Chinese New Year Day 2 : Lunch@Serai

Today is day 3 of Chinese New Year and I am one day behind in updating my post. By the time I got home yesterday, it was already late (9:30pm is late by my standards). Besides, my tummy was upset and I was feeling all bloated due to the overeating.

For lunch, my brother and I planned to take my parents to Serai. We were there last year and we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch experience. I was not only impressed with the food, but also with the decor and ambiance. It warranted a second visit (a third for my brother).

Desserts counter.

Unfortunately, my dad was unwell, so he stayed home. So, it was just me, my brother and my mum.

The last time we came here, my brother and I had the Middle Eastern Medley.

This was from my first visit. It was awesome!

It was a lamb shank cooked in a tomato based sauce with spices served with rice (pretty much like Nasi Tomato), cucumber raita and a Turkish relish. It was magnificent! My brother recommended this dish because he had it during a company function.

Since it was so so good, we wanted our mum to try it. Even though I would have loved to order this again, I thought I should give the other items on the menu a chance. 

I ordered the Nasi Ulam Ayam Bakar. I am afraid that there was hardly any ulam in the nasi ulam. It was served with a fried chicken leg which was covered with rempah.

There was also a piece of fried tempeh, mango sambal and keropok accompanied by a sambal and a kicap manis dip. The chicken was on the dry side and the rempah was alright. Since there wasn't much ulam in the rice, it was just like ordinary white rice with hardly a hint of the ulam. I wished I had ordered the lamb shank.

My brother had the Nasi Kerabu. The kitchen must have run out of bunga telang hence the rice was pale instead of blue. But it doesn't really matter. Overall the dish looks pretty good doesn't it?

My brother didn't say much about his Nasi Kerabu and I'm guessing that he was underwhelmed too. This probably wasn't the best Nasi Kerabu he has eaten.

My mum of course went with our recommendation and came away very impressed.

The lamb shank was cooked to perfection with meat falling off the bone. Mum said that the rice tasted like good biryani and I could see that she enjoyed her meal very much.

For drinks, my brother ordered his favorite, the Minted Calamansi Soda.

My mum and I, not being fans of sweet drinks, chose mineral water. 

We didn't order desserts since we were quite full. Besides we had to save some space for dinner.

My conclusion after this second visit to Serai is that I will only order the Middle Eastern Medley whenever I return.