Address: 52-56 Upper Cross Street, across from Chinatown Point carpark, Singapore 058348
Operating Hours: Lunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm / Dinner: 6.00pm to 10.30pm
Tel: +65 64495030
Website: http://www.springcourt.com.sg/

My friends and I had received an unusual invitation. Steve’s girlfriend, Angie, had organised a dinner to celebrate his birthday at Spring Court Restaurant. The peculiarity of the situation was that as guys, we seldom celebrate our birthdays, and certainly we had never marked the beginning of another birth year with celebrations at grand Chinese restaurants.

Spring Court restaurant, established in 1929, has the distinction of being the oldest chinese restaurant in Singapore (as claimed in their website). They had recently vacated their previous premises in East Coast and moved to a spanking new building. There was a valet that parked the car and stepping into the place, we were ushered into an elevator that would bring us to our PRIVATE room. I had the fleeting impression of being in a Hong Kong movie and re-enacting a scene where I was to meet the triad leader to plead my case against execution…

Seated in the private room, occupying half the table, were some of Steve’s friends, strangers to me and my gang. A quick round of introduction later and Steve’s dinner party was complete. Some awkward silence ensued before Steve and Angie broke the ice with their anecdote on how the restaurant owner was so surprised that the guest of honour for the birthday dinner was not a old patriarch but a young man. The restaurant, as advised by Angie, quickly shelved plans to have longevity buns included in the dinner menu. To those not in tune with Chinese customs, the humour was that such elaborate dinners are normally reserved for the older generation when they celebrate their reaching impressive ages of like 70 or 80.

To while away some time before our dinner was served, my friend started to fiddle with my camera. Taking pictures seemingly indiscriminately. Although, I noticed he took far too many shots of our pleasant waitress for the day. I think he has a thing for her.

The birthday feast started with the Peking Duck. The crispy skin from the duck is removed and placed in rice flour wraps along with celery sticks- sort of like a oriental taco. The flesh is taken away and cooked in any style requested by the diner - ours was cooked with spring onions. The condiment of choice is a sweet dark sauce. Everyone looks forward to having Peking Duck as only special occasions warrant it.

The Mayonnaise with Prawn Salad looked frankly quite formidable. Huge amounts of the white paste was used liberally. The chef obviously had no concept of moderation. Aside from that, I wonder when chinese restaurants started to use Mayonnaise. I am quite sure that the sauce is decidedly non-asian.

The Steamed Fish in Soy Sauce was next. The fish was Soon Hock (no…the fish did not have a name…it refers to the type of fish). The collective brain power at the table were not able to deduce the english translation of the fish type. Someone had quipped that maybe Soon Hock fishes were only found in Asian waters. hmm…

Another dish reserved for unique festivals and celebrations was the Suckling Pig. A quick search on google revealed that the term Suckling Pig is used because the said pig is taken away for the making of the dish (notice I have refrained from using the word “slaughtered” to spare you the mental picture…the intent of which had just been defeated by this comment…) when it is still feeding on the mother pig’s milk. The pig is then roasted until crispy. The delicious portions are the skin that come with a layer of fat and small amounts of flesh attached. Some people I know adhor the dish due to a distinctive smell of the pork. I had no such problems.

A murmur of excitement echoed around the table when we realised the preparation of Drunken Prawns was to be conducted right at our table side. Something primal was awakened…the need to see the transformation of still living things into food. The still wiggling prawns are first doused with cooking rice wine. When enough time has passed to allow the intake of alcohol into their bodies, they are quickly stirred-fried in a roaring flame until about 70% cooked and served. I hope that the transition from inebriated bliss to a fiery death is quick. Sigh, the way I am collecting bad karma, I am almost definitely going to turn up as either a pig or a shrimp in my next life.

Click here for the video clip of the preparation of the prawn.

In quick succession, we had the Winter Melon with Broccoli, the Noodles and the dessert which was I think some Chestnut with Milk Sago. I snuck a peep at the bill…it was about S$400 plus…whoa.

As a fitting end, there was Ice Cream and a Cake, all kindly arranged for by Angie. The Ice Cream Flavours were Brandied Figs & Honey, Rum & Raisin, Kahlua Krunch and Simply Chocolate. (S$13.50 for each 700g tub), all from this place called The Daily Scoop. The ice cream was top class. The Cake was a varient of Tiramisu, Berry-Misu, from a place called TiramiSutra. I loved the cake.

Well, Steve, we did not get you any presents for your birthday, but here’s wishing you a smooth road ahead. And you are a truely lucky chap to have such a caring girlfriend… cheers.