Vegetarian Lunch in Po Lin Monastery

1 May 2010. Day 3 in Hong Kong.

We decided to explore Lantau Island before going to the city proper. Thus the return ride on Ngong Ping 360, a 25min cable car ride up the hills to see the giantic Tian Tan Buddha.

We had thought the cable car would only open at 10am, and were we glad to have arrived there by that time. Cos the queue by the time we returned in the afternoon was VERY LONG.

I decided to forgo the >250 steps up to the base of the Buddha, so Sam & I had a biscuit & drinks break at the ice cream stall at the bottom of the steps.

After hubby came back from his climb, we went to visit the Po Lin Monastery, and after looking at the yummy vegetarian desserts displayed at one of the stalls there, decided to have our lunch at the monastery's restaurant.

The deluxe set costs HK$100 per person, and we must purchase the meal tickets before we enter the restaurant, which opened at 11:30am. Turns out the meal tickets also included free entry to the little museum halfway up the steps to the Buddha........if we had known, we would have visited the Buddha later after lunch.

Wasn't sure if the air-conditioned restaurant provided baby chairs..........I was too tired by then to check. Was simply happy Sam could fit on the adult chair & use the standard plastic bowl & plate & soup spoon.

The toilets weren't exactly clean though - hubby found out when Sam failed a last minute dash to the Gents, and I ended up having to change Sam's wet wet pants in the middle of the meal. ;P

Still, the 5 course meal was surprisingly good. The Mixed Mushroom soup was large enough to serve 4. Even Sam had no complaints, and that's from a little guy who refused to eat mushrooms.

The Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls went down well with the rice for Sam, so were the lily bulbs in the Stir-fry Mixed Vegetables. I tried my best to polish off this dish even after I was full, cos the vegetables (red & yellow peppers, asparagus, celery, peas etc) were simply too sweet & crunchy to waste.

Hubby loved the Mushrooms with Cabbage - the fresh mushrooms were meaty, though the cabbage leaves were not cut, making it rather difficult to handle. The Mock Lemon Chicken was surprisingly good. I've never actually enjoyed eating bean curd skin before, but the lemon sauce wasn't too sour, just tangy enough to make the dish enjoyable.

Service was fast. We were about the longest seating table there, thanks to slow-eating Sam. The portions for 2 are really enough for 3, we wasted so much food I feel rather guilty. I now know why a meal at the Monastery is always recommended on the HK travel itinearies, even if the prices aren't exactly cheap. But then, it wasn't expensive either. Definitely recommended.

Taiwanese Fast Food in IMM

We were surprised to find that hubby's fav chicken rice stall was replaced by a taiwanese food shop, but thought "no harm trying".

The place was quite empty when we went in at 12noon, and the waitress was very friendly, suggesting we take one of the tables with wooden benches. But since I've always found such tables to be too far for Sam to eat comfortably, I chose a 'normal' seated table instead.

We rejected the grey plastic baby chair since Sam seemed comfortable on the adult chair, then the waitress presented Sam with his plastic bowl & spoon while we were still pouring over the menu. I guess we were lucky: the service standard plunged by the time we finished our meal, with customers having to pick up their own cutlery from the counter when they failed to attract the attentions of the busy waitresses.

This restaurant does it semi-fast food style: the customers complete the order form with the numbers of the dishes in the menu, then go to the cashier to pay. The waitresses would serve it to the table later, thus saving us a 10% service charge.

Hubby selected a Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet Set Meal ($7.90), which came complete with appetisers & soup. He found the soup value for money, but the main course very average.



I ordered an Oyster & Large Intestine Mee Sua ($5.90) for Sam, figuring he would enjoy the soft noodles even if he doesn't eat the ingredients. He ended up finishing most of the large bowl with the peanut & ikan bilis appetiser from hubby's set. The mee sua here surprised me with its length - I had thought the Taiwanese version tends to have the noodles short, so that customers just have to use a soup spoon to eat the whole dish, but the version here has the typical Singaporean wanton-mee-length of mee sua, so I had to spend several minutes trying to cut the noodles short for Sam.

For myself, I got the Deep Fried Pork Chop with Red Wine Marinate ($6.90), to go with a bowl of Braised Pork Rice ($1.80). The pork chop was crispy but nothing special otherwise, while the fatty braised pork in the rice caused me to keep one eye closed, figuratively. It was otherwise not bad.

For drinks, hubby had a Mixed Fruit Tea ($2.80) which Sam loved so much he finished the drink before hubby could get in a last mouthful. So I was left to finish my own Sour Plum Jasmine Tea ($2.80), which was sealed up bubble-tea style.

Overall, not a bad place to lunch if one wants a quick Chinese meal. Just don't expect too much. ;P


Xian Ding Wei
IMM Building #01-47/8
Tel: 6897-2636

The Attraction of the Fish Tank

Had not published this post for 1 whole month, for the embarrassing reason that most of the pictures I've taken in the restaurant were out of focus!!! I had seriously considered abandoning the post, but as hubby reminded me, it was the quietest Chinese restaurant we've ever dined in, definitely worth a recommendation to those who wants to enjoy typical Singaporean Chinese seafood cuisine in a peaceful setting. So do bear with the lousy photos!!!

We had ended up in Greenwood Ave as hubby got fed up trying to find the nearest carpark to the dining places in Turf City. I was heartily worried we would end up feeding Sam fish & chips again, as the good eating places I know of in Greenwood Ave are all Western restaurants. So we were surprised to find a 'new' (to us) Jap buffet restaurant & Chinese seafood restaurant there.

While we were pursuing the menus to decide which place to have dinner in, Sam made the decision for us by entering the Chinese restaurant to gush at the fish tank, which was right smack in the middle of the small restaurant, in full view of the main entrance.

