PAUwerful

for my sister's birthday dinner, my family revisited an old restaurant that we used to frequent when my sis and i were much younger. it's quite a classic place, and i don't mean high-class French cuisine. it's classic because the floor tiles scream retro in their green geometry. believe me when i say the restaurant is frozen in the 70s. my mom says the restaurant had already started when my sis was born. so, i guess it was apt for us to celebrate her birthday there.

the restaurant boasts a signature dish. this is why it's survived 30 years.
they serve up a terrific kong-bah-pau. its super. why?

the pau: its big and firm, unlike those you get from the frozen section at NTUC. when u stuff the kong-bah in, it doesn't break in the middle, which is terribly annoying when the bah is very juicy.

the kong-bah: offered on a separate plate complemented by luscious greens, everything is nicely sliced so that if you stuff one slice in the pau, it makes for the right proportion of kong-bah to pau. (1 piece kong-bah: 1 pau). it is not excessively juicy, so you don't get messy drips that leak out from the folds in the pau (which leaves you with the very tak-glam option of licking your plate so you get every bit of the tasty sauce.) on the contrary, the pork slices are drenched in a thick, savoury black gravy that is extremely flavourful. lastly, so you don't feel so guilty swallowing the jelly fat of the bah, you insert one piece of lettuce to add the extra crunch.

so you see, this is classic dining. there's no wastage here, no messy drips, no plate-licking.

no wonder the restaurant has thrived these last 30 years.
without a doubt, this is the King Kong Bah.

they even erected an altar to their hero.

this has to be the tackiest tribute ever.

but it is also why i'll return.