Customers are returning to popular eatery, owner says
Published in the March 2-15, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Photo by Marty Cheek
Chef Mei Zheng, left, prepares shrimp while owner Wing Chan completes a dish at the recently relocated Peking Restaurant.
Since Peking Restaurant opened in 1984 in Morgan Hill’s downtown area, it has built a following of faithful diners. With the eminent closure of the Depot Center, one of South Valley locals’ favorite places to get mouth-watering Chinese cuisine was forced to find a new location. It moved a couple of miles south of downtown in a strip mall near the corner of Edmundson Avenue and Monterey Road.
“The new location is bigger and has better viability,” said Cheng Yu, the general manager. “We spent a lot of time and money to remodel to fit our own style and standards. The menu hasn’t changed much. We were pretty successful and so tried to keep the original cuisine for Peking Restaurant.”
The restaurant was purchased from the original owner in 2001 by Wing Chan and his wife Yi King. They had worked in the kitchen for a number of years. When the chance came to buy the popular Chinese restaurant, they couldn’t say no. The couple still can be found in the kitchen, preparing dishes that have their roots in a Hunan Szechuan style. Over the years, the recipes for the sauces have been “tweeked” to satisfy the taste of Morgan Hill residents, Yu said.
“We haven’t changed much from the previous owner, but we did add some new dishes, such as the honey spicy chicken, which is one of our most popular menu items,” he said. “Peking Restaurant has been a part of Morgan Hill for a long time.”
The customers have stayed loyal. Last month, the restaurant held a grand opening to celebrate its new location. Yu was amazed to find so many people coming back.
“It was Peking’s loyal customers who came by,” he said.
The decor is reminiscent of the former location, with the signature plum-red walls and similar decoration motifs. What has been added is a lunch-time buffet bar where for $9.95 patrons can come in and fill a plate with tasty Chinese cuisine items including egg rolls, fried rice, chow mein and other dishes of the day.
“I think it makes a big difference for us because a lot of people have a very tight lunch time — 30 minutes — and sometimes when we’re packed, they couldn’t get food in their break time,” Yu said. “I felt bad about that. So we made the lunch buffet where they come in, grab a plate, fill it, eat and go.”
One of the restaurant’s most popular dishes is honey spicy chicken which is lightly battered crispy chicken cooked in Peking’s special “five flavor” sauce.
Other popular menu items include Mongolian beef, honey walnut prawns (prawns crisp-sauteed in a tangy white cream sauce and topped with honeyed walnuts) and Hunan chicken. The wor wonton noodle soup is also a popular dish among patrons looking for a quick meal.
Also watch for green tea ice cream for dessert as it ramps up its menu offerings.