Well, the fish tank certainly kept Sam entertained while we placed our orders & waited for the food to arrive. I had to remind the little guy frequently NOT to knock on the glass to attract the attention of the fish!

The deco of the Old Ponggol Choon Seng Seafood restaurant was obviously Chinese, but it appeared to be more like what a foreigner's idea of a Chinese-Asian setting. Everything was obviously Chinese - wooden furniture, bright tablecloths, Chinese cutlery - yet with a modern feel that you wouldn't find in a usual Chinese restaurant. I'm afraid I'm not very good at describing..........well, overall feeling is still quite pleasant, if you can deduce what I'm trying to say. They even have 2 tables along the corridor outside for alfresco dining, obviously to cater to the clientele of the area.

The most impressive thing about the restaurant was the service. The staff were friendly and speak Mandarin (not Cantonese as in most such eating places), and they went to great lengths to make Sam comfortable. While Sam was tall enough to sit on the adult wooden chairs and had no use of the baby chairs, and the restaurant's utensils were already white plastic affairs that I can safely let Sam handle by himself, the waitress went out of her way to prepare the drink for the little boy.

We had ordered hot Chrysanthemum Tea ($1.30) for all, and since Sam doesn't like his drink hot, I asked for some ice in his plastic transparent glass to cool down the drink. The waitress and I then spent the next 2 minutes determining the suitable amount of drink to be in the glass for Sam to handle easily, and the number of ice cubes to be added so that the drink wouldn't be too hot or cold. What a relief to be able to go down to such details as though I'm preparing the stuff at home!!

For the food, we ordered the chef's recommendations, as my usual practice when eating for the 1st time in a Chinese restaurant. After all, if you don't even like the restaurant's famous dishes, there's usually no point in trying the other stuff, right??

So we had the Mee Goreng ($10) and Crispy Baby Squid ($18), the Prawn Pancake ($18) and the Red Wine Pork ($18). The Prawn Pancake came first: it's basically deep fried prawn cake, done to a crisp, and was quite good, compared to the rather average ngoh hiang 五香 that was served on the same dish. Sam polished off half his bowl of rice with this!

I quite like the Mee Goreng, which hubby said was very typical Singaporean style, though he much prefer it cooked with chili. We had asked for the dish without chilli as both Sam and I don't take spicy food, so while the 2 of us enjoyed the slight ketchup taste of the noodles, hubby had to add sambal chili to his.


The Baby Squid and Red Wine Ribs would actually go much better with rice, than with the noodles. The Squid was quite crispy and sweet - Sam liked it though it was a bit too hard for him; the ribs, on the other hand, was way too sweet and had no taste of wine whatsoever. Don't understand how that came to be a recommended dish.

We had also ordered Fried Vegetables with Garlic, Nai Bai Cai 奶白菜 ($12), upon waitress's recommendation of the freshest available that day. The freshness of the vegetables was certainly evident, though the dish was a trifle too oily for my taste.

Thoughout the dinner, the restaurant was only half full. Other tables came and went, and we were conscious of being the noisiest table in the little place. How quietly the other diners ate! I had thought such silence only belonged to the more high-end French restaurants! Even the Crystal Jade Golden Palace wasn't so quiet on a weekday lunch!

As hubby commented, definitely a place to go if we wanted a quiet Chinese meal!


Old Ponggol Choon Seng Seafood Restaurant
14 Greenwood Ave, Hillcrest Park
Tel: 6465-4621

Another branch in Changi Chalets locality,
tel: 6546-5251

A Rather Chinese Asian Kitchen

Decided to dine at Iluma after praying at the temple, so as to save time (since we had parked at Iluma). After making a tour of the many choices available on level 4, we thought of trying The Asian Kitchen, with its brightly coloured Chinese-styled furnishings.

The restaurant was far from crowded on a Sunday afternoon. The huge windows lit up our table nicely. Sam appeared to be able to reach the table seated on the adult cane chair, so we didn't bother with the baby chairs.

The waitress provided one of their white plastic bowls upon request, together with a small yellow plastic spoon, which I thought was way too small for Sam. Unfortunately, the plastic Chinese soup spoon was much too big for the little guy, as were the metallic fork & spoon, so halfway through the meal I had no choice but to spoonfeed Sam withe baby spoon.

We had chosen the restaurant partly of its attractive adverts of speciality roast chickens, so of course we ordered one of them: a TAK Sauce Roast Chicken ($9.70), which is 1/4 of a chicken. Frankly, though the chicken tasted good, we don't see what's so special about it.

Hubby got a Prawns Fried Rice ($7.90), which turned out to be quite a good fried rice with egg, but with only 4 prawns (peeled & pre-cooked) on top! We might as well had just ordered the plain Egg Fried Rice & save ourselves a couple of dollars!!

I had gotten myself a Vegetable Wanton Noodle Soup ($7.20), which was not bad at all. Certainly no complaints about the quality & quantity for the price & location. Sam willingly finished half a bowl of the noodles & 2 of the meaty wantons, then polished off nearly a whole bowl of his father's fried rice!

The cold Homemade Barley ($3) gave me a slight start, as I didn't expect it to be in a plastic cup sealed the way the Taiwanese bubble tea were done. I guess they must have prepared a whole batch way beforehand, cos the barley was icey cold when served. It was a tad too sweet for me, but both hubby & I loved its obvious homemade taste. So did Sam. :)

The chain offers a membership, which would dole out rebate dollars (details here). We weren't so impressed as to sign up for it though. Especially since I didn't register many 'Asian' dishes in the menu............most all look like typical dishes one would find in a HK tea cafe. I did notice that their signature dessert is 'qing teng' 清汤, very Singaporean, so I guess I won't mind eating there again.


