16 Jan 2012 - Mini-reunion

Decided to have a mini reunion dinner, since it was also the youngest's birthday. The Dad put in a one man show to make this happen while the rest only came home to enjoy the fruits of his labor.


The soup base of the day was Xiao Fei Yang (on the right). Wasn't spicy the least bit, perhaps they had done it wrongly? Bought from Yue Hua in Jurong Point. The one of the left cost about $3, Xiao Fei Yang cost $6.

17 Dec 2011 - Xian De Lai Shanghai Cuisine and Ji De Chi

Was supposed to have dinner at Chong Qing Grilled Fish, but he got distracted upon noticing "free-flow crabs" advertised by Xian De Lai (XDL) Shanghai Cuisine. No prizes for guessing where he went for dinner.

XDL offered steamboat (hotpot) ala carte buffet. Each serving was a small portion, help you reserve enough space to have a bit of everything. $19.90++ per person, $5++ surcharge for the soup base.


Some items were quite good. Scallops were sweet and did not have traces of sand, and meats were well marinated, tasted good even after cooking in the soup. Crabs came in halves. They were small but well cleaned and really sweet. Vegetables came wilted and protruding out of the plate, touching the tray and table. Very unappealing.


Did not like the service much though. Had wanted to sit inside, but the waitress lied that there were no more seats. She then joyfully proceeded to usher the people who arrived after them to levels 2 and 3. While taking his orders, she skipped away to pull customers into the shop, very rude. Orders never arrived in full, reminders were like you speaking to thin air. The only reprieve was one polite lad, who would top up their soup and drinks, and also repond to thank yous.

She claimed to be on diet, but prodded him to move up several shophouses to Ji De Chi (JDC).

Durian Sago, $6. Rich, fattening stuff for her.


Beancurd came free, Christmas promo of Durian Sago and Beancurd. Smooth and had a nice smokey flavor. Made him regret ordering his Mango Sago.


Mango Sago, $4. The pomelo bits balanced out the sweetness of the mango puree. But he was already too full to enjoy this...


All in.

22 Jan 2011 - Dinner at The Mushroom Pot

She knows the best time to eat out... just after payday. Bugging him to go shopping and eat buffet when he was trying to make notes for his PMP exam. Working overtime makes absorption on weekdays very difficult, and weekends are for the family, what a tough juggle. Never mind, let's move on to the food...

Took a photograph of the logo on the menu while waiting for the hotpot to be set up.


The chilli dip for the hot pot.


There was a starter portion on the menu where diners could only select 5 dishes. And after debating over what to order, here are the candidates:

Mushroom salad was a tasty mix of mushrooms. Nicely done, not mushy, had him finishing up every bit of it.


Crispy squid with wasabi cream dip - nice and crispy, but probably not for the health conscious. He dredged up the wasabi heavily for full impact. Yummy!


Fried prawn fritters came in fours. Pipping hot, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.


Sichuan shredded chicken made up of chicken breast meat which tasted a little dry. Still tasty anyhow, but the tongue had some numb treatment a little while later...


He has to apologise once more for forgetting to take the picture of the fifth side dish of house special beef. Hunger pangs got the better of him yet again.

Here comes the main character... mushroom soup and spicy soup side by side. Both soups were very tasty, but the spicy one had a thick layer of oil. This was something he regretted when it made his stomach complain a few hours later.


As he was the prawn peeler, he was not able to take pictures of the variety of their selection. But if you happen to visit, the sliced beef brisket and pig's liver are commendable. Both were very thinly sliced, and the pig's liver tasted especially good that way. He had tried it and knows how difficult it is to slice pig's liver, especially such thin slices.

They had also ordered prawns, but the size and freshness seemed inconsistent. Some of the prawns had shells that seemed to have grown into the flesh while the others were fine. Mussels were quite fresh too, half-shelled and no bad smell for those that they ordered. Picked the meat from the shells to cook in the soup to avoid any sand getting into the tasty soup.

For dessert, they ordered the Fried Buns. Golden brown and warm, so satisfying when dipped in the accompanying sweet syrup. She said it was condensed milk, but he was convinced that it was some sort of corn syrup. Too busy placing orders they forgot to clarify with the waiters. Next time, perhaps.