This is an extraordinary weekend - and that calls for a restaurant encompassing all that we hope an extraordinary Hong Kong can be. After surveying a dozen favourites, I realise only Peak Cafe has the ingredients for what I hope Hong Kong can be. For one thing, it overlooks the territory, and on a clear day we can even see our new masters far to the north. For another, the food embraces all of the West and all of the East. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. At times it is all Asian, other times the Californian openness of Jeremiah Tower, who started it. No dish is perfect, thank heavens, for perfection means mediocrity. And Peak Cafe is not mediocre. It has the virtue of longevity. Not the oldest place in town, perhaps. And the management has changed over the decades. But for 50 years Peak Cafe has been an impressive landmark overlooking Hong Kong. The place looks good - in Hong Kong terms. Nothing pristine about it, none of that Singapore holier-than-thou faultlessness. None of that designer-concept elegant twee or the simple (and cheap) monotony of newer restaurants. Peak Cafe looks like it was fun to build. The shape is of a huge empty cavern, but it has a clutter of designs which gets more fascinating each time you go. Here are Tang houses, Qing-style chinoiserie mirrors, a chrome kitchen, a long bar and pictures old and new, historical and even erotic. (Try to find that picture!) In a way, this is a Dickensian Old Curiosity Shop, but done with . . . well, not taste with a capital T but taste with enjoyment. What Dickens did not have, though, was an outside. The bamboo trees, the umbrella-covered tables, the views of Hong Kong and - let's be honest - on warm days, the mosquitoes. It gives the wonders of a world air-conditioned Hong Kong rarely sees: nature. Before the food, think of the service. I have been here on quiet days and on days when it is packed. The waiters know their jobs, they are efficient, they help. And if their English is not too great (which is often the case), they get others who are fluent. Now to the menu. This too should be Hong Kong because its Asian-American-European mixtures which rarely mix in other places actually do seem to go well here. Not always, mind you. The tandoori chicken is one of the best in the city. The tandoori salmon is hard, crusty, dry. If in the mood for salmon, try a thick portion of Indian naan bread. The starters are eclectic as well. I used to love the combination of crabmeat and avocado with a brochette of scampi and fresh lettuce. This time, it was a grilled vegetable salad comprising roasted artichokes, red peppers, lettuce, chunks of feta cheese and a spicy hummus sauce. The crab cakes are good enough: they are big, warm, come with what is billed as a chilli dip, but can be almost tepid. Only one soup is worth having: their version of mulligatawny. This lentil bean soup is served in a large oval bowl, with crisp onions and cashew nuts. I have seen this before only in Goa, but it works well up on the Peak. Others tell me Peak Cafe's hamburger is excellent. In McDonald's-crazy Hong Kong, it is nice to know someone up there makes a real hamburger. The Asian specials are also very much Hong Kong, though I prefer Hainan, Thai, Indian and Shanghai restaurants for my Hainan chicken, Thai duck curry, Indian ragout and Shanghai noodles. For dinners, I have had baby rack of lamb which is as tender as can be. This comes with the same kind of rice as the tandoori salmon: a creamy rice with Japanese mushrooms. For lunch, this was unavailable, but the other day, the Australian scampi were pleasant enough. These were small, not terribly meaty, but with a delicate flavour of herbs and tomatoes. A friend also urged me to try the Kashmiri potatoes. They were tough in their skin but the flavour was most unusual. The potatoes are roasted, stuffed with nuts, bell pepper pieces and mushrooms, then served with a sauce of onion and garlic. One can hardly taste the potato, but the ingredients are tasty if a little mushy. Other vegetable dishes are equally imaginative including the baked bell peppers with cottage cheese, cashew nuts, green peas and potatoes, glazed with ginger and tomato. The dessert list - if you have room - is mainly a series of complex ice cream dishes, or cakes made with coffee, or with a coulis of pears and things. But few have room for this. The prices are anything but low. Two of us eschewed the fairly large wine list and had a Bloody Mary each. The bill came to almost $1,100. For lunch, this would be incredibly high anywhere else. Here, it is simply what the town is all about. No, Peak Cafe is not the kind of restaurant for an everyday meal. But it is not an everyday restaurant. Its site, atop Hong Kong, its international menu, its efficiency, its combination of inside and outside creativity, and its half century of existence is a tribute to something unique, tasteful and, in its own way, even exemplary. PEAK CAFE 121 Peak Road, opposite The Galleria, the Peak. Tel: 2849-7868. Open: 10.30am-midnight (later on weekends)
