to duck for cover a number of times and everybody got wet.

Let's rewind a little bit here, we did have a very good time at the beach this afternoon. Little nugget hasn't visited this place for a while and he missed his friends so much. Of course, all of us, parents and kids alike, had been so busy in the last month making the adjustment from kindergarten to primary school.

The dark clouds were coming in left and right. This was the time I peeled off for our dim sum.

He was getting his weapon ready.

Peony has been on my radar screen for a while so it was nice to finally check it off my list. But having said that, it would have been a much nicer experience if we had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy these dim sum without the umbrella on our back.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: Shop 153A, 1/F, DB Plaza, 1 Discovery Bay Road, Discovery Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: N/A (Bus from Sunny Bay Station)

Tel: +852 2215-0833

Website: www.dbpeony.com

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:00am - 4:00pm (Sat - Sun), 6:00pm - 10:00pm daily