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Meet the multi-talented, Mother-Daughter team behind Peak of Asia

BY SHAUNA FARNELL

Beyond the borders of Vietnam, you’ll be hardpressed to find a tastier bowl of pho than at this unassuming but strikingly beautiful little restaurant tucked into a quiet corner of La Cima Mall at the south end of Main Street.

Peak of Asia is helmed by a mother-daughter team with an uncanny flare for bringing out the flavor in every ingredient. As it happens, the Ton family possesses a bottomless pool of talent for every type of art, culinary or otherwise.

Khanh Ton moved to Colorado from Vietnam in 2000, following in the footsteps of her younger sister, Lua, who owns and operates The Flying Crane and Colisco – two retail hubs in Frisco. Their mother, Lien, and older sister, Van, soon followed. The family hails from Dalat, a scenic mountain town that Khanh describes as friendly and tight-knit, not dissimilar to Breckenridge.

There, the family ran a small restaurant specializing in fresh fruit and vegetable-centered dishes.

“Cooking was always a big deal in my family,” Khanh says. “My grandma was the role model. She lived to be 110 years old. At one point, she cooked for the king. Anything you gave her, any kind of ingredient, she could make something delicious.”

As is the tradition in Vietnam, when Khanh’s mother married her father, she moved into the father’s family house, where her paternal grandmother passed along her cooking prowess. In turn, Lien (Khanh’s mom) then passed this kitchen wisdom onto Khanh, her sisters and brothers.

“My mom and my grandma were super close. That’s why my mom loves to cook,” Khanh says. “The whole family, every single one, knows how to cook.”

Khanh worked as a prized cake decorator in Denver for several years, but upon opening shop in Breck with her mother and sister, the initial business endeavor was not in the realm of comestibles. For 12 years, the trio ran the popular Feel Good Massage day spa, where clients would often comment on the heavenly smells wafting through from the private kitchen in the back.

“Every time we made something in the back, the customers said, ‘man, what are you eating?’” Khanh recalls. “They said, ‘you should open a restaurant.’”

In December 2017, the sisters and mother followed through, opening Peak of Asia. They did all the remodeling and decorating themselves down to every last detail, including the thoughtful menu featuring their favorite Vietnamese dishes. Options include a selection of crispy rolls and fresh spring rolls, Banh Mi (a Vietnamese sandwich with choice of chicken, pork, grilled beef or tofu, fresh cilantro and pickled vegetables), Banh Xeo (a Vietnamese crepe filled with shrimp, pork carrots and bean sprouts), and

Each version of pho – filet mignon, brisket, meatball, seafood or vegan – is slow-cooked in its own juices for 24 hours, bringing out a symphony of flavors that are surprising for the translucent broth.

“We cook everything overnight and all the good juices come out,” Khanh says. “We use seasonal vegetables – whatever is fresh and available like corn, carrots, radish, cauliflower – and throw it into a big pot. We add onion, ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise and cook all night. Everyone is always so surprised by how much flavor is in the broth. Even Indian people come in and say they don’t usually eat Vietnamese because the flavor doesn’t compare to their food, but they say our broth blows them away.”

In addition to packing an explosion of flavor, the veggie pho in particular also presents a rainbow of color, teeming with any mix of seasonally fresh vegetables ranging from purple cabbage to broccoli, peppers, pea pods and every imaginable hue of cauliflower. The accoutrements are an art piece of freshness unto themselves, the pile of vibrant green basil and mint leaves emanating fragrance the minute it’s placed on the table.

Khanh procures the freshest ingredients twice a week from the Asian market in Denver, returning with massive bundles of lemongrass, herbs and veggies.

“Everything we make, we make here,” Khanh says. “So many restaurants have fried food and nothing fresh. We want people to feel good eating our food and feel good after.”

While leaving the bulk of the cooking to her mom and sister, Khanh manages the operation. On any given day, this involves everything from shopping, chopping and preparing ingredients to making cocktails, many of which also incorporate fresh herbs and juices, such as the Jade Lion, made from cucumber-infused gin, fresh mint and lime, or the Vietmojito, made from lemongrass-infused rum, muddled basil, lime and coconut milk.

In addition to creating mind-blowing culinary masterpieces with her mother, Van, the oldest Ton sister, is the artist behind Peak of Asia’s stunning decor, which includes a sea of individually folded origami birds dangling from the ceiling, a collection of small potted plants cleverly hung onto wall-sized charts and a massive dragon made from glistening crystals, which the Tons purchased from a gallery but hung themselves, along with complex lighting, in the front window.

“I love to make people happy,” Van says. “I love to cook. Every time I see someone eating and enjoying something at our restaurant, it makes my day.”

Peak of Asia Photos Top Left Counterwise: The team- from left- Van, Lien and Khanh vegan pho, crispy rolls, Vietmojito cocktail with tofu spring rolls, vegan and filet mignon pho

La Cima Mall, 970