Gwandpa turns 65

Gwandpa turns 65 today. I took leave to spend time with him and celebrate this major milestone in his life.

We celebrated three days earlier on Sunday cos G couldn't take leave on Wednesday. We went to the New Majestic Hotel , a little boutique hotel in the middle of Chinatown for dinner. It is the second hotel to be refurnished to its old world charm by lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Loh Lik Peng.

The food that we ordered, was absolutely scrumptious, to say the least. Our meal began with a combination of crispy prawn with wasabi dressing and Peking duck served with pan-seared foie gras. This was an excellent first course. The prawns were great. The foie gras and Peking duck pairing, though, was even better. The liver had a lovely caramelized crust and was deliciously runny inside. Paired with the crispy duck skin, it was a sinfully rich mouthful that left us panting for more.

Dad & G are great fans of soup so they were relishing the Shark Bone soup with fish maw. This was very well executed and left them slurping up the very last drop in the bowl!

The soft shell crab came next and it was gorgeous. It was served in a creamy milk and lime sauce, hot and crispy. The sauce was rich but it was used sparingly, giving the dish a lightness you don’t expect in a milk-sauced dish. The crabs were also brilliantly juicy and meaty. This was a real winner!

Chef Yong's striploin fillets are pan-seared with home-made sesame sauce and accompanied by a dollop of kimchi. I had the grilled rack of lamb in a Chinese honey sauce accompanied by fried carrot cake. The lamb was juicy and tender but had a very strong mutton taste and smell. Other than that., the sauce, while powerful, gave the dish a nice strong accent.

The desserts were extraordinary. Dad, Aunt Jenny and I ordered the Crispy Durian, which comprised of a large serving of durian ice cream, wrapped in fresh durian flesh, and deep-fried in a very light batter to perfection.

On Wednesday itself, Mum, Dad & I went to Vienna International Seafood & Teppanyaki Restaurant at United Square to feast. We got there at around 1220h and ate (almost) non-stop till 1430h. We were so stuffed that dinner was the last thing on our mind. Thank goodness we did not make firm plans in going to the Crab Nazi, Joo Chiat Black Pepper Crab for dinner!

We've been having very heavy chocolate fudgy type of cakes for the last few birthdays / anniversaries so we got Dad a Lychee Martini cake which is pink and packs a punch from the vermouth-soaked lychees layered inside. Yums!