Let me hear you say?

Large BBQ Steamboat set for $50.90

A standard set of marinated pork slices, pork belly, scallops, fishcake, tiger prawns, assorted vegetables and Mama instant noodles.

A medium portion of chicken thigh meat marinated with raw quail eggs $16

Oyster mushroom $5

Homemade fish paste in a bamboo holder. $9

A seafood broth boiled from vegetables, pork bones, crabs and corn kernels.

That fiery hot chilli sauce that no one can get enough of.

Let me hear you say?

Moo.

Mooka.

Mookata.

Tomyumkungfu Mookata! :)

Midweek lunch break @ Swensens

It's always a joy to meet up with a dear friend. 

And her lil daughter.

Perfectly innocent, pure unadulterated joy in her own kiddy bubble. 

We settled in for lunch break but we never got round to making our orders till a long while later.

Just too much to talk about. Too much to catch up on.

We met at 1pm at Swensens in Northpoint.

Smack in the middle of the timeslot for their weekday lunch treats. 

Monday-Fridays from 11am -2pm.

And apparently we could've chosen from a free side, sundae or free drink. 

Apparently.

That's because right after our order of mains, she enquired what we would like for a free side. There was no mention of a sundae or drink choice. :(

I would've really loved a sundae today.

Sore throats really don't go well with fried anything.

Still,

these were perfectly battered and tasting divine piping hot.

Deep fried mushrooms

Juicy mushrooms encased in a perfectly crisp batter.

Even when it's no longer piping hot.

Spice 'N' Chic

A first time for me.

It was served as promised, plump and tender chicken strips full on flavour.

Just a little on the salty side.

My friend had a Healthier choice Pesto Salmon.

Nicely grilled with flaky salmon pieces that her daughter loved.

While I went for the works on their signature Mega Burger.

And boy was it massive.

The burger patty was a little too well done but it was still juicy and delish.

And their sunny side up egg with chicken ham and turkey bacon made it feel like I was having a double meal of breakfast and lunch altogether at once.

My only reservation was that the burger bun at its base was a little soaked over with oil.

It was all too much but I loved every bit of it.

If pregnancy was bliss,

I definitely felt it at lunch. :)

All photos were taken with no filter applied.

The counter seats at Swensens here in Northpoint were right next to the window and the lighting there for photos was just perfect.

It was a good midweek break.

A delicious catch up session with my favourite mama.

Happy belated birthday my dear friend!

Chicken, pork rib, mushroom stew.

Grandma's back in the game.

She's got an amazing strength and great talent when it comes to the kitchen and all that which 'home cooking' stands for.

Today's stew was cooked over charcoal.

Which really made all the difference in the world.

The best part?

The stew is kept heated and never burnt, gently bubbling over the leftover white-hot ashes.

Generous cuts of chinese black flower mushrooms,

meaty pork ribs with soft bones, 

chicken drumsticks and hardboiled eggs.

Stewed in a light soy gravy.

The mushrooms were fully absorbent of the gravy and burst into a plethora of juices on first bite.

The pork ribs were stewed till tender and fell apart almost immediately.

Likewise for the chicken drumsticks.

The gravy.

Was fragrant and light enough on tastebuds to be drunk almost like a soup.

Which was perfect since that meant I could happily skip rice. :) 

Home cooked.

Always the best kind of yum.

Ronin. 17 HKST.

From the people who brought you Bravery, The Plain and now this, Ronin. 

I've come full circle. From simple primary colours to whitewashed zen and now, over to the dark side. 

Once upon a time, there were menus. Then a large communal menu and here?

Prick up those ears and keep close attention. 

For the friendly service staff will recite the menu to you patiently while you mull over your choices and place your orders.

Taking a huge step away from my usual flat white, I made an order for Wicked ($5.50). Mint green after-eights melted into an espresso shot. A little too sweet and quite the treat. :)

Toast and scrambled eggs ($9) for me. Because these eggs have found fame in the eyes of many. Lightly scrambled, slightly runny and very deliciously creamy without falling apart in a slop.

Sometimes, I do conform to the masses. 

Served with three slices of lightly buttered toasts and a dark earthy Portobello ($3.50) add-on on request. The Portobello was a little dry and would perhaps be made perfect with a Worcestershire marinade.

He had a roast beef sandwich. Thinly sliced roast beef, tangy cream dressing, a slice of camembert, sweet Japanese pickled daikon and a handful of rocket, held together by warm crusty bread.
Don't bother slicing these up.
Eat with hands.
Simple but satisfying. 

We took the seats at the round communal table where the seats looked more comfortable than the bar stools with minute seats. The high ceilings and open spaces of a modern industrial interior meant we could hear the conversations of other people around us but only barely so. It was dim but comfortable. A little warm yet hardly restrictive.

Welcome to the dark side.

I'll be seeing you there.