The Asian Kitchen
Iluma #04-07
201 Victoria Street
Tel: 6884-5507

Chinese New Year @ Xin Wang Taiwan Cafe

Having eaten at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe several times previously, I was kinda glad to have the chance to eat at the Taiwan version of the cafe yesterday, when we had to settle dinner outside with my sister & her daughter, Tiffany, before we go house-visiting.

I hadn't expected the outlet at Bukit Panjang Plaza to be open on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year. So might as well try something new for the new year, right? ;) The menu not as extensive as the Hong Kong cafes.......or rather, there's nearly as many snacks as main courses to choose from, which I guess is unavoidable since the Taiwanese street snacks are so popular.

We got a long table, which Sam & Tiffany could fit comfortably without resorting to the wooden baby chairs. My problem was trying to keep Sam on the bench, since he kept scrambling down under the table to retrieve his cars whenever they fall off the table.

Hubby ordered a Braised Minced Pork Rice 鲁肉饭 ($6.80), which he shared with Sam. The pork was actually not minced, but fatty meat sliced thinly. The Taiwanese style of braised meat tends to be sweet, instead of salty. I don't really mind it, but I've tasted better. Sam enjoyed everything though, including the braised egg that came with the dish.

My sis shared the Stir-fried Bee Hoon with Braised Meat 台式炒米粉 ($4; $3 without the meat) with Tiffany. The Taiwanese-styled bee hoon is different from our local version too - white & plain with no sauce nor bean sprouts. Tiffany managed the dish on her own on the small white plastic plate that's available at every table, as with the metal fork (and all the other cutlery). I fed Sam from a small white plastic bowl I requested from the waiter.

I myself had ordered the sinful Crispy Fermented Chicken Rice 南乳鸡排饭 ($7.80), which took the longest time to serve. The fermented chicken tasted quite good, though a tad similar to their Taiwanese Salted Chicken 盐酥鸡 ($4.80). Sam loved both versions.........I guess being crispy & juicy was more important.

The biggest surprise, for me, came in the way the drinks were served. I had not expected all the cold drinks we had ordered to be in bubble tea style: plastic cups sealed at the top, to be pierced with a fat straw. After all, we didn't expect any chewy pearls in my Ice Calamansi Tea ($2), the Ice Honey Lemon Tea ($2) nor the Homemade Barley ($1.50).

Sam didn't fancy the Barley I ordered for him (luckily I like its obvious homecooked richness, with plenty of barley in the cup), fighting instead for my Calamansi Tea, which was both sour & sweet, just the way we like it. The drinks took longer to prepare than the food apparently, being served after most of the dishes had appeared on the table. Perhaps none of the young staff on duty during the holidays were familiar with the sealing mechanism? ;P

All in all, we spent just under an hour inside the restaurant, thanks to its prompt service & serving of food. Just right for our purpose!


Xin Wang Taiwan Cafe
1 Jelebu Road
#02-27/32 Bukit Panjang Plaza
Tel: 6892-6953

Bicycles & Bak Ku Teh in VivoCity

Hubby craving for bak ku teh again, so we headed out to our new fav, Xin Chen Bak Ku Teh 星辰肉骨茶, inside the Food Republic at VivoCity.

One of the reasons why I like the place is its separate seating enclosure. The downside of this is that the whole family would have to eat from the same stall. The (major) upside, however, means we get to have a leisurely meal in a popular - ie. crowded - food court, paying food court prices but enjoying the attentive services of the waitresses.

There were several like-minded parents that day.......half the tables were occupied by families with young children, and I guess we were ALL grateful that we could choose our tables & take our time to seat the young ones without worrying about other diners rushing past us.

Sam still refused to sit near the artificial tree in the corner, but we got a table under a row of rainbow-coloured bicycles hung from the ceiling, which distracted Sam long enough for us to place our orders in peace!

I was quite surprised to see that Sam was now tall enough - just barely - to reach the table from the stool, so we didn't force him into the wooden high chair that he could still fit in comfortably. Of course, I regretted my decision 15 min into the lunch after Sam started getting off the stool on his own. ;P Especially since Sam didn't seem to fit snugly on the stool. Still, I guess I have to learn to respect this little show of independence. ;)

The waitress brought an empty plastic bowl along with our food, so we didn't have to request for anything else, the plastic Chinese soup spoons being placed in a holder on each table (as with the chopsticks). Her colleague didn't have the sense to place the hot dishes away from Sam, though.

The Bak Ku Teh (pork ribs soup) ($6) is hubby's fav. Not that there aren't better ones, but for the quality & price & relative comfort (ie. aircon with non-crowded conditions + service but no service charge) & proximity to our home, it's definitely on top of our list. The meat was tender enough for Sam and not too fatty for me and hubby had no problem separating the meat from the ribs. What more can we ask for???

I insisted on 2 servings of dough fritters 油条 ($1.20) as I find the soup less peppery when it's soaked up by the cripsy snack. Sam enjoyed it too, since if I soak his rice ($0.70) with the soup he finds it too peppery & ends up drowning the 'fire' with Yeo's Lemon Barley ($1.80). Hubby drank most of the soup though, so it was a good thing the waitresses make their rounds topping up the soup from a mini kettle.

We ordered the Liver & Kidney Soup ($6) again, which was value for money for such serving size & quality in a food court. Sam still didn't like the pork liver nor kidney though. This time we tried the Teochew Fish Cake ($2.50), freshly steamed and Sam's fav. So we didn't have to order the braised peanuts or egg.

Ended the meal with the Premium Chinese Tea ($5), which was strong enough to last throughout the meal. Sam was particularly curious when hubby prepared the tea, kung-fu-cha style (ie. steep tea in small teapot, pour into jug, then pour into the tiny cups for drinking).

