the cathay

been wanting to do a post on the cathay for a while now but decided to wait till more shops opened up, just so that this post would be a little bit more all rounded *grin*...so here's goes!

first and most importantly, popcorn!

just to set the record straight, i actually like my popcorn salty. yes, i admit, i've been spoilt by the do-it-yourself butter at the cinemas in the usa but after one go at the caramel covered kernels served at the cathay, i am officially a sweet popcorn convert! every handful of this popcorn makes one almost immediately reach out for more! every single kernel is freshly popped and covered with caramel, giving every bite a really nice crunch with a burst of caramel sweetness. g & i can easily polish off half a bag of this yummy snack even before the movie begins! so be warned, it is extremely addictive! need more evidence? the popcorn is so yummy, my four year old nephew requests for the large order and goes through the bag just as quickly as us!

yummy yum cha makes reason number two to head to the cathay. we always had trouble figuring out what to eat at the cathay, although i could be quite content with lunch consisting of popcorn and b&j's! we had an hour before pirates of the caribbean was scheduled to start so we decided to give the cathay restaurant a go. service was good, which in my opinion is hard to come by especially for a chinese restaurant. they had a line but volunteered to give us a buzz so that we didn't need to wait. the 20 minutes whizzed by and before we knew it, we were enjoying yum cha at what used to be quite the place to have yum cha back in the 1970s. we had the classic feng zhao, pai guat, lo bak gou and xiao long bao, all of which were good. my favourite? the feng zhao. stewed just perfect in lotsa what i think is wu-xiang fen (aka five spice seasoning). the xiao long bao could almost compare with that from crystal jade, with each delicate pocket filled with a yummy minced meat ball seasoned in good old fashioned chicken stock. completing the meal, we had the fried cheong fun and fish paste filled veggies, which were good efforts at adding a new age twist to the old school favorites.

grama-grama-gramophone. one can almost never work into gramophone without buying something. this is my now favourite place to get cds. immense collection, with something from every genre. competitively priced and knowledgeable staff, a music lovers dream. and the best part? its locally owned and supports local music!

final draw of the cathay? ben & jerry's! enough said!

the cathay
2 handy road

the cathay restaurant
#02-01/02/03/04
+65 6732 7888
www.thecathayrestaurant.com.sg

gramophone
#01-21/22/23

ben & jerry's (#02-12/14)
+65 6235 2467