I like the crunchy prawns in the Siew Mai and upon my first bite into it, I could feel the juices in my mouth. The Fried Prawn Dumpling has a nice layer of crispy skin, with a generous portion of fresh prawns within and I secretly wished I could have more of that.

The entire dish is slightly drizzled with a light wasabi-based sauce but I felt that it wasn't the best complement. The whole serving lacked the "Oomph" and the meat was not as moist as I had expected it to be. But I appreciated the fruits salad that came along because it added some sweet juices to the otherwise seemingly-dry dish.

Here comes the highlight of the Festive Cheers Menu: Jia Wei Superior Shark's Fin Soup in Hot Stone Pot.

It was my first time seeing a generous portion of high-grade shark's fin served in a hot stone pot. The purpose of the pot is to ensure that the dish is to be kept bubbling hot throughout the whole consumption period. This is distinctively more outstanding than the one served in the Christmas Glow Menu (note the obvious price difference):

And here's another favourite of the day, the Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine (Festive Cheers Menu). It did not have the usual uncomfortable lambish smell as it was really well-marinated. The chef has used Chinese Wine as well as some Japanese Sake which made the meat exceptionally tasty and juicy. There were layers of visible fats within that piece of lamb but it did not stop either of us from wanting another bite more. Oh yes, it was that delicious.

I enjoyed the Pan-Fried Fillet of Pork Spare-Rib with Special Sauce (Christmas Glow Menu) very much equally due to the slightly tangy seasoning and the right texture of the meat. It was chewy to the bite, and yet it was not difficult to pull the meat apart.

We tried their Char Siew Soh and Har Gow as well:

I could choose between White, Whole Wheat or Focaccia Bread. I had mine in Whole Wheat and it came in four thick and big slices. The bread slices were all toasted to a nice and crisp texture which I had really enjoyed chewing into.

I'm a sucker for all kinds of mushrooms and I was excited when I could smell the strong mushroom fragrance. There was quite a generous portion of luscious mushroom slices smacked below the warmed cheese. And I could savour the succulent mushrooms in every bite I took. It was indeed a light and yummy treat, although the portion was quite big and I had to skip one of the slices.

And we can't go without a dessert of course. So we had a Waffle with Chocolate Ice Cream, drenched with chocolate sauce and served with maple syrup:

I know the photos of the waffle make it look like it's really tasty. But, I'm sad to say that it was the worst waffle with ice cream I had. The waffle was a tad too tough and the interior was really dry and hard. We had to drench the waffle with a tremendous amount of maple syrup in the hope that it might become slightly moistened so that it'd be easier for us to swallow. The chocolate ice cream was really bad too. I thought the ice cream could make up for the sucky-tasting waffle but boy, I was so wrong. The ice cream had a really tough texture and it certainly did not taste chocolatey enough. I'm never going to give this another chance again. My favourite waffle is still from Cafe Cartel.

That day was really cold and my digital camera's lens had a layer of condensation initially and I thought my camera was going cranky after I saw this blurry shot:

In the cab heading to the train station:

After reaching Pasir Ris MRT station, we were still insistent on taking more photos before leaving for home. So we happily placed our stuffs on some tables and started snapping away. And 5 minutes later, the station had made an announcement of their last train leaving. So we ended up taking a cab back home instead. We would have made it for the last train if we hadn't took more photos. It's so typical of us to do such silly things. But it was fun. Hehe.

P.S. Wenjing: I can't wait for our next meet-up already. :)

I thought the chocolate squares around the cake look pretty cute too.

Mummy cutting the cake:

A cross-section of the cake:

There's banana custard cream and banana slices smacked between the two layers of sponge cake, and the cake's topped with dark chocolate. I thought this tasted better after taking it out of the chiller and leaving it in the open for about 10 minutes or so as it was quite dense right out of the fridge and I could not taste the different textures of the various layers.

After sometime, the cake turned much softer and I could taste very distinctively the softness of the sponge, the creamy banana custard, the slightly mushy banana slices and the delish dark chocolate. When it all went into my mouth at the same time, I let out an "Oomph" instantly. It tasted really divine. The whole combination was just so perfecto. I couldn't stop at one slice and I went on to help myself to another. And another. So I had a total of three slices. No wonder I'm feeling fattt.

Anyway, I think my mummy was really happy with the dinner, the presents, the cake and us today.

I'm happy when she's happy. :)

Here's what we had that night:

The Birthday Girl's Atlantic Salmon, marinated with a lime hollandaise sauce:

Here's ph's Chicken Dijonnaise, marinated grilled chicken breasts topped with avocado and smothered with creamy Dijon mustard sauce:

And this is bimbo's Boss Hog Double Burger, consisting of (thick) double beef , double cheese, tomato, onion, beetroot, BBQ sauce and seared with Hog's Breath Blacken seasoning:

Here comes my Hawaiian Hickory Chicken Burger!

Look at how big the two chicken breasts are:

The chicken breasts are basted with hickory smoked sauce, cheese, beetroot, tomato, pineapple and onion rings. I quite liked the sauce as it wasn't the normal BBQ sauce and there was a really tangy taste to it. I kind of expected the chicken breasts to be pretty hard to chew on, but the texture was just right.

One side of the burger was served with the pineapple and onion rings, with tomato and beetroot while the other side of the burger was slammed with the two huge chicken breasts and cheese. And the Hog Tail fries I had for my side were not too bad as well. The entire dish doesn't exactly scream fantastic but it's value for money I guess, considering the really huge portion. I couldn't finish one entire chicken breast and still had some curly fries left over.

I know I shouldn't be wasting food during such bad times when there's a constant rise in food prices but the portion was really way too big. The other girls couldn't finish their foods too!