All in all, a satisfying meal & relatively hassle-free lunch in a food court on a Saturday. What more can parents ask for??? ;)



Xin Chen Bak Ku Teh 星辰肉骨茶
Food Republic
#03-01 VivoCity

T3 - Xin Wang

Brought Sam to Changi Airport last Friday, when his childcare centre was closed for preparation for the new school year. It was our 1st visit to Terminal 3, and Sam was excited during the train trip to the airport. Asked me at every train stop if it was our turn to get off the MRT!

We both enjoyed T3, which wasn't crowded, that being a blessing when the suburban malls were all jostling with crowds even on a weekday afternoon. For lunch I took the 1st restaurant I came across in the 3Top area, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe (新旺香港茶餐厅), partly because I have the membership card and thus would be able to accumulate rebates to offset my next bill.

The waitresses were very friendly & prompt, maybe cos the outlet wasn't as busy as the ones in Anchorpoint & Northpoint, where it was sometimes impossible to attract the attention of the serving staff. The 2 of us were given a large 4-seater couch table, which I accepted since Sam was tall enough to eat on it, without using the plastic-and-metal foldable baby chair.

One convenience about this restaurant chain was the utensils are placed in a special holder on every table, which means I could choose the metal fork & spoon, or in this case, the chinese soup spoon, without the hassle of bothering the waitresses. Of course, it also means that on the smaller tables, I have to look out for Sam grabbing the utensils or knocking the whole contraption off the table.

Ordered the fried mee sua with luncheon meat & egg ($7.50) for Sam. Admittedly it wasn't a healthy choice. But then, the restaurant is about quick & affordable HK-styled cafe food, so it's a matter of choosing the lesser evil from the menu, the moment one decides to dine there. Moreover, my choice was based more on the likelihood of Sam liking the dish. ;P

Well, my son enjoyed the egg & luncheon meat, as I expected him to. The mee sua was soft & smooth from its bed of oily sauce and it was a new taste of noodles for Sam, but he took to it well, finishing half the portion. I had forgotten to toss the mee sua thoroughly before cutting it up in the small plastic bowl I had requested the waitress for, so the noodles turned out a trifle dry & sticky. The 2nd serving to Sam was better after I tossed the noodles.

The vegetables were a total turn off, though, looking yellowish & limp with a thick coat of congealing gravy when it was served. The kitchen staff was obviously not as good as the ones in Northpoint, where I've eaten a much better version of the exact same dish earlier this month.

For drinks I got Sam the hot barley ($2.50), which was homemade and a trifle sweet for my taste, but then Sam loved it, so what could I say? My shanghai-styled fried rice with pork chop ($8.50) turned out to be too salty for me, with all the preserved vegetables (梅菜) fried into the rice. So I had to order a 2nd drink, hot honey green tea ($2.70), to help me finish the meal. Sam loved the sweet drink, which had more honey than green tea. In fact, I could hardly tell that it was green tea!

The main advantage of dining on level 4 of the 3Top area was the view. I could see the planes landing & taking off from my seat, since the restaurant had no windows & was open to the Viewing Hall. Sam, being much shorter, could only see the planes only if he stands on the chair. And it was a good thing the toilets - with foldable diaper changing station - are just behind the restaurant too, when I had to change Sam's diaper immediately after the meal. Sam even tried to drink from the automatic water cooler outside the toilets, but I forbade him as he was still a trifle too short for the child's version & risked getting all his clothes wet.

All in all, T3 would have become a fav place to bring Sam, if not for the fact that it takes us one whole hour to travel there from the west!


Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe 新旺香港茶餐厅
Changi Airport Terminal 3
#04-02 North Viewing Mall
Tel: 6241-5201

Crabs, Crabs, Crabs!

With the large crowd at Jurong Point on Saturday nights, we had to make do with the less popular eating places even at 6:30pm. Thus hubby finally got a chance to try the advertised Crab QQ Noodles in the Chinese restaurant at the basement of Jurong Point's new wing.

I myself wasn't quite sure of Pioneer Wharf. Though it's the chain's 3rd outlet, its less-than-full capacity on a weekend night didn't inspire much confidence.

Well, the 1st impression of the place was certainly good. The service staff were helpful. A high chair (those plastic foldable ones) was brought out the moment we requested for one, and when Sam refused to get in it, a waitress quickly stacked up 2 adult dining chairs so that Sam could reach the table.

The experienced staff constantly reminded the new (& obviously young) waiter to serve the dishes away from Sam. The plastic bowl, plate & small metallic fork & spoon were given without me having to request for any, though it was halfway through our meal before anyone thought of offering Sam a plastic cup of water. By that time Sam was already enjoying his warm homecooked barley ($3.50), which was pretty good.

Sam was in those moods where the plate of appetiser peanuts ($2 on the bill, so better reject if you don't want it) with a bowl of white rice ($1) would keep him satisfied while we ponder over the menu. We didn't order too much, in case the restaurant wasn't up to our standard, but fortunately the food turned out pretty good!

The HK Kai Lan with minced garlic ($12) was average, and so was the Chicken Soup ($8). But hubby was full of praise for the beancurd in the Claypot Beancurd ($12), which came with 3 large prawns and the gravy delicious with rice. The Crab with QQ Noodles took some time coming, but it was worth the wait.

Our crab (@ $3.30 per 100g) was fresh & very meaty, and the noodles were totally full of the essence of crab! Sam polished off his own bowl of noodles even though he refused any of the crab meat. Hubby found the noodles a trifle too plain, then discovered the XO sauce on the table ($2 on the bill) which transformed the noodles from good to great! The dish costs us $31.40 before discount ($5 for the noodles, $26.40 for the crab), and fortunately there was a wash basin the restaurant itself for us to wash up thoroughly after the very satisfying meaty crab.

I guess the next time we would try one of their many speciality dishes, which leans heavily on prawns, so most likely to taste good. Most likely we would end up eating crabs again though, quite a good deal after the 15% discount with DBS/POSB credit cards.


