This was a pretty pleasant find, especially since it's only a short drive away and has been under my nose all this time. I was already feeling pretty pleased when I sat down in the spartan coffeeshop atmosphere with the ubiquitous television serial blaring in the background.
We started off with the Marmite porkribs. Turns out Marmite is similar to Vegemite, a vegetable extract that has a pretty unique salty flavor. These ribs were like a less sweet version of the typical "sweet and sour" but I appreciated that twist in the flavor.
Their specialty beancurd looks extremely familiar having eaten it at some supposedly classy Chinese restaurant and again at a country club. Their version actually tasted the best so far! There was enough flavor in this and the use of smaller beancurd cubes only increased the surface area for a better crisp. I liked the use of shimeji mushrooms in this as well.
Although the liver used in the "liver with special sauce" was fresh and not overcooked, I just didn't fully appreciate the "special" sauce. It had a confused flavor. I'm starting to venture away from "special" sauces for awhile since it seems that they are basically random concoctions of some sort.
The dish I was waiting for the whole evening; crispy pork knuckle. Ok, I've had authentic German pork knuckles in German pubs and restaurants but I've always had an affinity towards the Chinese variant where it's basically deepfried (not roasted). Why? It's not about supporting home brand or anything but the German ones tend to be too salty or the crackling would be too hard. I reckon Asian pork crackling is still the best. This was as crispy, greasy and tasty as it looks. Mildly seasoned with salt, pepper and five-spice powder, this goes great with beer.D
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