After the final, our class was taken to the Prima Revolving Restaurant for our farewell lunch. The restaurant overlooked the major port in Singapore, hence I was captivated by all of the barges and machinery. I didn't see any people down there working, just machines and cranes and trucks! I REALLY wanted to get a personal tour of the facility... perhaps I will the next time I am in Singapore. We also got a neat view of Sentosa from the restaurant, which made for a nice full circle for the program- beginning and ending at beautiful Sentosa :)
Our lunch was a traditional Chinese 9-COURSE MEAL!!!! I was in heaven! The food was spectacular and so different than anything I'd ever tasted. In fact, the mix of flavors made my stomach feel a bit queasy afterward, but it was still so delicious! We sat a circular tables with a lazy susan in the middle, similar to the family-style dinner we shared at Way Joe's grandmother's house last weekend. The waitresses personally dished out each course, and to serve the food, they held a fork and spoon in one hand and used them like chopsticks! It was fascinating!
The 9 courses were as follows (check out my photosite for pictures):
1. Drunken Chicken with Sea Blubber- Yes, I ate blubber. It was a very strange texture, and quite tasteless
2. Shredded Scallops with Fish and Egg White- Quite yummy, looked kinda of like a thicker egg drop soup.
3. Shark Fin Soup with Crab Meat- It came with some crispy rolls to dip into the soup. This dish was my number one favorite!
4. Steamed Red Fish- served on a sizzling hot plate. The fish came out whole, and the waitress filleted it in front of us. I swallowed a little bone, and it hurt. haha!
5. Authentic Barbecued Peking Duck- my 2nd favorite! Peking duck is the signature dish of Beijing (hence we will be eating quite a bit in the next six weeks). First, small wraps are served with the barbecued skins and celery and scallions inside with a soy bean sauce. Then, the duck is carved and the meat served. It was all dark meat and tasted so good dipped in the sauce. It tasted like a mix between lamb and game. It was interesting and very tasty!
6. Sauteed Garlic King Prawns- Prima's specialty dish, the biggest shrimp I have ever seen! My third favorite dish!
7. Sauteed Fresh Scallops with spinach- quite tasty.
8. Fried Noodle- served with shrimp/prawns and bok choy (a big leafy green vegetable)
9. Dessert- an assortment of fruit (watermelon, papaya, pineapple, and cantaloupe) and Chinese Pancakes (small sugary pastries with red bean paste inside, I promise it was yummy!)
After an amazing lunch, we returned to the dorms and I took a wonderful nap. It was only my second nap the whole time I've been in Singapore (not including the short 20 minute naps I got in the library a few times between classes). It was wonderful. Right now, we are getting ready to celebrate our last night in Singapore!! We'll be out at the club Zouk until 3 (meeting our swimmer friends there), and then we leave at 6 for the airport. We're champs.
We are spending the weekend in Hong Kong, and then moving onto Tsinghua University in Beijing, China!
Happy half-way! (but I'm still sad we're leaving Singapore)
2 comments:
if you see an item in the dessert line that looks like a fried ball of dough rolled in sesame seeds, its usually got sweet red bean paste inside and its delicious.. i like peking duck too, i would imagine that its tons better over there haha. i think traditionally that they eat fruit for dessert or just after the meal in general, my family has always done that.
Jing, I've been on the lookout for red bean paste. It's so tasty! Sometimes I mistake it for chocolate until I take a bite. haha :)
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