today i shall do a food post because i feel like it.

the family celebrated brother's 18th with a birthday lunch today, since he's going to help out for tomorrow's marathon tonight, and celebration tomorrow will be with the rest of the family. so we went to this little diner tucked away in a corner on the 4th level of shaw centre. it was doing brisk business, and at first sight we thought we'd have to queue, but we were shown in to a corner table immediately. the interior was cosy and dimly lit, with nautical decor to fit the name of the restaurant.

the menu

platter of oysters! served on a lovely shell plate. i'm no big fan of oysters though; i generally don't eat shell seafood; like mussels, shellfish, clams and so on (but i do like crabs, prawns, crayfish, lobsters etc)

fresh oysters that bro loves

i did try one today though, as an exception. i mixed it with a lot of lemon juice and a bit of tabasco sauce. it was very fresh, with a bit of a bitter aftertaste. i still don't think it's really to my taste...

even the napkins are printed with the restaurant's logo

nautical decor...daddy said the restaurant was opened by a sailor? i don't know if he was kidding me...

my grilled salmon with creamy butter sauce and assorted veggies. i thrive on fish and veggies. really liked the creamy sauce that accompanied the salmon fillet, which would have tasted pretty normal otherwise. i really liked the potatoes too, i think they were grilled and i'm not sure what else they did but they were really nice. the carrots were nice too, not too soft and mashy, but not too hard either (although i must say mummy's steamed carrots still taste the nicest). the pumpkin chunks were not too bad either, and i ate them although i'm no big fan of pumpkin. but the pickles i did not touch.

daddy's chicken cutlet with fries and salad. i didn't try the cutlet, so i can't comment on it. but i really like the fries they serve. they're the thick potato-y kind. and not too salty either.

sis' fish&chips with salad and fries too. tried a bit of the fish, which tasted pretty good, but then again i'm biased towards fish. it's not as oily as some other fish&chips i've tried, so that's a plus. and according to sis the tartar sauce is really nice.

mummy's well-done ribeye steak. the taste was good, although we found it a bit too chewy? jaws got tired after a while.

brother's grilled chicken with mushroom and cheese and bits of ham. the cheese went really well with the chicken! loved it. this shall be my order the next time i visit.

tea, which i drank without sugar or creamer, and tasted perfectly fine.

dessert that came with the set lunch. dessert of the day was walnut cake, but the waiter willingly offered to switch it to a scoop of ice cream for some of us.

i stuck with the walnut cake though, and it was a good choice. it doesn't look like much, but a light fluffy spongecake proved to be a good dessert after a heavy meal, 'cause it wasn't too sweet and strong in taste, and it went well with the tea.

all in all, it was a pretty good lunch. they employ mostly elderly waiters, but they are quick and nimble in response and service, and were polite as well. besides offering to switch our desserts to ice cream when we asked although it wasn't part of the set lunch, the waiter also offered to switch the drinks to juice or soft drinks for us if we didn't drink coffee or tea. prices are still affordable though not exactly cheap. we found the set lunch a very good deal. for prices between $16-$19++, it came with bread, soup of the day (we had pumpkin, which was very tasty), main course, dessert of the day, and coffee/tea. for other main courses not listed on the set lunch menu, you may choose to top-up $5.50 for bread/soup and dessert/drink. the vermicelli dish is worth a try too, as we overheard the table next to us complimenting it. lobsters however are priced by weight and are hence expensive; even a bowl of lobster bisque costs $15. also, reservation might be a good idea 'cause the diner was filled. stark contrast to the rest of shaw centre, which was practically empty.

(: