Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Homestyle Korean BBQ


BBQ Steamboat!

Festive celebrations like Eid are usually spent visiting our elders as a form of respect. However, my dad's side of the family no longer has any elders so we sometimes gave his side a miss, unless an occasion called for our presence.

On Eid'ul Adha or Hari Raya Haji, my aunt called us down so we end up being the earliest; when we arrived that afternoon.

I saw the electrical BBQ appliance near the entrance, looking like it's ready for some good grilling. And true enough, my aunt had actually planned a BBQ steamboat party, on that day!

Being the first batch to arrive, we had the honour of starting the grill and enjoy the items soon after they're prepared. Whee…!!

Food items range from:

Vegetables

Lovin' my greens! That 'Enoki'/golden needle mushroom is a hit with the steamboat!

Seafood

Fresh prawns and squids.

Meats part 1

Chicken 'cocktail', mini cheese sausages, 'surimi' (crab) sticks, blocks of 'seafood tofu' and fishballs,

Plus 'shabu-shabu' beef slices! Sooo looking forward to that! The way to have it is to simply hold it in the boiling soup and sway it back and forth 3-4 times and it's done. Any longer, the thin beef slices will lose its flavour and become tough/chewy.

Meats part 2

In the ziploc bags and on the grill were pieces of marinated Szechuan/Kung Pao chicken and black pepper beef. Love those 'tau pok' floating around in the Tom Yam soup!

Reminiscent of Seoul Garden & Han River, huh?

Cute thing was that my cousin TimZahrah said that she prepared Szechuan AND Kung Pao chicken. Turns out she used powdered seasoning for one type and sauce seasoning for another. That's why she never thought them to be the same flavour. She did wonder why they're of the same colour, though. Hee...

Fire up the grill!

Cousin Tim took on the role behind the grill.

Manning the food

My dad must have been either really excited / hungry / plain irritating when he he stood beside his niece all the way and snapped up the food as soon as they're cooked. High chance it's the 3rd one. Plus, he kept nudging her out of the way..!

They were squabbling throughout! LOL.

Pot Kettle of tea

Wash all that food down with this hot tea dispensed from the heeee-yuge kettle. You can compare the size with that of the canned drink. Sooo heavy that it's almost impossible to even tip the spout into our cups!

Cooked food

Guess I'm the silly one who puts the grilled food in the bowl and food cooked in the steamboat on the plate...

Didn't even realise this error until someone pointed it out to me. No wonder I'm at loss as to where to put the soup! pfft!

Very interesting concept for a family gathering/party. Published a pic of the food and thanking my aunt on Instagram 


…only to have her son, who's currently studying in Madiah (Saudi Arabia) retort back:


Oooops…!

ET Artisan Sweets

Okay.. I gotta admit that it sure isn't easy juggling 2 blogs.

Not that I'm fretting. I love doing these. While this lifestyle-turned-foodie blog is my passion, my motherhood blog makes a great keepsake for kiddo's childhood memories.

Well, I was actually trying to explain my brief absence... and… oh well! Let's just move on with the topic. Pfft!

------------------------------


Pretty packaging

If you followed me on instagram, you might see just how 'pampered' us girls in this office really are. My lady boss is very fond of buying desserts just because she likes to. And she will buy a lil' bit of everything and make us share (yes, she'll nag if we never eat what she's bought... how liddat?!).

Not that we complain... but our waistline sure suffer the effects of all these buys.

And when she went away on holiday, I thought our poor waistlines get a break but little did we know, her normally-not-a-sweet-tooth brother kind of took over her position as a dessert buyer or 'indulger' (if there's even such a word).

We happen to have a client who sells these awesome desserts and pastries at The Grandstand (formerly known as Turf City). Apparently, they're pretty known for their delicacies, especially their macarons. This colleague of mine had been harping on that whenever we discussed this project. And it seemed that, after a visit to the 'site' (as we normally term it at work), he gleefully came back with a bagful of goodies from there.

And no, they were not even complimentary. Whoa.

I was really impressed by their packaging (top picture). The hard-case cardboard box was really pretty! And when I opened the cover, expecting some cakes (as what normally happened with my lady boss), I was greeted with this sight:

Macaronssss!!!!!!!!

Oh, make that a double WOW!

Colour pallette

Aren't they just shoo pwetty...??!

What you see here is just the top layer. There's another dozen below! My colleague excitedly bought TWO DOZEN macarons at one go! Has he gone nuts??!

A box of 24 pieces cost $55, btw. That makes it $2.30 per piece.

