今日は、久しぶりにお目にかかるお友達とランチをご一緒しました。IONの火鍋屋さん（Imperial Treasure steamboat)の改装が終わって再オープンしたので。以前八色小籠包があったところに移っていて、間口がとても狭くなっていたのであんなに狭いフロアーなのに見つけられずぐるっと一回りして、インフォメーションで聞きました。かなり目立たない感じでした。

I had lunch with a couple of friends that I hadn’t seen for a while and we went to Imperial Treasure Steamboat in ION, which was being renovated for a while and had recently reopened.  The floor (4F) in ION is quite small and I walked around but wasn’t able to find it so I had to ask their information desk.  It has moved to where Paradise Dynasty used to be and the width of the door was quite small, so no wonder I missed it!

撮った写真は、これ１枚。もうちょっと撮ろうよ〜、と自分にツッコミ。話に一生懸命で写真を撮るのを忘れていました。

This is the only photo I took at the restaurant, why didn’t I take more??  I was chatting so much that I completely forgot to take photos.

オーダーしたのは、凍豆腐（一番大きく写っているのがそうです）、普通のお豆腐、野菜とポークのワンタン、ニラの餃子、きくらげ、チキンの薄切り、レタス。タレはたくさんある調味料や薬味を自分で混ぜて作るのですが、わたしはスタッフに作ってもらいました。一度自分で作ったら、しょっぱくておいしくなかったので（笑）。多分、腐乳を入れすぎたのだと思うのですが。スタッフも、同じスタッフに作ってもらっても１回目と２回目と全然違いましたけどね。

We had frozen tofu, silken tofu, vegetable & pork wonton, chive dumpling, black fungus, sliced chicken, lettuce – I think.  I asked one of the staff to make up the sauce for me although you are meant to mix by yourself the seasonings and aromatics that they keep on a tray.  I did make it myself once but I didn’t like it very much, it was too salty to me.  I’m guessing I added too much of the fermented tofu seasoning.  Anyway, I like what the staff make – although it’s different every time, even when you ask the same staff member it was quite different when he made it for the second time today.

メンバーシップがあるそうで、ご一緒した方が持ってらしたので２０％引きになって、１人33ドルほどでした、安い！特別なお魚やシーフードはお高いようですが、わたしはいつもお豆腐や餃子やお野菜がほとんどなので、安上がりです（笑）。さっぱり食べられて満足感もあってお安いので、このお店がとても気に入っています。夫は中華料理のレストランの雰囲気を嫌うので（高級中華の西洋風の内装のところは嫌がらない）夫と行ったことはないのですが、今日のメンバープラスもうお１人共通のお友達とランチの時はほとんどこのお店です。周りにもこのお店のファンは多く、新装オープンを待ちかねていました。

Apparently you can have a membership of the restaurant group and one of my friends today had this, so we had 20% discount, resulting in a bill of only S$33 per person – such great value.  I hear their fish and seafood is expensive but I never have them so wouldn’t know – I tend to have tofu, dumplings and vegetables, which are all very inexpensive.  I like this restaurant because the meal is light but satisfactory and inexpensive.  My husband just doesn’t like any Chinese restaurant (except those expensive and western looking ones) so I had never been there with my husband, but we almost always choose this place for lunch when it’s with these 2 friends and with another mutual friend.  Many of my friends like this restaurant and have been waiting for it to re-open.

お１人とは２ヶ月ほど前かな？に久しぶりにランチをご一緒しましたが、もうお１人とは半年ぶりくらいかも？そのお２人は１年ぶりくらいかもとおっしゃっていました。本当に月日が経つのが早いです。先日の我が家の大事件の話など聞いていただいたり、ご家族のお話などお聞きして、２時半ごろに追い出されるような形でお開きになりました。

I think I had lunch with one of them a couple of months ago and with the other friend maybe about 6 months ago but these two friends hadn’t got together themselves in about a year, they think.  Time flies so fast these days (as you get older it flies faster).  We chatted about this and that including a most unpleasant experience I had recently, about their families, trips etc and were sort of kicked out around 2.30pm.

そして、外を見ると大雨。タクシー待ちの列も長く、タクシーを電話でコールしている人もたくさんおられ、これはまた、以前オーチャードに出て何度か経験した、何時間もタクシーが捕まらない悪夢再来かと思いましたが、３度目のトライでゲット出来ました。ランチの帰りにタングリンで夕食のお買い物をする予定だったのですが、タングリンから帰れなくなると困るのでそのまま帰宅しました。なので、今日の夕食は、冷蔵庫のお掃除です。

Then we noticed the rain!  Such heavy rain!  There was a long queue at the taxi rank and many people were calling for a taxi at the door, too.  I had some nightmare experiences in Orchard like this in the past and was once stuck for hours as I wasn’t able to get a taxi.  Fortunately, I only had to try twice today and got one on my third try.  I was planning to go to Tanglin to get some bits and pieces for dinner but I decided to come home directly because I didn’t want to get stuck in Tanglin after shopping – I didn’t want to push my luck!  So, our dinner tonight will be a kitchen sink dinner.