Feast for Daddy Dearest

My family and siblings hold a spread of Chinese cuisine for my dad's birthday celeb. As dad loves crab as much as I do, hence we decided to reserve a table at Jumbo Seafood Gallery. The restaurant is not only well-knowned for its crabbie dishes but its also strategically located along Singapore River, where you can stroll along after a hearty meal with family.

One can cruise on cruise boats or water taxis that plying across Qlarke Quay along the river. Duck and Hippo introduce tourists and visitors to a unique Singapore city sightseeing on its topless buses or cruise along Singapore River.

A picture in front of the Jumbo Seafood Gallery

Fall of dusk, viewed from inside of the restaurant

Fish tanks filled with live sea creatures

Aprons were all ready for a crabbie affair

Cutie little crabbie embossed on their apron

The famous five...:)...My family

My much beloved family...hubby and the kids

Scallops with yam ring

Crispy yam ring, which is a nice combination eaten with tender scallops

Peking duck

The waitress skillfully carved the crunchy outer skin and served them with condiments and pancakes in front of us, in less than 10 minutes

Tadaah....the end product of Peking duck..nice and succulent

Lets peep inside, the egg pancake embracing a thin layer of crispy duck skin, roasted to perfection, alongside with strips of cucumber and scallion, with thinly spread of sweet sauce.

The waitress suggested that the leftover of the duck, which was the meat, should be eaten plain with slather of its gravy, as the meat would be more tender and flavourful, instead of stir fry with ginger and onion.

The signature...chilli crabs

...served with deep fried and steamed mini buns. My kids love the deep fried version.

Salted egg golden prawn served in crispy net

Though there are many patrons waited to be seated, but majority of them were tourists as the area itself is very popular among tourists. If I were to choose a place to feast on a decent crab feast, I will still stick to my long time favourite NO SIGNBORD for its compact roe crabbie dish (*drooling*) and salted egg yolk prawns, or drunken prawns or geoduck sashimi...the list goes on. Anyway you can try Jumbo for a change too. If you are interested, below is the address and the contact for reservation.

Jumbo Seafood Gallery

The Riverwalk
20 Upper Circular Road #B1-48
The Riverwalk Singapore 058416
Tel: 6534-3435

Paced along the tunnel toward Qlarke Quay, with hope to digest the food which we stuffed to the brim.

The stunning night view of Singapore River, with restaurants, bars and pubs mushroom around the vicinity, turning this place a popular tourists hang out.

An artistic shot along the Singapore River to end the entry?? Credits to dearest hubby....*____* 

Psst..psst..We actually ordered a red garoupa steamed in Hong Kong style at Jumbo, but it was a disappointment coz it was overcooked. The meat turned out tough, hence no picture was snapped for this. Sigh...So I contemplate whether to share my steam fish recipe on my next entry...stay tune...

Simple Braised Duck Recipe

Braised duck is a well-loved Teo Chew delicacy, and is a very typical Chinese dish. However I will add in a twist of asian fusion to the original Teo Chew recipe. Other than the main ingredients of chinese five spices, my mum has given me a valuable tips on adding in lemongrass and galangal to further enhance the taste of this simple braised duck recipe.

The essential ingredient is to get a fresh duck weighing about 1.5kg to 2kg. Clean the duck thoroughly, chop off the head and the webs. Trim excess fat from the duck especially the butt area.

Other crucial ingredients are the Chinese five spices, comprising of (from top clockwise) star anise, fennel seeds, black pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. For a whole duck, you need 4 cinnamon barks, 5 star anise, around 8 cloves, a pinchful of fennel seeds and black pepper.

Alternatively, you can have your braised duck ingredients 'mix-matched' readily from Chinese provision shop or Chinese medical hall, like below. Simply ask the uncle to hand-pick $4 of braised duck herbs, so there you go, fuss free and the outcome of the dish is absolutely fabulous.

Other side ingredients: 2 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed and bruised; 1 whole garlic, peeled and crushed; 5 red shallots, peeled and crushed; 1 thumbsize galangal, crushed; 2 chunks of rock sugar; and Chinese 5 spices.

Heat up a wok or preferably a deep pot, so the whole duck can braised evenly throughout. Add  3 tablespoon of cooking oil. Fry the above ingredients, except the rock sugar and duck, until fragrant.

When aroma starts to waft around the kitchen, pour in 4 bowls of water into the wok (or just enough to cover the whole duck for braising). Add 5 tablespoons of dark soya sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons of salt, and wait till it starts boiling. Lower the whole duck into the wok carefully, and lastly the rock sugar. Cover the wok with lid and let it simmer for an hour or 1.5 hours under medium fire, turning the duck both sides during the braising step. Add in water when necessary, if you find the duck is still tough, or you prefer the meat to be a little bit more tender.

When the water reduces to 1/4 of the original, dish out the duck and let it cool down a bit before chopping up the nicely braised duck into serving pieces. Serve the duck in a plate garnished with sliced cucumber. Drain the lovely braised duck gravy for later, discard the spices bits from the braising.

Enjoy the braised duck dish, best served with a bowl of hot steaming white rice, alongside with the super yummy gravy. This is indeed my family's favourite, especially the kids.

BON APPETIT....