House visiting 拜年

Majority of the Chinese families still keep themselves busy with house visits on the first day of Chinese New Year but some have opted to gather at one house for convenience sake. 

No sweeping or cleaning should be done at home as it is equaivalent to blessings and luck being swept away.

We settled for dinner at Outback Steakhouse, Millennia Walk. Managed to escape the crowd and long queue over at Marina Square as most restaurants were packed.

Halfway through our dinner, there were more and more people in the queue. Thank God we were there early!   

We were all tickled by the novelty in the presentation of the complimentary bread with whipped butter at Outback Steakhouse. 

As much as I am of a bread person, Grandpa beat me to cutting the bread first. He was very amused by the presentation and thought it was very clever of them to do so because - 1) The bread won't fall off the board while the server is bringing over to the diners. 2) They won't forget to bring the knife to you.

Upon the first bite of Outback Steakhouse bread, Grandpa exclaimed, "Crunchy outside, warm soft inside." I was like, "Really meh? How good can it be? Its just bread." Probably because I was reminded of my experience over at Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill, Marina Square which has a similiar setting and serves similar food as Outback Steakhouse and their bread was so hard. Although Grandpa is no food connoisseur, he can tell whether a dish is done well. 

Upon my first bite or rather the moment my teeth sank into Outback Steakhouse bread, I felt that I was on a gastronomic experience. That crunchy on the outside, soft and warm in the inside bread had a sweet taste to it and slowly bring about a hint of bitterness (which Mummy suspects is cocoa) just leaves you wanting to come back for more! A pity that they don't sell the bread alone or else you will know who will pick up a loaf or two back home. Having said that, I just googled for the recipe for Outback Steakhouse bread. I might try making it and if its successful, I will share it with you guys.

Grandpa also like how they serve the bread with whipped butter. He says that its so much more convenient and less tedious when spreading it. Do you know how whipped butter is made? I will let you in on how it is made but I bet you will be screaming, "No way, that can't be it." To make whipped butter, simply whisk a chunk of butter until it softens. 

Ordered the house salad and kookaburra wings to share with Mummy because we wanted to save some space for dessert. Almost ordered the ribs because they look so good but thank God I didn't because I was still full from lunch. You know how we Chinese eat during Chinese New Year? Its always 3 full meals with at least 5 dishes with either rice or noodles. Plus, I was wearing my new H&M skirt which is fitting so if I were to eat more than I should, I reckon the seams will tear. #vanitywoes   

 

House Salad, $7.90

Chose ranch for dressing as they only had ranch, thousand island and caesar. I barely dipped the veggies in the dressing though. Salads with crotons and cheese always have that extra flavour. Those crotons smell and taste so good!



Kookaburra Wings, Full $15.90 | Half $9.90



For the Kokkaburra wings, you could choose from mild, medium or hot. Served with blue cheese dip and celery, these wings are very crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside. To add on, they are very flavourful. Despite it being a tad too oily and salty, Mummy and I still enjoy it very much still.

There are plenty of sides to choose from such as baked potato, fries, mashed potatoes, rice, seasonal veggies. Grandpa opted for his favourite fries and baked potato.

Here's Grandpa's carb-loaded ribeye steak with Aussie fries and baked potato.



Ribeye steak with loaded baked potato and aussie fries, $38.90

I ordered medium for Grandpa and he finds it too cooked. I must remember to order medium rare for him next time round. #notetoself  We all love the loaded baked potato which had cheese, bacon, sour cream and chives on it. We thought that it was done very well, moist and not too dry. 

This is what we have been saving our stomachs for! 

 

Dessert Trio $18.90 - Chocolate Thunder from Down Under, Cheesecake and Banana Nut Cake

When our dessert trio finally came (we waited for about 15-20 minutes for it after I told the server to serve it), both Mummy and I had the same expression - an astonished look on our face. Little did we expect the desserts to be of regular servings. Grandpa doesn't take sweet stuffs so imagine a whole banana cake, brownie and cheesecake just for the two of us!

Chocolate Thunder from Down Under

- Pecan brownie with vanilla ice topped with chocolate sauce, chocolate shavings and whipped cream.

This gluten-free dessert is served warm. It had a crunchy outside and I like how pecans are added to give it a nice flavour. 

Cheesecake

The cheesecake is just okay, pretty normal to me except that its its not too sweet so Grandpa could have a bite of it. I used to love cheesecake a lot but now after a few bites, I feel sick of its richness.  

Banana Nut Cake

- Combination of banana, toffee, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, nuts and cinnamon

It has a chewy texture which I quite like it. I don't normally like creamy stuffs but the whipped cream is to die for! Its very dense, slightly frozen probably due to it being on top of the vanilla ice cream. At that moment, I was like #eatnowexerciselater.



with Mommy and Grandpa at Outback Steakhouse

God of Fortune 财神 Cai Shen

Chinese New Year Day 1 #ootd 初一穿搭