Teochew Braised Duck & Steamed Pomfret

We might as well fully utilize our friends' stomachs during this period and request for meals at restaurants of which we avoid when it's just two of us. A table of four to six gets to taste many dishes on the menu. Many of these restaurants are also venues that we're stepping into for the first time. 

Went to Fragrant Garden at Serangoon Road (more like Kovan area) for dinner. It's located at the basement of the old-school Upper Serangoon Shopping Center where you could park there too. Ideal for stormy weather since you wouldn't get drenched. I would recommend a 6pm or a 6.30pm table though. The carpark does fill up since everyone goes there to eat at this restaurant. The tables spilled out to the mall and in front of other retail shops which were closed at dinner time. I loved those vibes. 

The friends recommended this Teochew restaurant and we thought we would all go! The friends said that the Teochew braised duck was a must. So it was on the table. That tofu the duck came with was on point, and not stinky like how some other restaurants do theirs with smelly tau kwa. The friends brought an easy bottle of pinot noir (Faiveley Pommard 2015) that went so well with the food. 

I couldn’t resist the kong bak bao (Asian pork belly sliders). Haha. I would have prefer the braised pork darker and slightly saltier, but this as tender and equally tasty. It's a tad leaner than the usual, which is a good thing. I cannot deal with too much belly fat. I might even describe this restaurant's braised pork as the more elegant version. The buns were what I wanted! Wheeeee. All the happy carbs I wanted. 

That steamed pomfret was sooooo beautiful. It has been a long time since we had such a good one. I happily ate it. We asked for a small one that was still quite big at 700g. But it was great to share between four. Perfectly steamed and the soup it sat in was nicely balanced so that we could just drink it. It was only $75. I've already been reducing my intake of fish (environmental reasons), so this was such a treat. 

Dinner was fast and so efficient. That meant we were done way under the time allocated for the night (we needed to pee the dog lah, given this stupid weather). It gave us plenty of time to adjourn to the friends' home to chat, and for more wine. We thought we would just have a glass of wine each. Well, four of us easily polished off a second bottle of a surprisingly smooth red (Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrees 2013). Teehehehe.