Dim Sum Lunch

For those who have been following my posts, you would have read about my recent trip to Malacca with seven friends of mine. Now, one of them turns 54 in a couple of days’ time. So, we decided that we will all chip in to buy him lunch for his birthday – a ‘dim sum’ lunch to be precise.

Dim Sum is, or, are Chinese dishes of small steamed, or fried savoury dumplings containing various fillings served as a snack or main course. I would say it is a Chinese version of the Spanish Tapas.

Peach Garden Restaurant was the restaurant we decided on. This is because one of our mates in the group is the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Peach Garden Group of Restaurants. Knowing how boisterous the group can be, we asked for a private room. Thanks to our friend, the room was given without extra charge. Normally, expenditure would have to be above $600 SGD before you can dine in a private room.

This brings to mind the saying, “It is not what you know, but who you know’, or as one of the girls put it, it is not who you know, but who knows you.

Anyway, being an easy going guy where food is concerned, I left the ordering to those who know better.

This was our dim sum lunch. If you observe carefully, you would see that some hungry fools have already pinched the food before the photo was taken. How rude indeed! How dare they eat before I take a picture for my post!

I will try to list the food on here as was shown in the picture - beginning with the dishes in the forefront and going clockwise.

Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimps
Steamed ‘Siew Mai’ with Phoenix Prawn - (Pork with Prawns Dumplings)
Steamed Fresh Prawn Dumplings
Steamed Chicken Feet with Spicy Sauce
Steamed ‘Bak Kut Teh’ (Pork) Buns
Steamed Creamy Custard Bun
Steamed “Char Siew’ (Barbecue Pork) buns
Deep fried Beancurd Skin Roll with seaweed
Peking Duck with accompaniment - plum sauce and shredded cucumber

This was the rest of the Peking Duck. Diced duck meat fried with Spring Onions and rice crisps served on Lettuce. Portioned for us.

Wheat Vermicelli steamed in egg white with prawns, and broccoli. Although this is more for the birthday boy, we all had a portion too.

Some of us had the double-boiled Assorted Seafood with Black Gold Garlic Dumpling Soup. This was not in the picture.

As you can see, it was quite a feast. Between the munching, and the joking, and the laughter, it was good that we had a room to ourselves. Otherwise, I am quite sure we would have annoyed everyone in the restaurant. People would have wondered how we could behave like teenagers at our age.

What is a birthday celebration without a drink - a bottle of Mumm's Champagne, no less.

Here was the Birthday boy with a platter. On the platter was a Black Forest cake, longevity buns and an arrangement of ginger, symbolisms of a long life.

Here was the boisterous eight - plus one, who made an appearance just as we were finishing our lunch.

And here was what took our breath away when we first entered the room. We didn’t expect that we would be getting a room with a view – beautiful, awesome view of the Singapore River and the Boat Quay.

Three hours slipped away quickly while we were too boisterous to notice. It was a great lunch, - good food, good fun and company. The simple pleasures in Life.

Here is the Menu for your reference.