Nephew didn’t want steamed rice and he asked for the Yang Zhou Fried Rice (扬州炒饭). We got him a medium portion (S$10) to share with those who may preferred a little more carbo. The savoury fried rice has got that wok hei (breath of the wok) and is packed with quite a few other ingredients like char siu, crab stick, peas, egg and spring onion.
Everyone loves fried chicken so we had the Prawn Paste Chicken (虾酱鸡). The appearance is not really Instagram worthy but the umami flavour of the crispy and succulent wings won us over.
Instead of the usual sweet and sour pork, we order the Sweet & Sour Sliced Fish (酸甜鱼片). Would have been nicer if the batter coated fish is still crispy and the flesh is too firm for my liking.
Cereal Sotong (麦片苏东) was a letdown with too thick a batter and rubbery texture. Sotong is Malay word for squid. My brother also commented that the cereal was on the sweet side and I have to agree with him. Maybe we should have opted for the prawn instead.
The Yam Ring (佛钵飘香) is deep-fried separately then filled with a medley of sautéed vegetables and seafood like prawn, squid and scallop. Normally, there would be crunchy cashew nuts added but I don’t see it anywhere and sis said the colour of the yam basket is too dark a colour though still tasted decent.
This Claypot Superior Pot (砂煲一品锅) is the most expensive of the dishes coming in at S$50. But is chocked with plenty of seafood like fish maw, prawn, scallop, sea cucumber and mushroom. The brown thickened gravy goes well with the bowl of white rice.
A large plate of stir-fried Sambal Sweet Potato Leaf (参巴番薯叶) is up next. The tender leaves and stems of the sweet potato plant is cooked with sambal chilli which give the vegetable a spicy kick.
The last dish of the night is this Salt Egg Prawn (咸蛋虾). Everyone was looking forward to it but it turned out to be the worst disappointment that night. The prawn fritters were supposed to be crispy but it came smothered in the salt egg sauce and ended up mushy. Moreover, there isn’t enough salt egg yolk in there so it is more milky sweet than savoury fragrant.
Compared to last year’s Reunion Dinner (团圆饭), the overall standard of the food at the restaurant had deteriorated a lot. Not sure if it is because different chefs are manning the kitchen or some other reasons but we have decided to patronize another restaurant next year.
