I noticed many customers order the restaurant’s signature coriander broth, which was topped with a handful of the fresh herb. As both my friend and I are coriander haters, we paid HK$10 for seafood broth, which was delicious, with a rich taste of crab roe and shrimp. The spicy beef brisket sauce that we ordered was not spicy at all.

We ordered the cart noodles with lettuce, boiled egg, squid tentacles, braised beef brisket and Chaozhou handmade beef tendon balls, which came to HK$85. The tender beef brisket fully absorbed the flavours of the spicy, soybean-based chu hou paste.

The beef tendon balls were succulent and springy. The egg would have been better if it had been soft-boiled with an oozing yolk. The noodles were disappointing as they stuck together in clumps.

We also tried a chef’s recommendation – sautéed pork neck meat and Yunnan zucchini with XO sauce (HK$88). The meat was juicy, tender and a little spicy, while the fresh, crunchy zucchini balanced the richness of the pork neck meat.

Silkie chicken soup with dried cordyceps flowers and snow lotus seeds (HK$45) was clear and slightly sweet, although the silkie chicken meat was just average. We enjoyed the jellylike texture of the snow lotus seeds.

We ordered two drinks. The pineapple ice (HK$25) was too sour, but I enjoyed the red bean ice (HK$25), which had the intense flavour of coconut milk.

It would probably be best to visit Peony Garden for lunch, as there are fewer dishes offered at dinner.

We missed out on the fish balls, chocolate egg waffle and matcha pineapple bun with red bean paste. The speciality roasted duck was sold out by the time we arrived.

Compared to other cart noodle shops in Hong Kong, the dishes at Peony Gardens are priced quite high. Fortunately, they gave us a 20 per cent discount, as we were one of the last customers of the evening.

Peony Garden, Xiqu Centre, 88 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2320 7455. Open: 11am-10.30pm. They accept cash, Alipay and WeChat Pay; no credit cards