of mojitos and other madness: man han chuan xi!

with both mom's and sis' birthday just a week apart, pak law and i were tossing out ideas as to which new makan joint we should head to in celebration. plans were made to try to get a spot at buko nero but i think the owners might have taken an early christmas holiday as they were closed. pak law thought of broth and i tossed ou le papillon but it was finally decided that we head to spring court instead...for some good old traditional chinese fare.

dinner was truly a full feast fit for a king (in this case queens!), with orders of buddha jumps over the wall, suckling pig, peking duck and hokkien popiah. this girl has only had the full works of buddha jump over the wall once earlier this year when my cousin was in town and trust me, the whole family definitely had fond memories of the awesome dish. it is actually three courses rolled into one huge pot of broth...cooked and simmered for days, the broth was truly the anchor of the entire dish. thick and creamy, yet rich and earthy at the same time, one sip of the broth will make you realize the true definition of superior chicken stock! infused with the rich flavours of fresh abalone, generous bits of sharks fin and dried scallops (course one), huge chinese mushrooms and pork cartilage (course two), tender sea cucumber and chicken breast (course three), the entire three courses can actually be a full meal on its own! this girl does admit, the chinese really do know how to make one good broth. definitely worth the advance order and price tag and truly an outstanding dish!

the pig and duck were extremely well done too, with perfectly roasted pork crackling and tender yet crispy duck skin. as for the popiah, this girl was pleasantly surprised at the taste of the hokkien roll..almost as good as glory's peranakan version, just minus the chilli spice, load of garlic and egg skin. huge rolls of fresh veggies with crispy garlic and lots of peanuts, and just the right amount of sweet sauce. yum! i am sure we were all quite stuffed but dinner would not have been complete without dessert. so keeping with the traditional roots, we had the herbal jelly, glutinous rice balls in red bean paste and orh ni. spring court really didn't disappoint, keeping in true tradition since 1929, from the fantastic buddha jumps over the wall to the sweet desserts, this is one place we will definitely head back for more chinese feasting!

spring court