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• a throwback to bygone days

i'd walked past this place many times over the years without ever knowing there was a veggie eatery tucked inside. i have to admit that my first impression of it was pretty dubious. granted, it was slightly after lunch hour on monday, but in the large, dimly-lit hall, only two tables were occupied - one by a group of tourists. the selection of dim sum remaining on the shelves was pretty sparse - a few pieces of mainly oily mock meats and lots of starchy pastries. nonetheless, my mum decided to give it a try anyway, so we sat down and ordered two dishes to share along with rice: deep fried wanton with julienned vegetables and mushroom (sgd9), and stuffed beancurd pouch with gravy (sgd10). the food was all right - the skins for both could have been thinner and lighter, but they had generous stuffings and the mock squid(?)'s texture was close to what we remember of the real thing. in our hour or so spent there, two other individuals walked in for a solo meal. quiet, undisturbed by the stream of passersby outside, it felt like a throwback to a coffee shop in a sleepy one-horse malaysian town or my grandmother's old flat, with curtains drawn. there's lots on the menu, but, with fortune centre just a few blocks away, i probably will try other eateries in the area before coming back for another visit.