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“The way to Mom’s heart is through her stomach!”
The “second Sunday in May” is Mother’s Day in most parts of the world. It is the day when we celebrate the most sacred and honoured role of a Mother. And the word “Mother” in Mother’s Day shall be a “singular possessive, for each family to honour its mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers of the world”, according to Anna Jarvis, an American activist who created the Mother’s Day International Association.
Tao Seafood Asia celebrates with us by introducing Mrs Lee’s Favourite as part of their Mother’s Day menu, starting from May 1st through the 31st 2015. The Men of Tao, Mr Lee Tong Kuon and Mr Adrian Lee have come up with this to honour their wife and mother, respectively, by lovingly presenting her home favourites, in celebration of Mother’s Day.
The Appetisers
The Chilled Drunken Chicken ($10++, for 3-4 pax) is a simple cold dish made with Chinese rice wine-infused tender chicken, flavoured lightly with wolf berries. The aroma of this small dish will definitely start the ball rolling.
The next one is a sight to behold – the Steamed Egg with Coconut Juice with Crab Meat and Salmon Roe ($9.80++ for individual portion). Symbolism is its intention with a meticulously carved fish, surrounded by her fish eggs that are all oriented towards her and looking up to her. The little bowls of fragrant steamed eggs is enhanced by a balance of sweetness from the coconut juice and slightly savoury taste of the crab meat and salmon roe.
The Main Course
Tao’s Pig Trotters with Sea Cucumber ($48++ for 4 pax; 2-day advance order) is Chef Lee’s labour of love. This Hakka dish requires a highly precise amount of heat applied at different stages of the braising of the pig trotters.
Even as a home cooked dish, only those who have stood by their mother in the kitchen for hours, will know that this dish is truly a labour of love. I remember this so well as this is also my favourite dish from my Mother – the lean meat from the trotter, the tenderly chewy sea cucumber and of course, the heavenly gravy of this dish that I often flood my rice bowl with.
Chef Lee’s Homestyle Wok Fried Prawns ($30++, for 4 pax) will thrill you with its inexplicable fragrance, as it is being served. The gravy is expertly fried with the breath of the wok, until their fragrance is fully absorbed.
I am not ashamed to tell you that I have almost, single-handedly, finished this dish! Of course, with Mom around, make sure you present her the largest prawn, in all its ready-peeled glory!
The last main course, the Claypot Braised Chicken and Abalone with Rice Wine ($48++, for 4 pax), is an opulent show of love. The tenderly braised chicken and abalone fills the air with the fragrance of Chinese rice wine. The gravy is also a must-taste element of this dish – and this was found seeping into my second helping of rice.
The Dessert
The dessert from Mrs Lee’s Favourite – the Yam Sago Dessert marks the denouement of Tao’s Mother’s Day dining experience. It is adequately sweet, textured with bite-sized yam pieces and sago.
Honour and celebrate the magnanimity of your beloved Mother by taking her to Tao Seafood Asia. For those who have dined in Tao before, you will be assured that the quality of their offerings to be top-notch. In the evenings, parking spaces are easily found and you will not have to jostle with the hustle and bustle of the dinner crowd elsewhere.
Expected damage: $50 – $70 per pax
Tao Seafood Asia – Asia Square Tower 2, #02-10, Singapore 018961 | Tel: 6844 9969
Opening hours: Daily 11.30 am to 2.30 pm, and 6 pm to 10 pm; last order by 9.30 pm.