Hmm… Maybe the girl at the counter was really gorgeous and he bought these much to impress... HIGH-CHANCE, that could be the case (he just shrugged and refused to tell us why)!

Macaron directory

Can you match the macaron graphic with the ACTUAL macaron?

We tried. And we somewhat failed. Not too terribly though. My colleagues did get what they intend to choose (I think!). But that was after a looooong time figuring it out.

It took me more than 15 mins trying to figure out which one is the Salted Caramel piece (fave flavour!).

Got it!

Check out the Salted Caramel (SC) bit in the centre! It's surrounded by chocolate ganache actually. Super exhilarating for SC lovers like me!

Chocolate Hazelnut
(taken from Sri's instagram)

My colleague chose this one. I expect it to taste like Nutella but it came off as pretty... different. There was actually hazelnut puree (or fudge??) in the centre.

For my 2nd piece, I made another attempt to match the graphic to an actual macaron and this time, I actually got a macaron that wasn't even on the list… FAIL!



Yuzu macaron

I was kinda' curious about that 'Passion something-something' flavour so I picked out the yellow one. I did take an initial whiff and smelt something citrus-y but I mistook that to be the scent of the passion fruit.

When I took the first bite, I tried really hard to decipher the taste. Can't help it, when I expect to taste something and ended up with something else instead.

Only after sometime, do I realize that I've gotten the Yuzu one, which was a seasonal flavour (no wonder it wasn't in the list!). Btw, 'Yuzu' is a citrus fruit that's most commonly used in Japanese cuisine. Pretty expensive, actually but if you are really curious about the taste, Peel Fresh do sell Yuzu juice in their carton packs.

Goodness, I can't believe my luck!

I LOVE YUZU! And this macaron... it's just super-duper awesome, lah! Nice, tangy overtones from the Yuzu rind, presumably.

At the end of the day, my colleague complained that we didn't eat enough. Gah! So he made us pack some home for our families.

So I decide on a chocolate piece for myself at that point.


Some chocolate macaron

Really, really no idea which 'chocolate' this one is.

I chose to pack the Black Sesame, which my adventurous niece eventually walloped (and gave the thumbs up to) and gave my hubby a chocolate one (pls don't ask me which SPECIFIC chocolate one..). I secretly enjoyed the Summer Berry one in the kitchen, long after everyone else were asleep.

Really nice (what else can I say??!)!

Almond Croissant

He also bought two of these Almond-Croissant that's sprinkled with icing sugar on top. I was still warm when he brought it back and nicely buttery, crispy and hardly sweet. And the almond flakes were really crunchy.

I've always been crazy about Almond croissants but that one was topped with chocolate fudge. A simple one like this is equally awesome!

I'm surprised that not many confectioneries actually make a really decent rendition of this.

Black Forest cake

Yuzu cake

He also bought some fresh-cream cake slices which we didn't try… Sugar overload!

Honestly, I much prefer thair macarons to the ones from Canele, which was a tad sweet. Or from Nectarie, where the flavours came off as pretty underwhelmed. Obolo was alright.

Just to bad the location is out-of-the way for me. I would love to try more of their pastries! Especially their croissant! Better than Tiong Bahru Bakery or even Maison Kayser?

Mon An Halal Vietnamese Food

Eversince the coffee shop where Mon An Vietnamese Muslim Corner closed down and was converted into a halal Japanese restaurant, my colleagues and I were at loss as to where they've moved to.

Desperate, I actually made a little annoucement on this blog, asking about their new location and finally got an answer sometime last month. Excitedly informed my male colleague (yes, the somewhat 'designated' lunchtime chauffeur) and we finally find some time to check out the new stall.

This the my first sight of the new stall location…


New signboard

Delectable pictures on it, to give an idea what is being served, I presume?


Teh 'O' Ais Limau

With a new coffee shops comes a new drinks stall. Operated by the indian Muslim proprietor, I guess. The portions are bigger and has more varieties, as compared to the quaint drinks stall, previously. 


Pho bo

Oh, how I miss you so! Nothing tastes more authentic than this (Halal option, that is). Very generous with the beef slices and fresh basil leaves. A squeeze of lime, some chilli (or even fish sauce, if you prefer)... Awesome!

I gotta' say that their price have since increased. Maybe due to different rental costs and higher expenses for the products. A bowl of this is now $6.

Not that I mind. Just as long as the  food preparation is consistent. 

Goi Cuon & Cha Gio

Can't come here without ordering these!

The 'Cha Gio' (the fried spring roll) is usually available but the 'Gui Cuon' (summer roll) needs to be freshly prepared so it's hardly available during the busy lunch hour.

My luck was in that day, when I meekly asked about their availabilty but the proprietor said it's not available. The lady boss however, interrupted and said that she don't mind preparing it.

Happy much!!!


Goi Cuon

When I collect the spring rolls (self-service), my colleague hurriedly picked one and almost took a bite when he realised that the texture of the spring roll skin felt somewhat weird.

Luckily, he took a second look and realised that they now use a plastic sheet to wrap the roll, for hygiene purposes.

Imagine if he bite on that!


Another shot!

In the condiment saucer, the sauce on the left (sweet, slightly sour wth bits of chilli) is for the Cha Gio while the one on the right (sweet bean sauce with crushed peanuts) is for the Goi Cuon dip.

You can check their info and menu (plus pics!) HERE at their FB page.

Mon An Halal Vietnamese Food
459 Changi Road
Kassim Restaurant

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Ice Cream Gallery


'DaBao' ice-cream

One day my male colleague, the foodie, he told me of this awesome 'Mao Shan Wang' (a type of durian variety) or 'MSW' for short; flavoured ice-cream that he got from this new ice-cream parlour at Tanjong Katong Road.

And it so happens, we drove along that very road the next day and he kindly stopped by the roadside and allow us to have a go. And right then, I had totally forgotten that it was from this ice-cream shop that he got the coveted MSW ice-cream.


Menu board

Seems like the flavours available on that day were the ones that were handwritten on the blackboard strips. Notice the 1st two flavours on top left? They had both D24 and MSW! 2 durian flavours. What's the difference, you wonder? 


Droolsome varieties

I sampled 2 flavours, both of which I chose for my 'double scoop' option, which cost $5.50. My 1st choice: the Salted Caramel & Almond flavour is a somewhat specialised variety so an additional 50cts is charged, per scoop.

Later on, I saw THE flavour, in a covered tub at the corner. The Mao Shan Wang was placed neighbouring the D24 (both covered). I asked if I can sample it.

That small sample scoop had me going, "WOWww…!" and all big-eyed at first taste. That was a very honest and spontaneous reaction, believe me. The servers chuckled, obviously amused.

Even my colleague didn't expect my reaction but I remember her telling me, "Seriously, I can smell the durian when you opened your mouth just now…"

That's how GOOD it is.

Obviously I chose that as my 2nd scoop. The MSW comes at and additional $1, though. Salted Caramel Almond and MSW? Hmm.. 


Ice-cream cakes & mudpies

It was the Halloween week so they had some goodies carrying the 'horror' theme.

There were also some ice-cream cookie sandwiches and even some large ice-cream macarons sandwich (to verify??) at the bottom of the fridge.

That Baked/Bombe Alaska (top-left) was soo tempting. Too bad that it's just soo big. It's there's one that small enough for 2, would have definitely gotten that one.

Oh wait… there's one at the very top! Gah!!


Other cakes

Non ice-cream desserts and beverages.


My colleague's choice
(pic courtesy of Sri)

She had the flavour that she sampled: Gula Melaka & Red Bean. Sounds exotic, eh? Tastes very much like 'chendol' (a popular S.E Asian dessert), minus those green bits.

And the ubiquitous chocolate. This one here was Belgian Chocolate. Rich and dark (slightly bitter) taste. Complement the sweet Gula Melaka flavour nicely.


Other cakes

I had to open my container outside the office. The strong durian scent… whoa! Even opened my office window but when my colleague stepped in, he remarked that he can definitely smell durian upon entering!

This MSW ice-cream, in my own descriptions; taste just like the actual fruit being frozen, then the flesh extracted and mashed into a pulp. I can even feel the soft, fibrous texture of the actual durian flesh! The taste, the smell… Seriously, wow!

Durian lovers, THIS indeed is it!

I remember the customers that came after me in the ice-cream shop. They were sampling the various flavours and then asked which is the better one, between the D24 & MSW. The staff were quick to reply, "Of course the MSW!"

I SO agree. And it makes me wonder why they churn out both flavours on the same day?

As for the Salted Caramel & Almond, which is another one of my newly-minted favourite flavour; it's was also good. Slightly sweetish with a hint of bitterness and the briny taste of sea-salt. Plus chunks of my favourite tree nut- almonds. Nice combo!

And if you're wondering, how the MSW and Salted caramel taste like, side-by-side? Well, I'd say that nothing complements the other more. So glad I chose these 2 flavours despite it being an impulsive choice. The rich, sweet and overwhelming taste of the MSW being nicely 'neutralised' by the characteristics of the Salted Caramel flavour.

Mmmm.....! Now for that Bombe Alaska....

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Earle Swensens @ T3

I candidly remarked about how we can have lunch at Changi Airport for a change, when my male colleague (our designated lunch 'chauffeur') send our bosses off for their holiday to Korea.

Little did I know, he actually brought it up to our bosses and off we go for a lunch there, that Friday. Everyone was in a jovial mood that time. It's a Friday and our bosses were going off for a week-long holiday, what do you expect...? Hee. 

We ladies were made to choose the restaurant to dine at. Scanned through all the dining establishments at all 3 terminals and settled for Earle Swensens at Terminal 3. We were first drawn to the term 'Salad Bar'. Secondly, our bosses will be departing from that terminal anyway, so it'll be convenient for them.

As soon as we saw the Lunch set menu, all of us unanimously agreed to take it. The set include the salad bar, a main course, coffee/tea and a scoop of ice-cream. All sets cost under $20. Not bad.

From the salad bar

I go crazy at salad bars. Cos' I'm crazy about salads. Uhmm, something like that.

I was exhilarated to see many varieties of speciality salads and piled on EVERY single type into my bowl. Stuff like Seafood couscous, Greek salads with feta cheese, Thai salad, Mediterranean chickpea salad and some others.

I gave the plain greens a miss this time. I even explored the various dressings and toppings. Later on, I turned around to see my colleagues already back at the table, seated. I was still scouring for what to put into my bowl…

Not. Enough! Despite all the choices, however, I still prefer the varieties available at the salad bar in F.I.S.H.

Baked chicken pasta

One of my colleague's choice. This is one one the various mains offered in their lunch set.

Cajun cod fish

Another main item for the lunch set.

I can't recall what this actually was but I remember it's grilled cod fillet with some spicy seasoning. Maybe it's paprika instead of cajun. Something like that. Served on a bed of veggies and mashed potato.

Another female colleague's order. She was looking for something 'spicy' so I guess this might suffice.

Charbroiled rib-eye steak 

Also a main offered as part of the lunch set. Served with seasonal vegetables and mushroom sauce. Ordered by my 'picky' male colleague, my female boss and myself.

I was really hoping that the steak fared well in his books or we'll hear no end from him about how sucky Swensen's really is (he kinda' bear a grudge against them??).

The first plate arrived and we asked about the doneness of the steak. That question kinda' got the young server taken aback and he hurriedly mumbled, "Medium. Medium.. erm.. rare."

So that plate went to my male colleague (even though I ordered first and he was the last to place the order for the steak… Hmm…). Both my boss and I requested for medium.

Meanwhile, we were all looking at my colleague as he cut into his meat and had a bite. He gave a positive nod. ...Phew!

It was almost time for my boss's flight and she called out urgently for her food to be brought out, as she had a flight to catch. Our steaks soon arrived. Hers was indeed of medium doneness but mine was a lil' bloody. Even my colleague sitting beside me noticed it and she shuddered.

Surprisingly, I liked it. Unlike the medium-rare piece I got at Botak's Favourites, this meat taste much nicer. Now I understand why medium-rare is just the right doneness for a great steak experience. And I also realised that my colleague had taken my plate of steak and I, took his. :P

Another thing I noticed was that the 1st plate of steak was served with mashed potato while the other 2 plates were served with homemade, baked potato wedges. I prefer the wedges, thankyouverymuch.

Oh, the other mains offered for the lunch set was the Pan-fried Veal, which I was most curious about but too bad the steak was calling out to me. A tad disappointed that no one at my table ordered it though, cos' I really wanna see how it look like.

Chilli lobster pasta

My boss felt like having some pasta and he was grumbling about how their pasta came in sharing portions. So his wife offered to share this pasta with him. And she cancelled her lunch set (which comes with the salad bar option).

When she recce the salad bar later on, she decide that she want to have some too and asked how much it will cost her to opt for the ala-carte option. She balked at the $12.90 price tag and realised that it's much cheaper to get the lunch set. So she reinstated her lunch set order and remarked that my male colleague "can help her finish the food."

ANYWAY..

When this was served, we were like, "Whoa!" My boss remarked about them using an 'actual' lobster for that price, which was deemed cheap.

ALL of us end up sharing the pasta (yes, that much). We were disappointed with the chilli sauce which is the sauce generally used for Chilli Crab, save that this one here was a tad too sweet and greasy/oily. The spaghetti was nicely 'al-dente', though.

And yeap, a whole lobster was used.


Coffee

Something bitter to wash things down. Ok, ok lah, this coffee. Maybe I'm just spoilt rotten by those specialised coffee introduced to me by my colleague.

Ice-cream scoop

Ok, so we end the meal on a bitter-sweet note, actually. The set meal comes with a scoop of ice-cream for desserts. I chose the Frosted Chocolate Malt (left) and my colleague Roza had the famous Sticky Chewy Chocolate (right).

We were curious about those icy particles in our ice-cream. Even my boss noticed it in the half-melted vanilla ice-cream in his root-beer float. Obviously caused by re-freezing after a some melting, no? You people gotta check your ice-cream fountain, seriously.

All in all, I conclude that Earle Swensens is supposedly the more 'atas' (classy) version of the regular Swensens? Food's definitely better her although variety is lacking. Totally dig these salad bar concepts, although I admit that I much prefer the one at F.I.S.H.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Sakura Family Restaurant at Tampines

I stopped by my parent's place one evening after work and made an impromptu decision to dine out. 

Decided on this place because I want somewhere close to Pasir Ris. Besides, I've always been curious about the food here since they first opened (not too long ago?). The last few times I dined at a Sakura outlet was at the Capitol and East Point branches and they are now defunct. 

Because I came by my parent's place late, it was almost 9pm when we finally sat down at this restaurant…

…Ravenous!!

That also explain why in almost all my pics, the food were already dug into or being dug into. Hungry, cannot wait!

Appetiser - Braised Peanuts & Tofu

Pretty excited to see this (of course they charge). Quite a change from the usual salted, crunchy nuts. Slightly briny and sweet. Makes for a fun belly-filler while waiting for our mains. 

Seafood & vegetable soup

Maybe because it's quite late, my dad insisted on something light. Soups preferable. Ordered a small portion for him. He even decline to have a bowl of rice or noodles to go with this. 

... Until my mum made him eat some of her beehoon, that is. Will get to that later.

Pineapple rice

I know my bro was hungry so I offered to share a plate of any speciality rice plus some dishes with him. We settled for the pineapple rice. 

I knew that he had not fully gotten over that tentalising-looking pineapple rice that the neighbouring table ordered that one time; at Magic Wok. He kept griping about it.

The eerie yellow tint aside, this pineapple rice was pretty nice, actually. Although we wish that they put some chicken floss at the surface, just like that one that we missed.

Sweet & sour seabass

I didn't hear what the server had said when when were making our order but I remember my mum agreeing to order the 'Sweet & sour fish' that she recommended.

When this came, I was taken aback to see that the fish was pretty small. Around 1/3 smaller than norm. Not that I mind. The regular size might be too big for us, anyway since only my bro & I had rice. I'm more than happy to pick at the really crispy edges. Plus, the sweet & sour sauce was well-executed.

Only when I checked the receipt after paying, do I realise that this fish cost me only $10!! Cheaper than the plate of vegetables, even! Turns out, my mum was aware of it, that's why she agreed to order. Ahh.. so there's a promo!

Cereal sotong

I always need a Cereal Seafood fix whenever I'm at a 'Zhi Char' place. We agreed that the 'sotong' (squid) version would have a been a 'less rich' version of the usual prawns.

The reddish sotong bits kinda' surprised me. Reminds me of those 'red yeast chicken', somehow. Maybe it was pre-made? Coated with batter and then deep-fried. But at least it wasn't tough or chewy. And the cereal bits were really delectable.

Tom Yam seafood w/ beehoon 

Save the best for last. Sorry if the image looked a tad unappetising because I remembered to snap a pic only after my mum have dug into it.

Why the best? Because that Tom Yam soup was just so awesome lah! Sour, fiery with fresh seafood. Just the right flavour. Nicely fragrant and I figured out why. There were pieces of  'bunga Siantan/Kecombrang' (ginger torch flower) inside. No wonder!

All of us can't help slurping from my mum's claypot. Not that she mind, since the portion was way too big for her, that's why she gave half the beehoon inside her claypot to my dad. He was pretty upset actually, that his supposedly 'no carbs' dinner was interfered. Haha.

All in all, we pretty much enjoy the food here. Total damage incurred, including a plate of Sambal Kangkong (water convolvulus) and drinks came to around $60++. Wouldn't mind coming back here since it's pretty close to both our homes and there's direct bus routes from both homes too (we parked at the MSCP next door).