Pioneer Wharf
#B1-45/46 Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Tel: 6861-6833

Lovely Jumbo Executive Lunch

Got blogging here again, thanks to the great lunch we had just now at Jumbo Seafood @ Dempsey. We went to Dempsey Hill cos hubby wanted to eat at the Ben & Jerry's, but because Sam wanted noodles for lunch, we ended up at the 1st Chinese restaurant we saw.

Turns out to a great choice. The outlet there was renovated in a very 'fusion' style with corresponding utensils. Wouldn't have guessed the restaurant would be serving typical Chinese seafood restaurant fare. We were seated in a corner table facing a ceiling-high fish tank wall, which Sam consented to pose for with purposely-closed eyes.

We opted for the Executive Set Lunch B (Chilli Crab Celebration), at S$36++/pax (cost incl. tea& towel). The Appetizer Trio (Scallop in Yam Ring, Chilled Mango Duck, Seafood Bacon Roll with Mayo) was nothing special, but tasted good.

The best dishes that fully justified the cost of the set lunch were the Scallop Dumpling in Seafood Broth, and the De-Shelled Chilli Crab Claw with 'Man Tou'. Crab, prawn & dried scallop were wrapped in scallop, served in a thickened broth that's not too salty, good enough to clean off the whole bowl. I was so terribly reluctant to share the dish with Sam!!! Hubby loved it too, and specially - since this dish isn't on the regular menu - 'tabao' another 2 servings home (@S$12 each) for his parents to try!

The chilli crab was great! It's lovely to eat crab without having to remove the shells messily, and since I don't really enjoy eating spicy food, the small portion was ideal for me. I wished there was more buns to mop up the gravy, but hubby & I shared a bowl of rice to do justice to the lovely gravy.

The Jumbo Prawn Noodles was supposed to be cooked with XO sauce, but because of Sam, we requested for it to be cooked differently, so that it would be non-spicy. The result was nothing spectacular, but still delicious.

Sam loved eating it on his grey Rubbermaid high chair, though the plastic spoon provided is obviously getting a trifle too small for him. The restaurant had also provided a plastic cup for Sam to drink from, though we had to request for the cold water before they remembered to fill up the cup.

Dessert was supposed to be Dragon Fruit Champagne Jelly. Well, without the menu, we thought it was simply 'wen tou xue' and aloe vera cubes with strawberries & mango. Still, it was a cool way to end the meal, and Sam loved the lime-flavoured dessert so much he actually drank off the cup.



Service was good, especially since we started our meal at 11:30am, when the place was literally empty. Felt even better when informed that there's 10% discount when paying with Citibank credit card, so the meal was quite, quite worth it! ;)


http://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/
Blk 11 Dempsey Rd, #01-16
Tel: 64793435
Opening hours: Weekdays - 12pm~3pm, 6pm~12am.
Sat & Eve of P.H. - 12pm~12am
Sun & P.H. - 11:30am~11:30pm

Luxurious Red Cushion for Big Sam

Hubby wanted good food again, after all the leftover dinners he had to endure on the weekdays. So we just walked into Marriot Hotel's Wan Hao Restaurant based on hubby's mood.

Though the restaurant had baby chairs, the waitress assured us that Sam is now too big for theirs. She then produced a thick velvety red cushion, matching their high back dining chairs, to raise the seat for Sam. And indeed, Sam fitted the arrangement just nicely! It was also comforting to see the cushion fitted the chair very well, so Sam was no likely to fall off the chair, since there's no safety belt involved. Still, I told Sam solemnly to be seated properly on his 'adult' chair, no hanky-panky, least he fell off. Sam loved his new freedom in the 'big' chair, & behaved quite sensibly for most of the lunch.

Apparently the menu had been revised in May, and the executive set lunch now looks both wonderfully tempting, with a slightly lowered pricing that no longer causes the wallet to scream. So we ordered the S$68 pp set lunch for two.

Since the set lunch appeared to be the type that would end up with each person having just enough, with each course served one by one, we decided to order some dim sum for Sam. The chives dumpling ($4.40 for 2 pcs) were quite standard, I mashed them up & mixed with the white rice ($2 for a bowl) for Sam to eat.

We also ordered a 'radish roll' ($5 for 2 pcs). The prawns on them were so large they totally overshadowed the vegetables below. And irritatingly, Sam only wanted the prawns. So I had to eat the remaining pumpkin & carrots.

The pretty pink plastic plate provided by the restaurant was no good for messy Sam. So I actually risked using the white ceramic rice bowl. But anyway, I ended up spoon-feeding Sam the entire meal. The small metal fork & spoon were nice to use though, and the waitress had include a straw for Sam's glass of water too.

As to our own adults' lunch, well, I can only say it was great!!!!! Appetiser of sliced Peking duck with soft shell crab, followed by shark's fin soup, then a tender black pork steak stewed with mushrooms (nothing too salty, just nice, I thought) on top of spinach tofu. But the best was the lobster noodle.

The original menu actually calls for the noodle to be cooked with some spicy sauce, but because I was nursing a slight sore throat, we asked for the noodles to be cooked differently. Turns out the noodles resembled more of spaghetti, but it tasted great with the half lobster! Sam was very appreciative of the noodles too, ate quite a bit of his daddy's portion.

The set meal ended with mango pudding with black glutinous rice sauce. By then, Sam was down playing on the carpeted floor. My only consolation was he wasn't screaming or doing anything too noisy to ruin the relatively quiet atmosphere of the restaurant.

The waitresses were friendly, one of them even offered Sam a sweet before we left. I was pleased the food was served rather promptly, so although we ate course by course, we didn't have to waste time waiting. Definitely a fine place to go when hubby's in the spending mood & Sam is in a well-behaved mood. ;) In fact, now we're thinking of going back there for their $55++ dim sum buffet........but it'll be a few months before hubby is willing to spend so much again!


