[Tasting] Abundance Set @ Goldleaf Restaurant 金葉餐廳

Lunar New Year is approaching and soon, families will gather to celebrate the start of new beginnings, new adventures!

Let's have a look at the festive menu served at this nostalgic place.

menu

Abundance (for 6 pax)

Gold Leaf Reunion Abalone Yusheng

Goldleaf Reunion Abalone Yusheng

abalone

vibrant new year

财源广进

huat ah!

refreshingly sweet and crunchy

Superior Broth with Fish Maw and Crabmeat

I liked it with black vinegar but most of my dining companions prefers to put pepper instead.

vinegar

bowl of umami

Housemade Chicken

nutritious stuffings in the chicken

The plump looking chicken was stuffed with carrot cubes, chestnuts, herbs and cooked till tender. Broth tasted more floral than herbal, with a sweet finish.

Steamed Red Grouper in Superior Soy Sauce

closer view

What's your favourite fish for steamed style cooking?

Golden Tiger Prawns

The prawns were of a good size and loved the tiny details in the plating of the dish. Contrary to the red specks on the prawns, this dish is not spicy.

petals in the nest

Wok-fried Specialty Kai Lan

Do you prefer the leaves or the stem? 

Imperial Treasure Steamed in Lotus Leaf

Enjoy the delicate taste of the sweet savoury lap cheong (preserved sausage), sliced abalone, sliced pork, together with the savoury dried shrimp flavoured sticky rice. The rice portion was plenty.

Chef's Creation

golden jelly

Dessert was a lovely hue of golden. The jelly taste was mild with a hint of osmanthus. A very light dessert.

Thank you Kris for the invite and Karen, Goldleaf Restaurant for hosting the dinner. Special thanks to the staff whom attended to our table that night.

Wishing everyone 蛇年快乐!

Goldleaf Restaurant 金葉餐廳

Address: 83 Geylang Rd, Singapore 389200

Website: https://goldleaf.com.sg/

Contact: 60161653

Business Hours:

Daily: 11 am–10 pm

[Travel Tasmania] Dinner at Canton Restaurant 廣州飯店 @ Launceston

We were in the mood for some old school Cantonese food, so I think we Googled and Canton came up in the search with rating of 4 and above, so off we went to try since we were nearby. Established in 1961, Canton Restaurant is a family-run business now in its third-generation.

It was a Saturday evening and we went at 530pm. Reason being, we weren't too sure about the weekend crowd.

restaurant entrance

The restaurant was fairly empty at that time since dinner service only began at 5pm. 

interior

menu

Similar to Lingnan, Canton's menu was also in a red leather cover with that old skool vibes. 

let's try some traditional flavours

As usual, we ordered up a feast for the 5 of us with each selecting their choice from the menu. Ivan and Tracy started with soup. Tasted a spoonful of Tracy's hot and sour soup, and it was nice. Not really spicy spicy but good balance of vinegary sourness.

Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣湯 @AUD11 (individual portion)

Egg Flower & Tofu Soup 豆腐蛋花汤 @AUD10 (individual portion)

Staff was nice and tried her best to answer to all our queries regarding the menu. And she made like 2 trips to the kitchen to clarify with the Chef on the availability of the fish for the day. Thanks!

Beef in Satay Sauce 沙爹牛肉 @AUD30.50

tender beef slices

I was always amused when Tracy tries to introduce the satay-sauce Cantonese dishes just to compare how it taste like as we varied it from one place to another. I think my Malaysian mind can't wrap around the Hong Kong styled-satay sauce.

The vegetables available on that day was rather limited in choice, so we ended up with crunchy long beans stir fried with garlic. Tasty!

Stir Fried Long Beans @AUD23

Then, there was a house special dish that's probably suited for the lone diner who would want to sample more things in smaller quantity. This special consist of cashew nuts chicken, fried rice and sweet and sour pork.

House Special 三合一 @AUD31.50

sweet and sour pork 咕嚕肉

The cashew chicken looked very pale in colour but actually tasted pretty good. But my favourite was the sweet and sour pork. Won't mind ordering the full portion of this! Fried rice was so-so.

Salted Fish Tofu @AUD29

The tofu with salted fish dish here was milder than expected. Flavourful and easy to eat, even without rice.

Steamed Snapper (~800gms) 清蒸整鱼 @AUD33.50

The healthier choice to go with steamed fish. The soy sauce flavour was on-point but unfortunately the fish was over-steamed.

The best well balanced meat dish for the night, was the steamed duck with mushrooms. Lovely herbal flavours and duck meat was tender. Skin was good. Hehe.

Steamed Duck (half) & Chinese Mushrooms 陳皮冬菇扒鴨 @AUD39

thank you lovely staff for helping to debone

For dessert, Hence ordered the 'fried ice-cream'. Have you ever tried one before? It was really popular in Chinese restaurants back in the 80s-90s, I believe.

Fried Ice Cream @AUD10

They also have Singapore Rice Noodles 星州炒米 but I can't bring myself to order a plate for that price... Haha, maybe some other day.

Overall, this place seemed to be popular amongst locals. I loved it when the restaurant welcomes even solo-diner and the left-over food can be prepared for take-aways as well.

Special thanks to the staff who took care of our table that night, lovely girl.

Canton Restaurant

Address: 203 Charles St, Launceston TAS 7250, Australia

Website: http://www.cantonrestaurant.com.au/

Contact: +61363319448

Business Hours:

Closed on Mon.

Tue - Thu: [refer to restaurant's website for updates]

Fri: 12–2 pm, 5–10 pm

Sat: Saturday, 5–10 pm

Sun: Saturday, 5–9 pm

Yi Zun Noodle 伊尊老字号拉面 @ Joo Chiat

Was doing a staycation nearby, so suggested to the Easties to try Yi Zun for lunch. It's about 12 to 15 minutes walk from the hotel. With weather soaring, it was nice to have a meal in an airconditioned place. The interior of the restaurant was lovely. It wasn't busy yet on a Saturday afternoon as people seemed to be congregating more towards cafes and the newly opened Banh Mi places.

interior

we were seated at the round table

nice decoration

Staff was super casual and friendly. He informed us that we could order via the QR code on the table or just call him over when we are ready.

First things first, we ordered a jug of the sour prune juice (酸梅汤) to quench our thirst.

Sour Prune Juice @$5++

refreshing!

We ordered appetisers, a bowl of signature beef noodles and some skewers to try. Staff informed that the skewers need longer time to prepare hence, it is better to order it early.

Pickled Cucumber 酱黄瓜 @$4.80++

Chilled Shredded Beancurd Skin 凉拌干张丝 @$3.80++

Chilled Pickled Black Fungus 凉拌木耳 @$3.80++

Spicy Beef Tripe 香辣凉拌牛肚 @$7.80++

My favourite appetisers would be the pickled cucumber and the spicy beef tripe. Both are so yums! Black fungus was good too but the cucumber was best.

Signature Beef Noodles 伊尊牛肉面 @$10.80++

thin lean beef slices

scissors to cut the noodles

We chose the thick noodles as the wide noodles either sold out or not available. It was a good choice. The beef broth was clear and flavourful. Mild and not overly seasoned. The noodles were QQ and lovely to eat. If you're used to fattier cuts of meat, then the slices here will be overly lean. However, it provides a good mild taste to the overall dish. 

Can add some chili oil provided on the table, to elevate the flavours up a notch.

chili oil

I was impressed when the skewers were served to the table. Such big skewers! We ordered a variety of skewers; chicken, beef, mutton and lamb chop.

assorted skewers

The best skewer was the mutton skewer. Well grilled, juicy meat and adequate seasoning on the meat. Very good! Must order. 

Mutton Skewer 红柳羊肉串 @$3.50++ (per skewer)

If you prefer something fattier, then go for the lamb chop.

Lamb Chop 羊排串 @$6++

Overall, the signature noodle was a comforting flavourful bowl if you prefer something soupy. The chilled appetisers were good too, especially the pickled stuffs. For skewers, my must eat would be the mutton skewer. So good.

Price is rather reasonable too. 

Yi Zun Noodle 伊尊老字号拉面

Address: 60 Joo Chiat Rd, #01-08/09, Singapore 427726

Website: https://www.yizunnoodle.com/menu/joo-chiat

Contact: 6909 9287

Business Hours: 

Daily: 11 am–9:30 pm