Friday, October 19, 2012

Birthday Meal at Tang Tea House

The weekend after my birthday, I met up with my own family and we dined at my favourite eatery. 

**click on image to see a slideshow of the full-sized pics**

Teh tarik

Feeling thirsty, I opted for the 'Teh Gajah'… 'Teh' = milk tea and 'gajah' = elephant (referring to size of glass).

They serve us a whole pint each! Best thing is, all 5 of us opt for this 'gajah' portion, making us look like gluttons.  Erk…! 

Sure is generous with their portions, here.

Salted fish fried rice 

My mum felt like having fried rice (strange, she's always had a small appetite). She was very happy with this one. Visible (and tasty) bits of salted fish.

Both my mum and MiL are fans of salted fish. Hmm…


From Botak's Favourites - Mushroom soup

Just too bad the Botak's Favourites here don't partake in any Singapore-wide promotions because their accounts are tied-up with Tang Tea House (or something like that). So while this soup would have been free with a main course at other branches, here it's just cheaper. 

My dad's option. He pretty much enjoyed the chunky mushroom bits.

From Botak's Favourites - THE Fish Burger

That 'THE' is really part of the name. And I can see why.

TWO pieces of crispy fish fillets in between those buns. Definitely American-sized. With a side of Cajun fries & coleslaw (my dad's choice).

And yeah, my dad had to give away one piece to my bro.

From Botak's Favourites - Rib-eye steak

My order. Felt like I've not had steak for sometime so I decide to gun for this. Rib-eye steak with a side of baked cheese potato & garden salad. 

Opt for medium-done. And I got medium-rare. Ok, I really don't mind medium-rare. After all, it's supposedly the best option of doneness to really savour a piece of steak. Provided it's fresh steak, la. Not that their steak ain't good but I would rather have something medium-rare from Eatzi Steakhouse, for example. 

Usually, the staff serving the steak will ask us to cut the steak to check if the doneness is to our liking but that didn't happen. I would have asked for more time on the grill. 

From Botak's Favourites - Stuffed jalapenos

Never missed ordering this whenever we're here. Seeing this make me realize that we forgot to order another favourite- the 'Whoopass' cheese fries!

Anyway, these pickled Jalapeño that's been stuffed with cheese and then deep-fried? Awesome as always. Totally enjoy getting a kick out of the spicy peppers. And how the creamy cheese help neutralize the heat as we get to it. And the crispy crust is just so 'syiok'!

 Dim sum - Xiolong Bao

One of my favourite dimsum item. I usually let this one 'sit' for a while more. In my opinion, the dumpling skin will be less soft when slightly cooled, therefore less chances of tearing it when we pick it up.

Secondly, the soup inside tend to be really hot when served (straight outta' steamer). I learn my lesson the hard/painful way once. Cooling it down a bit makes for a more enjoyable experience, sucking the soup when we pierce a bit of the skin on top. Yum!!

Dim sum - Har Gao

Another one of our favorites. Generous prawn fillings!

Dim sum - spicy steamed chicken feet

My parent's order, as always. They find the spiciness heat level to be more tolerable here than at the other place.

I forgot to place an order for this, initially. But this arrived anyway. Guess my parents don't miss a beat in ordering this. 

Maybe we should go to the OTHER tea house across the road and try their version of this and compare.

Dim sum - Fried prawn dumplings

The server forgot to key in the order for this initially and she hurriedly brought it out when I enquire. Thought that we might be too full for this but the pieces appear to be a lil' on the small side so we easily wolfed this down. 

Very inconsistent sizing, I may say. But the plump dumplings are tighly filled with chunks of prawns. Sooo syiok!

Oh, we also ordered some Siew Mai, which is my bro's favourite. He and my hubby wolfed them down before I can even snap some pics. Must be the chicken meat filling…

Rojak

So there's another rojak stall here. Can't resist ordering a plate of our favourite stuffed 'tau pok' (dried tofu puffs) and 'yutiao' (crisp Chinese crullers).

My mum totally digg the thick sauce that's made up of 'hae ko/petis udang' (shrimp paste), palm sugar, chilli and peanuts. I find the that previous stall that used to be here, served a better version but this one wasn't too bad. 

The 'tau pok' and 'yutiao' were grilled till crisp before being served. Awesome stuff! 

And there's my birthday meal. Simple, yet warm with the company of my own family. Nothing fancy but filled with things that I really like and enjoy. Just like how I want my life to be. Fulfilling. :)))