More than 100 years old, The Peak Lookout building was built as a shelter for the men who carried residents around The Peak in sedan chairs. When the rickshaws became a thing of the past, the building was turned into a refreshment stand for visitors. In 1973, there was a proposal to tear it down to make room for a car park, but fortunately the plan met with such resistance that it was scrapped, and The Peak Lookout remains as one of the oldest buildings in Hong Kong.
Because of its rich history, the restaurant’s ambience is a nod to its past. The original structure with its curved pillars looks onto a large garden that has entertained generations of locals and visitors with nightly barbecues and live music.
The cuisine at The Peak Lookout is an international mix of traditional dishes. Notable selections include the seafood platter from the restaurant’s sizeable seafood bar with choices such as oysters, lobsters and Alaskan crab legs flown in at least three times a week, and succulent char-grilled New Zealand rack of lamb with accompanying sauces and sides from the barbecue menu. The restaurant also has its own tandoori oven, a traditional clay and brick Indian oven that reaches temperatures of more than 500 degrees Celsius. The king prawn tandoori served with homemade naan bread is one of the Indian specialities and it arrives at the table sizzling and fragrant on a bed of cooking onions. An in-house pastry chef presides over the dessert menu and has concocted a mojito cheesecake with candied lime and rum syrup that is light enough to enjoy after even the biggest of feasts.
Somehow quality food like this tastes even better when it’s eaten outside a historical building overlooking the quiet side of one of Asia’s liveliest cities.
 
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Duetto
Address: 2/F, Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
Tel: 2598 1222
Night or day, the views of Hong Kong harbour are hard to beat from the outdoor terrace at Duetto. In fact, the variety of menu choices is difficult to top as well – the four-page bill of fare offers dishes from two separate cuisines, Indian and Italian. How does such a pairing come to be? Well, the restaurant space used to be two individual restaurants, one Indian and one Italian. When the space was connected, customers often requested both types of cuisines, so Duetto gave them what they asked for, and now the selection speaks for itself. |
Luckily, the ambience on the spacious wrap-around terrace (which is larger than most Hong Kong restaurants) is one that encourages customers to sit and relax while they sift through the menu and choose which direction to go. After ordering, diners settle in and watch the shipping boats and commuter ferries go by on the lively harbour. At night, the skyscrapers start to twinkle as the lights come on and a breeze sweeps through the greenery on the veranda.
On the Italian side of the menu, the dishes are classically prepared. The Vitello Rosa su Salsa al Tonno starter - thinly sliced tender veal served in a creamy tuna sauce dotted with capers - is a definite hit, while the Burrata Pugliese su Capponata di Verdure, a little pouch of burrata cheese filled with fresh roasted vegetables, is almost too cute to cut into. The perfectly al dente Risotto all’Astice, lobster risotto, doesn’t skimp on the chunks of lobster, and the timeless Margherita pizza, with its perfect crust formed from stone baking, is enough to get the chef so excited that he’ll come out to the terrace and give a little song. (It’s true; they call him the “Musical Maestro”).
But that’s only half of it. On the Indian side of the menu, every plate is bursting with flavour. The Indian Peri-Peri Prawns are dipped in a chickpea batter and fried in infused oil to bring out the complexity of mustard seeds and curry leaves. It’s a good way to start the meal. One of the best dishes on the menu, the aromatic Lamb Dum Biryani, made up of basmati rice, braised lamb, saffron, and freshly ground spices all cooked together in a sealed clay pot, is a sensation of the senses that is not to be missed.
After dessert, (the Black Truffle Cheese Cake with Plum and Berries Compote is highly recommended for truffle lovers), don’t rush off. Instead, savour the surroundings over one last drink because you’re in one of the most stunning settings in Hong Kong.
 
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