I know you guys are goin to LOVE this joint! really, it's incredibly CHEAP! but, it's also one of the BEST places to try! really, this is the place to go if you're in for something new, yet something cheap... and if you're heard of things like foire grais that is way beyond your budget, here's the place to try it! and, no, i'm not talking affordable prices, like $20+.. i'm talking foire grais for..... believe it... $16!! and it's not a lil' slice... no, no... it's at about 15cm long a piece!

The restuarant has appeared in newspapers for numerous times.. walk in, and the decor is mainly newspaper cuttings of articiles raving about their food. it's a small, rundown place situated by the main road of Geylang.. near lorong 27A. incredibly small area for a great place to eat. Rustic and simplistic. Nothing about the decor pleases me, really. i entered and i felt transported back to the hai nan village.. the tables are bare, light, wooden tables. no soft lighting, no yellow lighting, for that matter. the walls are too filled with newspaper cuttings and pictures of their menu to be seen what color they are, except near to the kitchen door, you can spot some seashells glued onto the wall.. i suspect those were left behind by the previous owner.. lolz.

Forgive the forgetful waiters, who are always there to attend to you. They're harmless, and they bring dishes to your table that you didn't order, so be on the look out! they also seem keen to clear your plates when it seems that you've finished your dinner (even when you're juz waitin for your second round of orders to be served).. But they seem to take pride in serving you.. thou they speak few words, they'll change the plates whenever needed without being asked. And your tea is never empty.. once it reaches the half-way mark, they top it up. you're never thristy... infact, they're so keen in topping tea up, you have to stop them when you're leaving... and they offer you iced water when you ask for the bill... their service... to me, is very cute, very plesant. it may not be the service of the top restuarants, where they pull out your chair and lay your napkin for you, but it's definitely very entertaining and pleasing.

In terms of skill, i salute the chef. This is a hong kong styled eatery. The dishes are cantonese/chinese. However, the same care and skill is present as that of a french/italian chef. I've eaten at top restuarants before, but some of the dishes in those poshy places don't even come close to what i have experienced here. The ingrediants are fresh and good (thou not top-notch, if not they'll be really costly, and price won't be affordable at all..) but the care and the dexterity of this chef is definitely one of the best. The balance of flavour in almost all dishes, and the choice of ingrediants is genius. Attension to detail, attension to taste. Each dish has their own flavour, and delievers to the taster exactly what they promised would be. Light flavours soothe, while those with heavy tones are heightened approprietely. If you're a true foodie, but not fussy about service and ambience.. you'll find yourself heading there every other day... juz as i am thinkin abt it almost constantly today.. after visiting it yesterday.. lolz.

Before i start on the food, let me excuse myself for the lack of pictures...Well, you know, when there's food.. you eat rite? so your hands are preoccupied gettin the food to your plate, then to your mouth... and your mind is up there, in haven.. so your cam phone... tends to take a backseat. yar?
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in short, the food was so good, i forgot to take pictures. who needs pictures? go take a look for yourselves!

for the first time in my life, i tasted foire grais.. as in, in a quantity that i know that- yes! tt's foire grais! yupz.. the restuarant isn't that posh to call it by it's french name thou. juz go down and order goose liver.. yupz, tt's wad it's known. you tell foire grais to their staff, they'll go huh?

It's served seared in some butter, i believe.. to seal in the flavour, then placed in the oven to cook. When you cut, it's juz cooked, and all you taste is THAT marvellous wonder. juicy, tender, delicious. It is served slightly more fanciful than the other dishes too, in a cup of capsicum, you'll find drowned in mayonise- a fresh, delightful ball of prawn, a succulent scallop and a piece of tasty sauage, all which compliment the piece of goose liver balancing on top of the capsicum. a trace of sauce around the capcicum cup, and 2 lil' greens to add color and height, presentation complete. =) that, is the best french dish i've ever tasted... with the exception of creme burlee in Top of the M... =p

And no, there's no pic of the goose liver.... DUH! =p

Next, there is this "long dan", loosly translated to "dragon fish" or sth... well, it's juz a HUGE sea bass. but they sure take care in preparation and in their choice of ingrediants. It is a sea bass.. but what they did to the sea bass is totally "french-like". they served the skin of the fish as a cold dish, together with the slices of pig tigh (a common chinese cold dish) and jelly fish. The skin is surprisingly smooth, and the taste is like a fresh sea breeze. -there is taste of fish, but it's not the type that gags you, nor unplesant, in any way... they mixed it with the jelly fish, and you'll find that the texture of the fish skin is juz like the jelly fish.. it's the type of dish that makes you want to not stop eating... again, the balance of flavors- the pig's tigh gifs a heavy meaty taste... on the whole, you'll never get sick of the dish. unless you don't fancy cold dishes. *warning: those who don't like sashimi or don't like the idea of cold noodles shouldn't try.

