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Nth gives warmth like barley

Went to New Park Hotel for their buffet. Regulars there for a long time le.. I miz their corn cobs soaked in sweet milk... but it's okie. their spread is still good and realli value for money.
Love their northern indian spiced-garlic nuns which are perfect with their chicpea mush- there's a name for it, i'm juz lazy to research.. lolz. They also have healthy but addictive biscuits which are in cookie jars at the desert station. My fav is their barley.. i stole the ginko nuts from the ice-kachang section, and they went so well together i made myself seconds =)

Above are dishes from the set menu at Grand ShangHai. Not cheap, but the food is definitely good. On the fatty side thou.. and the waitresses are actually quite clumsy and alittle rude. The chi tea sucked- lousy quality tea leaves... I hate it when they charge such prices and fail to care for service and scrimp on small stuff.. But guess the selling point was the live band and singing (the singers were quite good- great vocals!! found myself recognizing all the songs they belt out.. scary.. my taste of music quite old le arh...) and the decor- breath-takingly beautiful. I love the details and the vibrant colors, the way the space was structured and partitioned. Even the toilet is worth a visit... =p

On to food: (sorry, start on a bad note)
pic 1: appetizer- meat selection- Jellyfish had a zingy dressing which was realli nice - i realli liked it, the black pieces of fried eel was miserable and the 2 slices of 3-layered pork fat laden and soggy.. top wasn't crisp at all..

pic 2: Shark's fin soup- i don't eat shark's fin, so i'll dish them pieces out for my bro. And i had a difficult time doin it.. cos the shark's fin they gave us were the little bits and pieces.. Thai Shark's fin Restuarant gives whole, large pieces for a good price and their soup is much better. Disappointing.

pic 3: Fried Cod with Sweet and sour dressing and pine nuts. bad points first: cod is none existant among the batter. Good points: the sweet and sour dressing and pine nuts was a refreshing mix! loved the compliment, and the fact that they served it on a bed of rocket instead of a cabbage or lettue leaf was definitely a skilled and thoughtful decision! i wonder if taste would be heightened or more layered if pine nuts were lightly toasted..

pic 4: Their speciality desert: fried red bean and banana ball.. red bean and banana DOES go together! lolz.. now i know =) nice way to end the meal...

We also had: crab with rice (not in set, we special ordered) - not very nice and not worth $
Fried prawns: yes yes, v v fresh!! loved that dish!
Minced duck: unique and flavourful (they dimmed the lights for the singer, so no pic..)