Peony is fairly authentic, but it was never good authentic it was more like ok food you might find in cheap restaurant in China, but it was the best Jacksonville had to offer. Peony is NOT vegan friendly. They used to accept requests to use soy sauce instead of oyster sauce but they won't anymore and almost every dish has oyster sauce. If you are a vegetarian or are allergic to seafood, or just want a restaurant where they care about their customers, don't go there. It's a shame because I've been freaquenting the restaurant since it opened. They also don't like you ordering in Chinese, which is very odd for a restaurant that has menu items written in Chinese.

In a city where most of the chinese restaurants are buffets or take-outs, it is nice to finally find a good sit-down alternative (that you don't have to wait 2 hours to get into). Everything is cooked to order here even the Hot and Sour soup, which just might be the best I've ever had. Be sure to ask for both the english and chinese menus (both menu's have english descriptions). The english menu is for those of us with more americanized palates (Kung Pao, General Tso's, etc.) while the chinese menu has more traditional chinese fare for the adventurous.