Finally, my brother and family arrived, and we proceeded to order our Reunion Lunch (团年饭). Everyone loves the Deep-Fried Shelled Prawns with Wasabi-Mayo (芥末沙律虾球) with grapes 🍇 and flying fish roe. Even picky eater like mum enjoyment the creamy prawns. The wasabi is used sparingly, not enough to let its fiery kick travels up the nose and sinuses. Mixed with the sweetened mayonnaise and coated on the fried prawns 🍤, it gave the crunchy prawns a creamy sweetness and a little bit of spiciness.
The vegetable in this Chinese Spinach Braised with Conpoy and Century Egg (千贝皮蛋苋菜苗) were so tender because the restaurant used the tender shoots. Chinese spinach 🥬 or Amaranth greens (苋菜) comes in green and red leaves and is popular in soup or stir-fry. Here, conpoy (干瑶柱) is added to give umaminess while century egg adds complex, intense, and savoury umami elements, cubes of orange salted egg yolk brighten the dish and adds creaminess.
The 500g of Live Boston Lobster Braised with Superior Broth (上汤焗波士顿活龙虾) is fresh, sweet and succulent. The broth is brewed for at least 6 hours with a variety of rich ingredients including premium pork, Yunnan ham and pig skin. A few of the lucky ones each get a tiny section of the crustacean 🦞, but the portion is just too little to whet the appetite.
I didn’t have a chance to get to the Home-made Vegetable Beancurd Braised with Fresh Mushrooms (鲜菌翡翠豆腐) as I was busy with taking photos of the dishes and eating whatever were on my plate. Sis gave a half a piece of the soft bean curd with a piece of seaweed on top plus some of the enoki and shimeji mushrooms 🍄🟫 I scooped off the bowl.
The pork ribs are marinated in a secret blend, then fried till crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, before being coated with a robust mocha ☕️ sauce. This Mocha Pork Ribs (摩卡排骨) is the best dish of this luncheon. From the appearance, the glossy and sticky dark sauce clinging to the pieces of meat might not seem appetizing but look can be deceiving. Just the aroma alone is enough to cause one to salivate. The sticky sweet sauce filled the mouth cavity with caramelized coffee ☕️ flavours that makes you want to carry on eating. Yum…
To appreciate the freshness of the grouper 🐟 or garoupa, we ask for the Coral Trout Steamed with Soya Sauce (清蒸星斑). Together with the superior soy sauce, it brings out the sweetness and umaminess of this expensive fish. The flaky white flesh is best appreciated with light seasonings.
I didn’t know who requested for the Chinese Chives Stir-Fried with Bean Sprouts and Shredded Mushroom (银芽菇丝炒青龙菜). Mum cooked this vegetable often enough, but I always get some stuck between the teeth. Someone in the house doesn’t like bean sprouts so mum’s home-cooked version doesn’t have it. I only took a helping of it, but the chives 🌿 were tender, and I like the crisp bean sprouts and earthy mushrooms 🍄🟫 too.
One of my cousins don’t want white rice so we ordered a plate of Yangzhou Fried Rice (扬州炒饭). I only took a spoonful of it as there were already many dishes waiting to be eaten and I already had half a bowl of white rice. Sister-in-law said it was on the sweet side.
Each of us get an individual serving of Bamboo Clam Steamed with Minced Garlic (蒜蓉蒸竹蚌) and glass noodles. I had thought the clams would be quite small but was amazed when they are served on individual plate considering we ordered the small sized (70g – 90g) ones. To get to the clam, you would need scrap aside the noodles and garlic. The chewy flesh reminded me of the texture of squid, but this one requires you to peel it off the shell. On its own, probably not much taste but the minced garlic and soy sauce added a whole dimension of flavours to it, with the glass noodles soaked up the essence of the ocean.
The wait staff asked if we would like to see the live Alaskan King Crab (阿拉斯加帝王蟹) before cooking. Of course, we would since this is such a high-priced crustacean 🦀; in fact, the most expensive dish we had that day even after the 50% discount! For such a big crab, we chose to cook it two ways.
Before eating the crabs, I donned the provided Disposable Crab Bibs so as not to get the sauce on my clothing and also wore the plastic gloves as I wrestled with the tough-shelled crustacean. 🦀
The first being Steamed Crab with Chinese Wine and Egg White (花雕蛋白蒸蟹). Like I said before, steaming brings out the freshness of the crab 🦀 while the wine elevates the aroma and flavour, but at the same time eliminating “fishy” odours. The egg white adds moisture and soaks up the juices of the crab.
Singapore is famous for chilli crabs and naturally, the other half of the crab is used to make this Stir-Fried Chilli Crab (辣椒螃蟹). The crab is fried in oil then stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet, and savoury tomato-and-chilli-based sauce. It is a complex, umami-rich flavour that is savoury, slightly sweet, and spicy. Eating it, however, is a messy affair even though I am wearing gloves as this thorny crustacean 🦀 decided to put holes in it, so my fingers are so sticky with the sauce.
This Sweet and Sour Pork (咕噜肉) came served in a bowl instead of on a plate like elsewhere. The pork was also prepared differently as the chefs used cubes of pork fillet rather than flattened meat, so you get a more substantial mouthful. Flavours wise, it was not bad tasting, but my tongue detected some gameyness in the meat, so I have to minus some points.
The half Garlic Fried Chicken (蒜香炸子鸡) came with crispy skin and the flesh was moist and succulent. We didn’t even need to sprinkle the pepper and salt mixture as the chicken 🐓 was tasty enough on its own. Mum just loves munching on those crunchy prawn crackers that accompanied the dish.
Sorry for this lousy photo of the Fried Live Prawns with Cereal (麦片活虾) as the prawns were all buried under the toasted Nestum cereals. The prawns 🦐 are normally cooked with the shell on but one can request for them to be shelled. Nothing to complain about the prawns 🍤 as they were crunchy and succulent with savoury, sweet crispy cereals to indulge in, plus experience a myriad of flavours with its garnish of chilli padi and curry leaves.
As an after-meal dessert, I selected the tangy Chilled Lime Jelly with Mixed Fruits (鲜果青柠冻) to refresh the palate. Basically, just a simple lime flavoured jelly topped with diced mango 🥭, strawberry 🍓 and chia seeds to clear lingering tastes and wash down the greasiness of the sumptuous meal.
Originating in Hong Kong in 1984, the Chilled Mango Sago Pomelo (杨枝甘露) was created by chefs at the renowned Lei Garden restaurant. Designed as a refreshing, chilled dessert, it combines diced & pureed mango 🥭 with coconut milk 🥥 or plain milk, pomelo and sago. Here it is topped with colourful “tadpoles” or jelly spheres with tail.
