nosh

Smith Mediation Center

Divorce Mediation

dining around the d

Peking House

P

M

ediation is an alternative that can help you retain more
time, money, and privacy during your legal battle.
Barbara Smith, J.D., former district court magistrate
and administrative law judge with more than 25 years of legal
experience, lends her unique blend of reason, calmness and
tenacity to the process, helping guide opposing parties to mutually
agreeable solutions. She has successfully mediated hundreds of
cases over the past decade.

Bloomﬁ eld Hills | 248.646.8000

www.michigan-divorce-mediation.com

2044050

Don’t Forget Valentine’s Day

on Tuesday, February 14th

STONE'S

JEWELRY

6881 Orchard Lake Rd. on the Boardwalk

(248) 851-5030

www.stonesﬁ nejewelry.com

2137390

46

February 9 • 2017

jn

eking House is a landmark in Royal Oak, operating in
a large, free-standing building that housed a furniture
store first and later a German restaurant.
When the short-lived Black Forest Restaurant was placed on
the auction block in 1983, the late Dr. Don Lim, a dentist, put
in his bid “just for the fun of it,” recalled his daughter-in-law,
Cecilia Lim, in a previous history.
She said Dr. Lim was stunned to find himself owning a res-
taurant.
He brought in another doctor as his business partner.
Esther
Allweiss Ingber
But not until his son Randy Lim, a trained pharmacist, and
Contributing Writer
his Hong Kong-born wife Cecilia took over, did Peking House
become the full-fledged success it remains today.
The couple sold their restaurant to its current owners: Andy
Yee, who doubles as the chef, and Peona Tong. The interior of
Peking House still looks elegant, despite the paper placemats
with Chinese horoscopes. A full-service bar is a big asset.
Manager Nancy Lau’s pleasant, well-trained staff tends to as
many as 186 guests on the main floor, while another 200 can be
accommodated in the upstairs banquet room. I’ve attended a
few wedding showers and bar mitzvah parties there myself.
With so much space, Peking House is a convenient choice
for most gatherings. Yet, that wouldn’t be good enough if the
Chinese cuisine wasn’t up to par, too. I’m here to tell you that
the food served in generous portions at
Peking House is more than tasty.
Diners will appreciate that the kitchen
forgoes MSG and uses vegetable oil only
in its food preparation. The best-selling
items include these classic dishes: chicken
sizzling rice soup for two, and both the
sweet-and-sour and almond boneless
chicken, referred to as “ABC.”
The No. 1 choice, however? “General
Tso’s Chicken is everyone’s favorite,” said
Lau without hesitation. A thick, sweet
Peking House sauce covers crispy battered portions of
215 S. Washington white meat. Vegetable rice accompanies.
The list of house specialties begins with
Royal Oak, MI 48067
crispy duck, a twice-cooked half duckling.
(248) 545-2700
I ordered another specialty, Hong Kong
pekinghousemi.com steak, which was marinated nicely and
$$$½ out of $$$$$ cooked medium-rare to my specifications.
The steak was presented on a sizzling iron
platter, atop loads of sauteed vegetables.
Other specialties are Mongolian chicken, white breast meat
marinated with curry and Chinese barbecue sauce and served
with green pepper and onions; Gold Coin Beef, tender filet
mignon cut into the shape of gold coins and served with mixed
vegetables; and Singapore rice noodles with curry, a dish that
includes chicken, shrimp and roast pork.
A standout among the vegetarian selections is the thickly
sliced eggplant in garlic sauce — that entree was a big hit with
my husband. More choices are vegetable silver noodles, veg-
etable egg foo young and tofu prepared two ways.
The hot-and-sour soup served here is as zesty as it should
be. The appetizer list includes mussels in black bean sauce,
frog legs in garlic butter, coconut chicken and either fried or
steamed dumplings.
I’m getting hungry again. •

