Peter’s Place Chinese Restaurant

Don’t let the limited hours deter you from trying Peter’s Place, located on 330 between the Plaza Shopping Center and KFC on one side, and the intersection of 22 and 85 on the other. The charming atmosphere and delicious Chinese cuisine of this well-established restaurant make it worth the trip.

The restaurant, located on the second floor above Jasmin Chinese furniture shop, has a spacious, open floor plan, allowing guests views of the kitchen, walls covered in photographs of visitors, and large display cases filled with ornate ceramics. About 50 guests would fit comfortably at the carved wooden tables, some outfitted with turning round glass platforms (also known as “Lazy Susans”) to easily pass hot dishes and drinks to friends.

Speaking of drinks, large pitchers of water and ice tea came complimentary with our orders, as well as bowls of corn egg drop soup. The ice tea was not jasmine, but a refreshing black tea. The soup was quite good, with a lovely texture somewhere between broth and the thick slime found at many fast food Chinese places. The corn was not just sprinkled on top as garnish, but infused into the soup, providing a slightly sweet counterpoint to the delicate egg flavor.

The fried spring rolls are a departure from the thick, cabbage filled egg rolls typically found at other Chinese restaurants. The four rolls in a regular order (¥350) are smaller, the wrappers thinner, and the filling a gravy with bits of rice, which reminded us of curry. If you can stand a little spicy, the Kun Pao chicken (¥1100 for a regular size, ¥1800 for large) is satisfying. Bite size pieces of chicken are stir fried in sauce with peanuts, sliced hot chiles, green pepper, carrots, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. The heat definitely creeps up on you. The beef in oyster sauce (¥950 for a regular size, ¥1600 for large) was pretty good, too, consisting of thinly sliced beef cooked in a dark gravy with a pile of crunchy bamboo shoots, plus a few mushrooms and chiles–flavorful, but not spicy. The meat was tender, though we did find a few chewy bits. Our entrees each came with a bowl of white rice, and with the soup and appetizer, the regular size dishes were more than enough for dinner.

Open Thursday – Sunday 11 am to 2:30 pm, 5 pm to 10:00 pm, and by reservation any day of the week.

Yen and Dollars