10 course dinner at Swa Restaurant

I visit this restaurant twice every year to celebrate my grandparents' birthday. Overall, the standard of food is alright..quite authentic Teochew cuisine. This post is mainly to introduce what a 10 course chinese teochew dinner is like.

A birthday dinner usually starts off with longevity buns, which are the pink color buns with lotus paste. I didnt take photos of those. I like lotus paste..so i had two of those..

Following the longevity buns, comes the cold dish. I love it cuz of the variety, and also cuz I'm usually hungry by then. The chicken is really good - tender and full of flavor. The prawn balls are not bad too. And i'm a sucker for century egg yolks ;)

The next course is very well-liked by everyone i know. I don't like it though, so my brother always gets another serving. Shark's fin. The one at Swa's is not bad, I feel it tastes better cuz there are no crab meat pieces in the way.

After the shark's fin comes the best part - suckling pig!! omg i love the preserved cucumber and carrots that come along with it. its like achar, but it's preserved in vinegar. quite sweet and zesty. i love dipping it the cucumbers into the plum sauce that comes with the pig. can eat like 2 plates of those. haha but back to the main dish..this time round the suckling pig is not as crispy, but it's still good. layer of skin, followed by a little fat, then a thin layer of meat. heavennn...

my dad doesnt eat pork so he always looks forward to the angel fish that comes after that. the gravy is very light, since the fish is steamed. That's how you really taste if the fish is fresh. the fish goes very well with the skin, and i love the mushrooms that come along with it.

I must have forgotten about the following dish when i said the suckling pig's the best part. there is more to come. GOOSE. when this dish arrives i'm super quiet..too busy eating. I can eat non-stop until the plate is cleared. my grandfather will always tell me to eat when this dish arrives, cuz he knows i like it..but i told him "no need to call me i will also eat"..haha.. tender goose meat stewed in black sauce and placed over beancurd. dip in chilli sauce for the perfect combination. how can i miss out on it?

The next two dishes are for me to calm down and take a breather.. haha.. prawns and luo han vegetables. I like them and I eat both dishes, but in moderation =) 1 person usually gets only one prawn anw, but the veg that comes along with it (i duno what its called) is quite crunchy and goes well with the starchy gravy.

as for the luo han veg, it's prob one of the dishes that is not quite up to standard. very normal and doesnt quite match up to other places.

Very quickly i'm down to the 9th dish - noodles! pls excuse the pictures, i only remembered to take photos after some of it was scooped up. the noodles are a little oily (can tell from the pics) but they're the kind that you still wanna eat even though you are alr so full. it's basically noodles fried with chicken chunks, egg, bean sprouts, mushrooms and red chilli. but its really fragrant and wat i would also consider comfort food. gotta have a bowl. or two =)

CAN YOU HEAR BELLS RINGING? The absolute perfect end to the dinner! Yam paste with pumpkin. Everyone thinks I'm mad cuz I'm like in love with this dessert (and all other paste-y desserts). my bro and cousin dun like it..but this time they finished it. still dun believe me when i say it's good... some ppl think it's too sweet, but to me its just right. what good is a dessert if its not sweet? and this is coming from a person who doesn't have a sweet tooth - i just dun crave for chocolates. yam and pumpkin joined together in perfect harmony..i'm tellin u..marrying the two is a really good dining decision. pumpkin is not sweet and when it's boiled its kinda mashed up. that provides the smoothness to the sticky yam paste. so there's the 'melt in your mouth' feelin'. omg droolin as i type..maybe i shld get a bowl for lunch later. the yam paste at Swa's is more watery so you dun really get sick of it real quick. i can definitely have more than one bowl of it..heavenly goodness :)