Taiwanese Porridge at Goodwood Park

Feeling happy on a cool Sunday afternoon after having lost his credit card holder and later returned to him in one morning, the man of the house decided to head towards Orchard Road for lunch. We had earlier agreed to no curries, nothing not tried and not tested, and no Japanese today. Just when we caught sight of Goodwood Park Hotel along Scotts Road, he suddenly had a fancy for some nostalgic Taiwanese porridge.  Reasoning that the three girls had never heard of Taiwanese porridge at Goodwood nor been there, we felt compelled to enter!

We arrived at 1:20pm, and the coffee house was full but with prayer and favour, we got a great spacious seating with window view in 10 minutes!

They no longer have a la carte menu for Taiwan Porridge but a Taiwan Porridge buffet at a rather steep S$39++ with durian festival dessert buffet that ends at 2:30pm. When we sat down, we were told the last order for Taiwan Porridge was at 2pm! We wasted no time to give them our full order!

While waiting for the food, Krystle took out origami papers and got all [except me because I had a book to read] to fold hearts that stand. I thought it was a brilliant idea - doing something new as a family!

The girls & daddy folding heart-shaped origamis.

Familiar Favourites -

Egg fuyong, Crispy deep-fried squids (2 plates),

Sambal kangkong, Beancurd with pork & bean sauce

Salted Eggs

Chilled beancurd with porkfloss & sweet sauce

Fried Fish

Pork with preserved vegetables [only husband touched it]

Kung Pao Chicken

Dream Durian Desserts!!

[Clockwise from top] Durian Puff, Durian Crepe,

Duriamisu, Durian Oreo Cake

'Lesser' desserts for non-durian enthus!

The meal was great though the place seemed understaffed. What I noticed is that most people came in families or groups. Interestingly, the group beside us seemed intent on some serious bonding. We ate slowly and enjoyed some people-watching.

Unrushed, we stayed till my latte disappeared about about 4pm.

I love today's meal and time together with the family but sad that the old ambience and colonial flavour of the coffee lounge is completely wiped out by an odd mix of modern fixtures randomly put together. Like why did they put a glass (or is it acrylic) sheet at the lower bottom of the lovely wooden windows? Maybe marble floor is easier to clean and maintain, but I prefer the thick floral carpets at the window area years ago. It was a place that allowed for quieter and more private conversations that I had enjoyed.

On our way to the lounge earlier, we also passed by Ming Jiang Szechuan Restaurant that is so updated it no longer seems to have any oriental flavour, apart from the menu. The design is so run-of-the-mill that there is no Szechuan or Chinese character to it anymore!

Really getting harder to find places we had enjoyed before that we can bring the girls to. Somebody's talking about Race Course Road Indian restaurants for a while, but I have a feeling we're going to find there renovated restaurants that are beyond recognition. Thank goodness Samy's Curry remains unchanged and unair-conditioned.

No Signboard Seafood Restaurant @ Vivocity

Porridge with Century Egg and Pork 皮蛋瘦肉粥

[below left] Steamed Prawn Dumplings or Har Gow 蝦饺

[right, below] Steamed Minced Pork Dumplings with Crab Roe
or Siew Mai 烧卖

Steamed Rice Roll with BBQ Pork or Char Siew Cheong Fun 叉烧肠粉

Steamed Spicy Chicken Feet or Fong Zao

Sharksfin Dumpling Soup or Poon Tong Gow 鱼翅灌汤饺

Standard dim sum dishes my family orders when we explore a new Chinese restaurant for dim sum include all-time favourites like Century Egg Pork Porridge, Steamed Prawn Dumplings, Steamed Pork Dumplings, Steamed Pork Ribs, Steamed Chicken Feet and Steamed BBQ Pork Buns.

To beat the usual traffic crawl into the carpark this Sunday, we set out early and stepped into the restaurant promptly told by a staffer that it was 3 minutes before 11am - perhaps a sign that they were not quite ready for customers. Does 3 minutes make such a difference - couldn't they just seat us first? The restaurant was empty when we arrived and as per normal practice, they directed us to a table at the full glass panels facing the rooftop of Vivocity. Not my favourite place considering the glare of the sun if you are facing the panels. I quickly settled with my back against the glare.

We recently found that this place has Sharksfin Dumpling Soup for dim sum but as it takes 30 minutes to be ready, we ordered it soon as we sat down. It was worth the wait, arriving after we finished everything else.

The verdict:           

Century Egg Pork Porridge          

- Satisfactory [but my 3 teens prefer Crystal Jade's porridge though  nothing has taken the place of the one they loved at the now defunct Charming Garden]

Steamed Prawn Dumplings

- Dumplings stuck to each other and the skin tore when taken out of the bamboo baskets [at Crystal Jade, we would have ordered at least 3 baskets]

Steamed Pork Dumplings

- Good texture, colour and taste

Sharksfin Dumpling Soup

- Unanimously, this was the only dish that brought us to the restaurant for dim sum as many other places including Crystal Jade doesn't have this. Served 30 minutes after order @ $6 a bowl. The seafood and sharksfin flavours come through satisfactorily and the dumpling skin is just right.

Ding Tai Fung [Paragon]

When the family feels too fatigued by Sunday, lunch is usually Chinese dim sum or in this case, at Ding Tai Fung for dumplings - our comfort food.

The typical food fest on the table [which even 13-year-old Shairel confidently pre-orders before her daddy arrives from the carpark!] begins with the starters to dumplings and noodles.

Japanese Cucumber Pickles

Cold Braised Beef and Cold Drunken Chicken

Plain Dumpling Soup

Spicy Dumpling Soup 

 My comfort food -

Stewed Chicken Soup [Dun Ji Tang] with Handmade noodles

Family favourite Xiao Long Bao