What do you do when you're bored out of your mind and need somewhere to go? Why, find your BFF and have tea together, of course! :P

Picture from Groupon

We had bought the Groupon for a dim sum set meal at Luk Yu Tea House 陸羽茶館 located in Starhill Gallery, so last week we decided to treat ourselves. And also to pretend 'atas' for a couple hours, because, well, it's in Starhill Gallery. ╮(─▽─)╭

Anyway, the time slot we booked was 3pm-5pm, so there were hardly any diners around. The place was cozy enough, but the lighting was rather dim and the air-conditioning could do with dropping a few degrees, lol. (Saving electricity ah?) The decor was very Chinese-Oriental style, with lots of heavy carved wooden chairs and marble-top tables. The bamboo blinds were a nice touch, as it obscured diners from outside view while giving us a glimpse outside. The kitchen island in the middle had an open kitchen concept, which let diners see how their food was prepared.

Where we were seated

Kitchen island in the middle with tables all around

Nice vintage oriental decor inside

Once we were seated, our server asked us if we would like to order tea, as it was not included in the Groupon. I hadn't really noticed that, but since dim sum would be pretty weird without hot Chinese tea, we ordered a pot of Pu Er. Our food arrived in quick succession after the tea. Portions shown in the pictures below are for one person unless stated otherwise. :)

Village-styled fried rice with prawn and diced bean (2 persons)

The fried rice was pretty good, with lots of fresh prawns, carrots, spring onions and egg. Not too soft or oily, although another pinch of salt would have been great.

Wok-fried prawns with salted egg yolks (2 persons)

Look at the succulent prawn and crispy outer layer!

Gosh, this was one sinfully delicious dish! The prawns were big, juicy and succulent, with a crispy outer layer of batter and salted egg yolk. It tasted wonderful eaten together with the fried rice.

Deep-fried yam puffs (front) and salted meat dumpling (behind) - 1 piece per person

I'm not a fan of anything with yam, but this yam puff with chicken and mushroom is seriously one of the best I've ever tasted - and it doesn't even have pork! The salted meat dumpling (ham shui kok) was nothing to shout about though.

Crystal dumpling with seafood and vegetables (top); chicken and prawn siew mai (bottom)

I've always stuck to the principle that if a dim sum place's siew mai (the most basic and popular dish) is horrible, the rest of its dim sum menu is not worth looking at. Thank goodness the siew mai was good, with perfectly seasoned chicken meat and fresh juicy prawns. The crystal dumplings, on the other hand, tasted  like an upgraded version of the regular crystal dumplings with vegetable filling. Not bad, just unexpected.

Dessert of the day - mango sago

After we finished all the savory items, the dessert was served. The dessert of the day was a creamy, flavourful mango sago. The mango puree tasted really fresh, and was not too sweet, much to our delight.

What's an outing with your BFF without some photos, right? （⌒▽⌒）

After that we went walking around H&M and Sg Wang. Etude House was having a Buy 1 Free 1 promo so I got these extra strong nail polish removers to see if they really work at removing glitter nail polish more easily. So far I've tried it on regular nail polish and it's pretty effective. （￣ー￣）

That's about it for today~ My Hada Labo giveaway winner will be announced soon, so stay tuned for the announcement and more product reviews! :D