Wan Hao Restaurant
Singapore Marriot Hotel
320 Orchard Road
Tel: 6831-4615

Broken Utensils in mayim

Finally blogging again after suffering a week of stomach flu & another week nursing my sick son. Sam's fever has finally subsided after 6 days, and tonight had dinner with my anxious parents in one of our fav Chinese restaurants, mayim, in West Mall.

Had to wait a bit while they prepared our table, but the grey Rubbermaid baby chair & the plastic kid's utensils (bowl, cup & metal soup spoon) were all laid & ready for Sam when they ushered us in.

Daddy Mummy both ordered the 烧味双拼汤面 (roast chicken & char siew noodle in soup, S$6.50), since they enjoy the springy Hong Kong style noodles. I personally prefer mayim's handmade noodles, but Sam wanted to eat rice - he must be tired of 6 straight days of noodles, since he's supposed to abstain from rice & porridge when running a fever.

So I ordered white rice (60 cents) and 2 easy-to-digest dishes for Sam & me - 赛螃蟹 (shredded crab & fish in egg white, $8) and 牛油果炸琵琶豆腐 (deep fried minced pork & tofu with avocado cream, $9). Er, sorry, the picture of the dishes were taken after we've eaten 2 of the tofu & the waitress had mixed up the egg white with the sauce.

Anyway, my guess was accurate: the egg white/crab/fish dish was slightly salty & perfect with rice, and Sam didn't have to chew much to swallow the food. I didn't feed him the tofu after all though, remembered last minute the fried food wouldn't really be good for the just-recovered child. Otherwise, surely the well-flavoured tofu would have been welcome by Sam, though I don't see the point of adding the bland avocado cream.

Sam finished his whole cup of warm barley drink ($1.80), hopefully this would remove some of his 'heat'. I had to empty half the serving of syrup into my 花旗参甘露汁 (sugarcane juice with ginseng & carrot, $3.50) before I could tolerate the surprisingly strong taste of the ginseng.

I had made the mistake of forgetting to pack a few toy cars for the meal, and Sam got so bored at dinner I resorted to letting him play with whatever was on the table - a spoon holder & a sauce plate. He was enjoying this makeshift 'aeroplane' and 'rocket', then to my horror, the ceramic spoon holder fell on the floor and broke into 2!! My embarrassment doubled when the waitress offered to replace the spoon holder..........I am never going to forget Sam's toys again!!!!!!

In case you're wondering how Sam survived the rest of dinner: Mummy had to play 'making faces' with him!


Mayim Chinese Cuisine 天乐里精品食馆
#02-04 West Mall
1 Bt Batok Central Link
Tel: 6794-1590

The Cow in Lai Lai

Rather irritated the baby room in the Basement 1 of Jurong Point's new extension has not even started renovation yet, so ended up changing Sam's diaper along the corridors, cos was too lazy to go back to the old wing for a simple change.

Had wanted to find out why the Lai Lai Casual Dining in the new extension is so popular, so went for an early weekday lunch before the lunchtime crowd comes in.

The white Ikea baby chair brought a smile to my face. They've personalised the chair with their red company logo! Sam, too, found the cow in the centre of the red circle attractive, and willingly pointed out the cow for me to photograph!

The signature dishes I was interested in were all spicy. In the end, I decided on a small bowl of taiwanese vermicelli with pork meatballs ($5.90), as I wasn't too hungry after a rather large breakfast. Drinks was a fruit punch ($3.90), though the waitress forgot my specific request of 'no ice'.

The Taiwanese version of rice vermicelli is very different from our local version - thick soup, noddle strands cut short, it's more like drinking the vermicelli than eating it. Lai Lai's version is not bad, small portion, just like in Taiwan, where the dish is more like the snack at tea time, I believe. But if feeding this dish to children, do take note: while the vermicelli is soft & very easy for Sam to chew, the liquid-like texture of the dish caused Sam to drink it like soup, and once he nearly choked. After that I tried hard to drain out most of the soup, not an easy task, given the nature of the dish.

The 5 meatballs with the vermicelli were pretty good, so much so that Sam finished 4 of them easily. Luckily I expected this, and ordered a fried pork cutlet ($6.90) in advance. ;P Though the cutlet was tender & crispy, I still much prefer the Japanese style. *I miss my Tonkichi!*

The waitress had anticipated our need for kids' utensils, and the plastic bowl & spoon turned out to be those commonly used in certain Chinese restaurants. The spoon is an adult size soup spoon though, causing me to give Sam too large mouthfuls several times.

It was a good thing I had the early lunch, cos by 12:30pm, before I even finished my pork cutlet, the queue started! I guess smaller portions are rather popular with the office crowd. Besides, Lai Lai is the only other Chinese restaurant (besides Ding Tai Feng) in that part of the new wing.

Perhaps next time I'll just get hubby to try the set menu, starring their signature spicy noodles. But then, I don't really want Sam to get full on the accompanying bubble tea leh...........

Members of Jurong Point's Shiok! card take note - 10% discount on a la carte items only.


Lai Lai Casual Dining 来来红烧牛肉面
#B1-60/61 Jurong Point (extension, or JP2)
Tel: 6861-1004

The Biting Fish Bowl in Hai Tien Lo

Despite his repeated reminders to me that times are bad, hubby wanted a good meal on his rest day, so we ended up with a S$58++ a la carte buffet brunch at the Cantonese restaurant, Hai Tien Lo, in Pan Pacific hotel. Located on level 37, Sam enjoyed the ride on the 'glass' lifts on the outside of the building. But the view today was dismal due to the weepy weather:

The baby chair isn't my fav type - it looks like a mini chair from those old-styled Chinese restaurants, and have absolutely no form of restraints whatsoever to keep the child safely in the seat. Even Sam was disappointed to find no safety belt for him to buckle into. I suppose the high chair would be good for older children who are a trifle too short for the adult chairs, but as expected, we spent the latter half of the meal telling Sam to sit down and keep his hands off the dishes.

