Hello uncle!

It's been hard trying to get him before everything's sold out.

And today was no different.

After queueing behind 7 others, I was told that he had just one portion of beef horfun left to sell.

I must have looked suitably crestfallen because he offered to make two portions of beef hor fun for us.

How? If we didn't mind mixing our horfun with beehoon. Of course not! )) And he tells us it's special, he wouldn't take an order like that on a normal day.So there he sets out to stir fry the beehoon before he adds in the hor fun and eventually spoons his delicious gravy over those noodles.And this was what I got. A serving of beef horfun/beehoon with generous slices of tender beef with carrots and vegetables. The gravy was starchy but not overwhelmingly so and there were no strange lumps of cornstarch that I've been accustomed to previously and because I asked for extra gravy, he gave me basically everything of what the pot had left.

With a squeeze of lime and their homemade chilli paste.

ohmyyum!

back to try their signature chicken pot. i don't know what the XO is about but there was a strong numbing taste about it which might have come from the chinese wines added for the 10-hour preparations.this was a medium $15 pot that came with delightfully braised celery, onions and garlic topped with ginger slices and sprigs of spring onions. of course there were those delightfully succulent pieces of chicken.

What's there to do with all the gravy? Get more sides to dunk in. Dad grabbed two different kinds of mushroom and a plate of beancurd sheets. these go at 3 for $5.

And we also had plain rice at $1 a bowl.

It was very filling but oh so addictive. although i wish there was something that could be done about the numbing aftertaste of the gravy.

It was a crazy hot afternoon and everyone wanted a seat indoors.

We eventually got seats but it wasn't much cooler in the cramped cafe.
I found a pretty pink prada wallet and returned it to the counter and all the server could say was, oh how do I know who it belongs to? But yes, I will keep it here.

Hmm. I didn't think I needed to tell the staff what to do with a lost and found item? I might as well have dropped it off at the postbox outside.

So anyway, dessert was...
Black velvet.
I don't know if my memory of a Red velvet marred the experience on this. But it wasn't a very nice slice of cake. It was dry and the cream cheese wasn't very creamy or rich. Just very sweet.And should we talk about the coffee? It was a pretty heart latte art. Good balance of milk and coffee but it took me close to an hour to get my coffee. I kid you not. I was all ready to walk out. it took me three enquiries and did I mention about having to clear my own table? Four staff outside but still short handed.

Sigh. Hope the girl got her wallet back and you guys do better if I ever do return.

Walking in to a dimly lit restaurant with high backed chairs and carpeted interiors.

This felt like stepping into a luxurious living room.

The tables had a suitable distance between them such that diners don't get uncomfortable speaking in case they are overheard at the next table.

Servers were mainly Mainland Chinese and the service was quietly efficient.

The steamers of xlb were on every table but today, i didn't feel like having any.

Now, I don't get why people rave about Japanese ramen and not this bowl of la mian from Paradise Dynasty.It's everything I wanted in a bowl of noodles. A generous serving of springy noodles in a deliciously flavourful broth with a three thick slices of braised pork belly. Should I also mention the braised half soft boiled egg? All for $10.90. and of course, making it absolutely chinese, I had a side of dumplings $6.90. meat and chives. a dip in the vinegar, topped with a few slices of ginger and send it right in for the taste test!

mmm. skin with bite. the juicy morsel of meat filling, the familiar taste of chives all made for a myriad of flavours in the mouth. YUM!

now that's what I call lunch.

We came here simply to unwind from the madness they call work. It's like fighting a war everyday and all we needed was to kickback chillax.unagi fried rice. This was a delicious fried rice. the grains of japanese rice were fat and well fried with the taste of the wok and teriyaki sauce. The unagi pieces were a good portion, well spread out through the rice. $11.90and we decided on a buta kimchi soup. didn't expect it to come in a generous portion. $13.90

It was a comfort food dinner success.