I know we are such ironic people, said we were too full from the main dishes but we still went ahead and ordered one of their desserts, the Mississippi Mud Cake. We just couldn't resist the chocolatey goodness:

The super dark mud cake was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, with chocolate sauce drizzled all over. The cake was slightly warmed and it tasted superb with the ice cream. It was a dense and dark chocolate cake, definitely THE cake for all chocolate lovers. It ain't too sweet (which we liked) and the whole combination of the cake with ice cream and chocolate sauce was to die for.

This was the pretty birthday cake we got for the Best Friend:

And here's the happy Birthday Girl:

After all the eating, we went out and walked around, snapping shots here and there:

Lastly, here's all five of us:

To the Best Friend: I hope you had enjoyed yourself and like what we've got for you. Cheers to our 13 years long of friendship! :)

The different kinds of crabs they serve:

Some other dishes:

Now, here comes the exasperated part(s) of my dining experience at Big Eater:

1. We went there for their crabs but we were told by the boss that they had ran out of it and he said he'd help us "check it out" and let us know again if there are any available. But oh well, he never came back to inform us and we noticed that there was this particular table that came very much later than us but they managed to order the crabs.

2. We were served the legendary Hokkien Mee only after about 20 minutes of waiting and we cleared the plate in about 10 minutes.

3. And our next dish, Stir-Fried Kailan with Oyster Sauce came only after another 25 minutes.

4. We also ordered the Crispy Rolls, which was served after a good half an hour after the Kailan and by that time, we had (obviously) already finished our rice, solely be eating it with the Kailan. I don't know if this sounds pathetic or what.

5. We had placed an order for the Pork Ribs but that never came until we went to the boss, asking him why we had to wait so long for every dish to be served to our table. He showed us the piece of paper in which he had taken our orders with and we were shocked to see that he did not take down our order for the Pork Ribs. That particular order was emphasized several times by my mom and I had no idea how he even missed that out. I don't know if it was because he wasn't really focused while taking our orders as many more people were pouring in at that time. He was not apologetic for that and simply rushed off by saying that it will be served very quickly. But again, we had to wait for another 20 minutes.

6. The Family was seriously annoyed and unhappy why our dishes were all served so randomly and in intervals of about 20-30 minutes.

It was a really bad dining experience, despite the dishes being delicious. I like the way the dishes were being prepared but I can't stand having dinner like that, eating bits and pieces here and there. It spoilt our dining moods and now, we might not even want to go back again for fear of having dinner in such a disrupted manner.

Besides these complaints, I was quite pleased with the dishes we had.

Looks like a plate of brown worms, doesn't it?

I've read many rave reviews on this dish and truly, it did not disappoint me. My dad was in love with the super-crispy pork lard in which they had used in the noodles. This Hokkien Mee is different from the others I've tried in Hokkien restaurants as they use the thick and round Hokkien noodles instead of the usual flat ones. The noodles have a really good texture and bite to it. The sauce comes in a large amount and it is really fragant and tasty.

Here's the very plain-looking Kailan with Oyster Sauce that were stir-fried to just the right texture:

The vegetables were fresh, non-groggy and there is this nice crunch to it.

Here's the Crispy Rolls we all loved:

It's one of their signature dishes and although it looks like a simple dish, just prawns and some fish paste (I think) wrapped with beancurd sheets, these were deep-fried to the exact crispness. The prawns within are really crunchy and it's delicious to dab the rolls in the mayonnaise provided.

And here's another favourite, the soft and succulent Pork Ribs (called 排骨王 or something if I remember correctly):

I liked how I could bite into it easily and I did not have to use all my might to tear the meat apart as the ribs are really soft, yet maintaining a chewiness to it. The sauce coating them was also very delicious, something very distinct and special. It isn't the usual kind of sticky or sweet sauce, but instead, there is only a slight tinge of sweetness to it, hence it did not make us feel sick after eating a few pieces.

After having such positive comments on all of their dishes, I'm now thinking of visiting them again to see if things would be better during off-peak periods. My dad swore off from going to Big Eater as he deems dining there as a "complete waste of time", although the food is good. My mum said she would only return if we specifically request for our dishes not to be served in such a random manner. For my sister, she is already planning which day we should return so as to avoid the horrendous crowds. Oh well, I would most probably head back there again since it's located so near, and I'd definitely make my reservation muuuch earlier.

Well, I absolutely love strawberries and I must have them after dinner every night without fail. I like how they leave a tinge of freshness and sweetness in my mouth. Therefore, there's always this constant supply of USA strawberries in the fridge.

I was hence so pleased to wake up this morning to see this huge carton of strawberries that flew in from Kansai, Japan sitting on the dining table:

I didn't think there are that many strawberries in each packet so I guess it is quite expensive. And look at how red they are:

I washed up in the shortest time (ever) so that I could quickly finish my breakfast and start feasting on the strawberries. And true enough, these lengendary strawberries (they're famed throughout the whole of Japan) live up to it's name. They are really sweet and the kind of sweetness I tasted was different from the sweetness of those USA strawberries that I normally consume. These are more sugary kind of sweet and they are also slightly mushy, unlike those from USA that taste firmer. I had three at one go and I was totally blown away.

甘くておいしい！！ (Sweet and delicious!!)

I saw these Japanese words from the website and I found that they are the perfect description for these strawberries.

I was supposed to roll the dough into a swiss-roll style but I'm still not so experienced in handling bread dough so this was the best I could come up with:

Nevertheless, the bread turned out really wonderful:

Look at the soft and fluffy texture:

It has been three days since I baked this loaf of bread and the texture still remains as soft. I spread it with strawberry jam and have it as breakfast. A real simple but yummy treat to perk me up in the morning. I can't wait to bake another loaf for the week!