Luckily, he tried making the reservation at another branch, Old Hong Kong Kitchen at Square 2. This receptionist told him that the vouchers could be used. Double standards being observed here?
On Good Friday, they set out for Old Hong Kong Kitchen. There was quite a queue at 12.30pm, so they decided to browse the mall before returning slightly later. Informed the manager of their reservation, and they were shown their seats promptly.
A waiter came by to set their table, and during this, a few drops of water from the tableware sprinkled onto the table and him. The waiter apologised, but what's better was that he returned to dry the table and the tableware with a serviette. While waiting for the food, a discussion of whether the tableware should be dried before being set was started between themselves.
The table setting.
Got a pot of wolfberry tea with chrysanthemum. $3.20++ per pax. What irony, Mom makes this at home and he never wanted a sip, yet paid $6.40++ this day to drink it.
Close up of the tea's contents.
Pork and Shrimp Dumpling (Siew Mai) - $4.30++
He thought that the Siew Mai was well infused with the flavours of the shiitake mushroom, a fresh change from the usual porky taste. Shrimp lent crunch and made this all the more delectable.
Cross section of the Siew Mai, probably more shrimp than pork.
Here's another shrimp dim sum, Steamed Shrimp Dumpling - $4.30++
Each had a whole shrimp in the middle, while the rest of the filling was padded by diced shrimp.
The perennial favourite, Shanghai Meat Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao) - $3.30++
The version here seemed to have a saggy bottom as compared to some others they had before.
Yet another favourite, Steamed Chicken Claw in Black Bean Sauce - $3.30++
The Chinese name of this dish sounds grander, "Phoenix Claws". She never complains about the spiciness in this, but does it for every other dish. Both of them finished this up in no time.
Stewed Beef Ribs with Pumpkin - $4.80++
3 portions of beef, and matching slices of pumkin. Beef was tender, but more worthy of mention was the pumpkin. The outside had a little bite in it, yet the inside was soft without being mushy. Never recalled liking pumpkin so much.
Steamed Glutinous Rice Wrap - $3.80++
Unrolled into one large leaf, uncovering a mound of glutinous rice.
He thinks that it contained some salted duck egg yolk, and fatty meat mince. Decadent stuff... but it was well received.
Steamed Diced Chicken Buns - $3.80++
These looked like overturned buns, with the filling pressed into it. This consisted of minced meat with herbs, and topped with a wonderful shiitake slice and a chunk of chicken meat. When he flipped the chicken meat over, the underside of the chicken still looked raw, red and slightly transparent when the top was already opaque. He brought this to the attention of the waitress, who swiftly swept the plates and spoons off the table for a replacement. The waitress gave him no time for a picture. Well-trained. The replacement took very long, perhaps to ensure the doneness of the dish.
Remember the incident earlier about wet utensils? This time round, the spoons came dry, but with lint on them. This brought back the discussion on the tough lives of people in the service line, serving wet tableware or serving dried tableware with lint would do little to please their customers. He then decided to let this pass.
Steamed Chicken, Fish Maw and Pig's Intestine in Bean Curd Wrap- $4.30++
This was difficult to eat, especially when the bean curd skin was difficult to break off. Picked at the fillings until the whole thing was small enough to be finished off easily. The clear broth in the serving bowl was light, yet tasty.
No comments:
Post a Comment