Ban Heng Restaurant at Harbourfront Centre #04-01 S(099253) - Dad's 90th Birthday Celebration with the clan on 23 May 2015

Dad's got his wish for a lifetime. His requirement to Grouch Two for his 90th Birthday Celebration -Roasted Suckling Pig on the Birthday dinner table. 

The Occasion - Dad's 90th Birthday Celebration 

The Restaurant - Ban Heng Restaurant 

The Venue - Harbourfront #04-28 

The Date - 23 May 2015 Saturday 

(his actual day is 22 May 2015.)

Grouch Two organised & planned this Birthday celebration, reserved 3 tables & invited relatives & Dad's godson Chua Chong & his clan to join us on this special celebration. 

Birthday Dinner Menu 

Each table costs about S$600++. Total bill for the evening came to be S$1820.00

The Starter Dish 

Here is the first dish that arrived at the dinner table - Longevity Buns. The Birthday Boy could not contain his happiness, & was all smiles.

The Soup 
The next dish was the Shark's Fin Soup. A good dose of the superior soup broth, with bits of crab meat interspersed in the soup, and some few strands of shark's fin in between. Tasty & savoury & pairs well with the dark vinegar & white pepper.

The First Main Course

This is the Braised Duck meat with Tofu. Key ingredient in marination of this duck is the five spice powder, The duck has been marinated well, then braised for hours with the meat fully infused with the flavors of the braised sauce to lend a tender succulent juicy moist savoury fragrant bite. 

The Second Main Course 

This is the Roast Suckling Pig the birthday boy has specially requested for. The skin is roasted till shiny crisp and has a crunchy bite to it. 

Some of the happy people who were present to celebrate with the Birthday Boy. 

The Third Main Course 

The Hong Kong Styled Steamed Seabass is of large size with succulent sweet fresh juicy meat steamed just right.

The Fourth Main Dish

This is the Scallops with Large Prawns & Broccoli served in a basket. 

The Fifth Main Dish 

This is the Baby Abalone with Mushrooms & Spinach - the Baby abalones are really mini and goes down with simply one bite. The large mushrooms are braised & infused with the soup stock to lend a savory chewy bite. 

The Sixth Dish 

The three Sri Lankan Crabs are uniformly coated with the crushed Black Peppercorns to lend an intense peppery flavor to the crab meat. Deliciously sweet, fresh, peppery spicy, savory flavor that is unforgettable.

The Birthday Cake 

Ian ordered the Birthday cake (*below) with the numbers 9 and 0 to depict Dad's Lunar age.

Dad posing with his Birthday cake before the candles are lit. 

Dad posing with the grand kid, god-grandkids & god-great grandkid. 

Dad posing with his family.

Dad clapping to the tune of the Happy Birthday song. 

Dad stands up after the Birthday anthem is complete, to blow out his candles.

Dad getting ready to hold the knife to cut his cake.

Grandson helps Dad cut his cake.

Ban Heng @Harbourfront is located at : 

1 Maritime Square  

#04-01 HarbourFront Centre  

Singapore 099253  
Nearest MRT - Harbourfront 

Business Opening Hours :

Lunch - 11:30am - 2:30pm  

Dinner - 6:00pm – 10:00pm

TungLok Teahouse at Far East Square, 7-13 Amoy Street, #01-01, S(049949) - The Ambience

Whilst Bob brought Mum-in-law & Grace out for a stroll along the Far East Square compound right after lunch at TungLok Teahouse at 7-13 Amoy Street at Far East Square #01-01, I remained for a good 25 minutes inside TungLok Teahouse exploring the nooks & corners trying to capture some really great shots for my blog post. 

The Ambience of TungLok Teahouse 

The Private Room 

Tucked away at one end of the dining area is a Private Room with 5 round tables, each flanked by 8 chairs decorated with Emperor Royal Gold skirting. 

I'd named this Private Room aptly the "Chairman Mao Zedong Room" by virtue of the many Chairman Mao Zedong's paraphernalia spewed all over the walls. 

Check out the Chairman Mao Zedong metallic badges arrayed in decorative spirals, patterns & designs & neatly framed into 2 feet by 1 feet posters & displayed in stripjacket order on the wall facing the entrance to this Private Room.

Now you cannot missed this Chairman Mao Zedong statue made out of good grade premium porcelain that stands tall on the build-in-cabinets on the right of the entrance to this Private Room. 

Remember to salute & chant:"Long Live Chairman Mao!" as you enter.

On the wall facing the Chairman Mao Zedong badges are these series of poster like paintings depicting Communist Chinese people during Chairman Mao Zedong's era going about their daily chores in the fields.

This epic series of posters showcasing the harvesting moments of the poor peasants in the communist China's agricultural era when communism is the IN-thing & Chairman Mao is an idol - is a clear humble reminder of China's past role & success in the agricultural field during period when China is a Communist state before the introduction of industrialisation & capitalism.

Main Dining Area

The decor at TungLok Teahouse leeks pretty much of Chinese culture in the bygone era, depicts the culture & era of those days in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's. 

Adorning the walls of the restaurant in the main dining area are black & white photos of various prominent streets & buildings & landmarks of Singapore in the early 1950's to 1980's neatly framed & displayed. 

Are you able to make out what are the historical places that are displayed in these Black & White nostalgic photos? 

(*Above : Hill Street, New Bridge Road, Tanjong Pagar, Neil Road, High Street)

(*Above : Telok Ayer Street, Raffles Place)

(Above : Thean Hock Keng Temple, High Street, New Bridge Road) 

Sprawling all over the walls are an evidence of the success & vibrancy of the Chinese film industry's in the 1940's 1950's era with some of the more prominent female leading actresses gracing the wall as the key centerpiece icon (*below) with black & white film posters as the backdrop. 

This decorative Color Contrast Portrait montage of a famous female leading actress adds some colorful hue to the otherwise monochrome black & white shades of the photos of historical buildings.

Whilst the Private Room has an upmarket regal decor, the main Dining Hall has a more common man's (peasant's) decor with large round marble table top flanked by matching dark red wood cane chairs with high back rests. 

There's a little cozy corner (*below) right before the Private Room that is indundated with a few pillars where diners who prefer to relax with high back lounge seating arrangement centered around rectangle white table tops can opt to feast on their Dim Sum. 

The Menu cover & the poem you discover within the menu brings nostalgia to a whole new level - it sort of appeals to you emotions.

Several of these wooden Chinese window screens with Oriental designs are used to decorate the walls of TungLok Teahouse. 

These are examples of hand painted posters used as product advertisements produced in the early 1930's to 1960's era. 

Greeting the diners & guests in the main Dining Hall area is this 2m by 1m huge rectangular mirror with the words :"客似云来" in Chinese Hanji characters meaning "May the restaurant be filled with lots of diners!" presented by Singapore Restaurant Association & World Chinese Cuisine Association.

The spacious main Dining Hall holds more than 25 tables, can seat approximately 250 pax in full air-conditioned comfort.

To add to the Oriental decor the restaurant uses red hanging lanterns to add a red cozy hue to the otherwise white ceiling top. 

Another uniquely Oriental design is these series of mosaic tile patterns that lined the corridor walkway of the main Dining Hall. 

The main entrance to TungLok Teahouse has Oriental wooden screens that served as doors. 

Could not resist taking selfie with the two good looking gentlemen behind me. 

TungLok Teahouse is located at :

Far East Square, 

7-13 Amoy Street, #01-01, 

Singapore (049949)

Tel : 68771123

Fax : 65387882

www.tunglokteahouse.com

Nearest MRT - Telok Ayer MRT