On the plus side, the plastic kid's bowl was an entertainment in itself. Never mind the small shiny metallic fork & spoon. Sam spent the 1st 20 min of the meal pretending he was bitten by the 'fish'. Initially I didn't understand what he was doing, and was rather irritated to hear him go "ouch" with no apparent reason when I'm trying to eat my lunch. Then I saw him touch the bowl (at the tail end!) with one finger, quickly retracted it, & mutter 'ouch'! So he was pretending the 'fish' bit his finger!!!!


Sorry no photos of the food, me too busy eating & didn't wanna try taking photos of 10+ dishes served at various points of time. ;P That's a testimony to genuinely good food, a reason for the rather high price of the buffet. Besides the bird's nest egg tarts, shark's fin soup & lobster dumplings (only 1 serving per person for these dishes), the other dishes we tried (including steamed cod fish, fried garoupa, wasabi prawns, 虾饺，烧卖, homemade tofu, black pepper ostrich, stewed pork ribs, seasonal vegetables with lily bulbs, 油鸡，烧肉, drunken prawns) were all delicious.

The white peony tea at $6/pax was no joke, but as hubby says, it's 'real' tea, fragrant & full-bodied, didn't get too bitter or mild after repeated servings over the 1.75 hr meal. The fruits (including strawberries, sweet rock melon & jamu) & desserts (various types of kueh & cakes, a good mango pudding, among others) were at a self-service buffet table, and by the end of the hot dishes I was really stuffing myself full so as not to miss the mango pudding, my fav dessert!

Sam loved the sesame seed walnuts served as appetiser, and polished off several prawns again. I found that the prawns used in the steamed prawn dumpling are usually softer and easier for Sam to eat, compared to the firm ones in the drunken prawn dish. As hubby pointed out, the firm ones are probably fresher, but after Sam spat out those prawns after 5 min of constant chewing, I rather let him eat (& chewed then swallowed) prawn dumplings.

Can't wait for hubby's next urge for good food! ;)

Oh, almost forgot: UOB credit card members get 15% discount off, making the buffet a trifle more friendly on the wallet.........


Hai Tien Lo
Level 37, Pan Pacific Hotel,
7 Raffles Boulevard , Marina Square
Tel: 6826-8240
A La Carte Buffet Brunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm (Weekends & Public Holidays)
Dress code: Smart Casual

Rice Option in Dim Sum Meals

Had lunch again (see previous experience) at Crystal Jade Palace, and this time, hubby was in the mood for a dim-sum-only meal. Sam as usual polished off 3 whole shrimp dumplings (虾饺), but I wanted to get some carbohydrates into him, so I repeated my usual 'trick': mix the fillings of a dumpling with some rice.

->

The chives dumpling (韭菜饺) of Crystal Jade Palace are pretty good, so I ordered a bowl of white rice & mixed some of it with the fillings of the chives dumpling. This has the added advantage of getting some vegetables (the chives) into Sam, in addition to the minced pork & prawns.

It was a waste of the dumpling wrapping, but which Chinese mother would feel assured with her son eating only prawns for lunch???? Anyway, this shortcut saves me the trouble of mincing up the meat/prawn, and the dish is steamed, so it's not too oily........better than ordering fried rice, I thought! ;P

Noodles & Dumplings of Ding Tai Feng

Dear Mum helped looked after Sam this afternoon so I could have a haircut, and we ended up snacking in Ding Tai Feng (鼎泰丰), Wisma Atria's branch.

Baby chair: the grey & sturdy Rubbermaid version.

Kids' utensils: A cute plastic bowl & a plastic cup full of water with a bendy straw were provided without me asking, which was gratifying. But I wished they've gotten a smaller set of plastic utensils - the transparent tablespoon isn't really suitable for Sam to self-feed.

Entertainment: Nil.

Kids' menu: I ordered the appetiser, pickled lotus root (酸甜藕片, S$2.50), in an attempt to get Sam to eat some kind of vegie. He willingly ate 1 entire piece, but was more interested in the steamed prawn & pork dumpling (虾肉蒸饺, S$7 for 6 pcs), which was easily the best dish we ordered this time.

Had thought Sam would appreciate the hand-made noodles (元盅鸡面, S$10.80), but the noodles were too dry if eaten without the soup, & the chicken soup wasn't exactly delicious, so Mum & I finished most of the bowl ourselves.

Service: call me lazy, but I've gotten used to paying for my meals at my table. Any parent dining alone with an active toddler will agree, it's no joke trying to hold on to the child & the bill & your wallet/purse & the cash/credit card and to wait in line at the cashier in a crowded restaurant. After all, I've already paid the 10% service charge, haven't I? Luckily this time, my mum was with me, & it was a weekday during off-peak hours, so the payment at the cashier went smoothly. But I wouldn't want to go back there alone with Sam during dinner time!


鼎泰丰 Ding Tai Feng
Wisma Atria #02-48
Tel: 6732-1383
Opens 11 am (10 am on weekends & public holidays) to 10 pm.
No reservations accepted.

Private Room of Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine

Wanted a Chinese lunch, so decided to try out the Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine opposite the Crystal Jade Palace. Was initially a bit displeased that they asked if we could finish our lunch in 1 hour, then we realised they were giving us a small private room (sits 5) that has a reservation later, hence the request.

Fortunately, the dishes we ordered were served fast, so we had no problem finishing our 3 main courses, 1 dim-sum & 1 dessert in an hour, which was quite an achievement for us too, considering the unpredictable habits of Sam!

Baby chair: the same wooden & yellow plastic cushioned Winnie the Pooh chair as in Crystal Jade Palace, complete with the 5 point harness belt.