Skin's off, i guess what's left will be meat and bones. The fish slices and vermecilli is a very common dish, i guess. but here, it's the KING of fish vermicilli! the broth is heavenly.. they must have simmered it with the fish bones for hours, then reduced it to stock.. the effort is well worth it.. other than tong lok seafood resturant at jurong, i've not found another that can match it. The fish slices were boiled juz right. Mix well before serving thou.. the vermicilli is not cooked with the broth.

There are reviews praising their roasted chicken. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Crispy, onli if you eat it the moment they serve it. but it's no issue lah... the meat is oh-so-tender... served with the usual dipping salt, it's a good dish indeed. But personally, thou it's a dish well done compared to many other places, you can get it anywhere else. if you're there, i think you'd rather try their more unique offers.

Here's a must-try dish for veggie lovers who are not vegetarians. "shui gua" translated directly to water melon, but it's not the big red water melon (nor isit the yellow one..) this melon is more like the cucumber. but as it releases alot of water when cooked, thus its name. Anywayz, they sliced it and steamed it, topped with a very generous helping of dried shrimp, seasoned with oyster sauce, seseme oil and soy sauce. This is actualli one of my fav vegs.. but since it's steamed, it retained much of it's natural flavour. the rest compliments it juz so nicely, you can't believe you're enjoying such a simple dish.

They serve lobster too. This one, i have the picture. (picture on food blog..) yupz, it's the ONLY picture i took, bcos we ordered it during our second round of orders, and it was the first to come. Well, as you can see, it's juz lobster meat in a fried basket. the lobster meat is mixed with beaten egg white, making it an extremely light paste. however, as egg white has no taste, it only offers texture. and the lobster still remains key..
A note for those who don't normally eat lobster: too much lobster meat in paste form is nauceating. you'll get sick of the taste, and it becomes bland. Which is why lobster is normalli served in chunks (in lobster salads) providing added texture (kou gan..) and also so that you'll finish it rather quickly before you get tired of it, and normalli accompanied with something else. don't believe me, ermz, juz try this dish without the basket. the brown coconut flakes and the single fried curry leaf at the top is a great addition, but not enough, in my opinion. The basket gives the lobster-eggwhite paste an added dimension. Turning it into a savory dish, not juz expensive light lobster paste. It's actualli $6 per basket thou.. not that expensive huh. We each had a basket. However, to me, it's one of those dishes you start with, having it near the end of the meal isn't a good choice after all that foire grais and flavourful fish vermicilli...

My family also had shark's fin.. (i didn't try cos of my own beliefs..) but can see that it was well worth it- $28 for a pot, everyone one lil' bowl, but there was plenty of shark's fin, the broth is thick and most probably sensible, and served with bean sprouts, that's my fav combi of shark's fin soup before i stopped eating it. =p

We also had a shot at their spring rolls. filled with diced mushrooms, carrots and other veg. that was okie... and we also had their fried carrot cake, which i won't reccomend. However some rather common dishes like sang mien (raw noodles, translated) with seafood (sup gam style) is realli nice and worth a try.

Their deserts are nice! Okie, they don't have icecream ok? but yes, DO stay for desert... rather, do leave some space for desert. they haf xue kap (frog's fat) which i think will be good cos the waitress reccommended it.. but cos high cholestrol yar? and we juz had goose liver... so we skipped it. We had onnee! (yam paste), almond tea and their corn pudding with sweet potato... and ALL we tried were good. onnee was tasty thou sweet.. their almond tea, if you take one without sugar (for old folks), you'll realli taste the quality- slightly bitter with a light, soothing finish. They made it themselves, so yupz, it's almond alright, not almond essence. I'll reccomend the corn pudding! it's sweet and supple, like mango pudding, but corn ofcos! and the purple sweet potato (which, i believe, is imported from japan) compliments it to a perfection. A must-try! Deserts are all priced at $3 except for the frog's fat.

Overall, i had a really satisfying time. Dinning there was truly an expirence of loving the old and seeking the new. Such a fusion of flavours, such a mix of cultures. Oh yes, i forgot to mention it's name. Satin Resturant. you'll find it next to the Beijing Noodles stall, along the main road, near the exit of lorong 27A. (it's a one-way street). If any of you is heading down, please bring me along okie? =p