Dim Sum for Brunch at the Dragon Palace Restaurant

Dim sum, in case you’re not familiar with it, refers to a Cantonese type of food consisting of steamed and deep fried dishes prepared in small portions and served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum is also well known for the unique way it is served in restaurants, where the ready-to-eat dishes are carted around the restaurant for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables. V and I haven’t had dim sum since we moved to Perth in January, so imagine our delight and anticipation when we were told this particular Chinese restaurant in Northbridge served delicious dim sum, so good that customers queue and come back for more despite the lousy service! That, if nothing else, sounds like any authentic mid-budget Chinese restaurant in Singapore! We immediately made plans to go try the food, and went yesterday with my cousin’s family. It was the perfect arrangement. Enjoyable dim sum meal is all about variety, and V and I ourselves wouldn’t be able to order enough.

We heard the place gets really busy over the weekend, so we arrived there before 11 am for brunch/early lunch. We got seated immediately, but soon after the place really started filling up!

I regretted not taking more pictures of the food, but in my defense, I was too busy eating! Not all of the dishes were worthy of mention here, but I would say the chicken feet (so juicy and tasty), the prawn spring rolls (filled generously with big fresh prawns), and the char siew pau (a classic must-try) deserve another visit! A friend recommended the durian pastry, and we bought some to take home, but we weren’t that impressed. Oh, I also need to mention that the service was indeed poor. Half of the staff couldn’t speak proper English nor follow up on our orders! Having lived in Singapore for 10 years without speaking Chinese, that is something I’ve gotten used to. Is that a good or a bad thing, you reckon?

At the end of the day, having dim sum always gives me the warm fuzzies. I associate it with quality family time, because we didn’t have dim sum often and when we did, it was always an intimate family occasion. I should remember to have it with my sisters when I’m back in Singapore!

Ci Lenny’s Birthday

As we get older, I think birthday celebrations tend to get simpler. Last week, my sister in law turned 32, and we celebrated it by having dinner together at their house and eating Corica’s blackforest cake for dessert. It was a really nice end of the day. My cousin moved to Perth almost 2 years ago, so one of the great things about coming here has been the chance to reconnect with his family. It’s taken us a while, but little Dave is not afraid of us anymore!

Sisters

I’m the eldest in my family and I have 2 younger sisters. The best part? We’re about the same size (though we do have slightly different builds), so we can wear each other’s tops (but not each other’s shorts, jeans, and pants). We experiment with beauty products together: skincare, haircare, makeup, nail polish; and spend quality time over the occasional hair treatments, manicures, pedicures, shopping trips. The worst part is the emotional quarrel. We girls tend to overreact to small disagreements and hold a bit of grudge. But these aside, we get along pretty well and I constantly try to find the balance between looking after them and being their friends.