Kids' utensils: the same cartoon character bowl (but no cup) and small metal fork & spoon as Crystal Jade Palace. If I didn't know better, I would have thought the 2 restaurants belonged to the same chain!

Entertainment: Nil. In fact, being in a private room, there was nothing to distract Sam at all except for the toy cars I prepared.

Kids' menu: Nil. Sam was so hungry he actually ate the rather sour pickled vegetables served as appetiser! He loved the marinated goose (卤鹅, S$16) - which was sliced thinly, not too salty & not tough at all to chew - kept asking for more 'meat, meat'.

He likes the recommended water chestnut drink (马蹄水, S$2) too, since it was not too sweet, but he only ate 1 mouthful of the very delicious pea shoot fried with garlic (蒜茸豆苗, $16). The silly boy, it's not often you can get such sweet big-leafed HK pea shoot, ok!

By the end of lunch Sam was too tired to try the smooth & not-too-sweet mashed taro with ginko nuts (福果芋泥, S$4), but he perked up at the sight of the tray of 4 small cups of 功夫茶 (strong chinese tea) served at the end (beginning) of the meal. I let him try a sip: surprisingly he didn't find it too bitter, so, I allowed him a 2nd sip. ;)

Service: I don't know what to say. She's a good waitress, as far as me as an adult is concerned. But if she's good enough to offer to help put Sam in the baby chair, you would have thought she would be sensible enough not to place the cup of hot water chestnut drink in front of Sam.


Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine 御宝阁潮州酒家
391 Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City #04-20A/21
Tel: 6736-2118

Tung Lok Signatures, So White!

Had dinner at Tung Lok Signatures in VivoCity, cos hubby's sis had discount voucher for the restaurant. I was so surprised at the crowds in VivoCity; a yr ago when the place was new, it was so empty! Now, we had to jostle at every escalator........but with so many different eating places there, I definitely want to go back again!

Baby chair: the white plastic Ikea version, which Sam is starting to outgrow.

Kids' utensils: a white plastic plate with small metal fork & spoon. Really admire how the restaurant got everything white!

Entertainment: Nil.

Kids' menu: Nil. Sam as usual polished off much of the braised peanuts appetiser, but he didn't eat much of the broccoli & beancurd.......guess the excitement of meeting his cousins again distracted him from his food.


Tung Lok Signatures
VivoCity, #01-57
Tel: 6376-9555

Crystal Jade Palace At Last!

We've never managed to have our Sunday dim-sum at Ngee Ann City's Crystal Jade Palace, cos usually by the time we arrive there at 12 noon, the place is jam-packed with a mile-long queue. This time, since we're staying within walking distance to the shopping mall, hubby wanted to have his 1st good meal back in Singapore at the elusive Palace, which we managed to do so at 11.15am.

Entertainment: Sam was attracted by the tanks of live seafood at the entrance to the restaurant, so hubby went to order the dim-sum while Sam pointed out the prawns & fishes to me.

Baby chair: I love the wooden chair with Winnie the Pooh plastic cushions - so cute, and it matches the deco too!

Kids' utensils: The plastic bowl & cup also have prints of bears. Too bad the small metallic fork & spoon didn't. ;)

Kids' menu: Nil. Sam was in a 'prawn' mood again - ate 3 entire "har gau" (prawn dumpling) by himself (after I cut up the fillings of course).


Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant
391 Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City #04-19
Tel: 67352388
No reservations allowed.

The Fish at Crystal Jade

We'll be leaving KL soon, so we're now making use of our limited time to eat in our favourite restaurants one last time. My hubby's fav Cantonese haunt:

Crystal Jade Restaurant 翡翠酒家

The Gardens, Mid Valley City,

level 4, Lot T210

Tel: (603) 2283 3129

We love the place for the good food, & the extensive menu, which offers much, much more delicacies than its sister restaurants in Singapore. And of course, the good service - I never have to ask for the kid's utensils & the waiters are always ready to help pick up the toy cars Sam landed on the floor.

Baby chair: the plastic & metal version which I always find a trifle too flimsy. But at least this one was in good condition.

Kids' utensils: Ikea's colourful plastic cup, bowl & plate. A little metal set of fork & spoon was provided, just the right size for little Sam.

Entertainment: Nil. Sam loves the 4 tanks of live seafood at the entrance to the restaurant. We usually have to let him watch his fill while we placed our orders, then cajole him into his seat only when the food is being served.

Kids' menu: Nil. This time, Sam was in a 'prawn' mood - he polished off 3 "har gao" (虾饺) in total. I got the brain wave of getting Sam to eat some vegetables - one whole delicious "jiu cai jiao" (韭菜饺) - by peeling off the skin of the dim sum & mixing the vege with his rice.

Noble House & its Fish Pond

Location: Noble House (阳城酒家), at No. 19 Jalan Delima (off Jalan Imbi)
Baby chair: the foldable metal & plastic version. Usually I don't like this type of baby chairs, but luckily this one's plastic white table top was somehow fastened down, so Sam couldn't raise it up & down (as he did in other restaurants).

Kids' utensils: Ikea's plastic bowl, fork & spoon, fully colour coordinated! I asked for the ceramic white tea cup to be retained for Sam to drink from, a recent skill he enjoys.

Entertainment: None at the table. Sam was, unfortunately for us, interested in the big fish pond at the entrance to the restaurant building (ie. outside the dining area), & spent the pre-food-arrival time commenting on the size of the koi there.

Kids' menu: Nil, as usual for Chinese restaurants. Sam ate the usual braised peanuts appetiser while we ordered the food, and loved our soups. For once, he ate some spinach - finely chopped & mixed with tofu, then deep fried & covered with sauce - one of their signature dishes (至尊鸳鸯豆腐).

Service: Ok, as far as child-friendliness is concerned. The kids' utensils were offered without prompting.