360: A breakfast on the 55th floor

Under her mother's merciless teasing, Shen Jiayi really wanted to tell her, "The man Shen Jiaxuan is dating now is someone I've had my eye on for a long time."

But she couldn't bring herself to say such words.

She could only watch resentfully as Shen Jiaxuan threw herself into Li Qinghe's arms.

Zhou Qing, standing nearby, was still exclaiming, "Oh my, that looks like such sweet love! Back in the day, your dad and I..."

Shen Jiayi fled in a hurry, "I haven't finished my noodles yet."

...

Li Qinghe parked the car by the roadside and waited for a while, then saw Shen Jiaxuan, dressed in a JK uniform, smiling all the way down the stairs.

Shen Jiaxuan

Perhaps to match the skirt, Shen Jiaxuan didn't wear the traditional Southeast Asia flip-flops, but instead put on a pair of white sneakers.

Although this outfit wasn't as ethereal as yesterday's, it still showcased Shen Jiaxuan's unique purity.

Her thick, long hair looked very healthy at first glance.

"Gege~~"

Seeing Li Qinghe waiting for her downstairs, Shen Jiaxuan flew into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest.

Li Qinghe embraced her soft body fully.

Shen Jiaxuan leaned into Li Qinghe's neck, sniffing around like a little puppy.

"What are you smelling?"

"Gege, you smell so good."

Shen Jiaxuan looked deeply intoxicated in Li Qinghe's embrace.

"Let's go, I'll take you to eat something delicious."

Li Qinghe turned, put Shen Jiaxuan into the car, and drove away from the residential area in a flash.

"Gege, what delicious food are we eating today?"

Shen Jiaxuan sat in the passenger seat, full of curiosity. What delicious food in Singapore had she not eaten before?

She had been to several famous hawker centers and some old shops.

"We're going to try somewhere a bit more upscale."

Today, Li Qinghe was taking Shen Jiaxuan to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel for breakfast.

Although the presidential suites at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel were always fully booked, its restaurants didn't have this problem.

As an iconic building in Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel housed various types of restaurants.

Li Qinghe had booked the Jin Ting Wan Restaurant on the 55th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel today, a renowned Cantonese restaurant in Singapore.

In Singapore, or rather, throughout Southeast Asia, Fujian and Cantonese cuisines were mainstream. This was mainly because the main forces who migrated to Southeast Asia back then came from these two regions.

Parking the car in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel's parking lot, they took the elevator directly to the 55th floor of the building.

What greeted their eyes was an antique-style lobby, with an overall classical design that looked elegant and exquisite.

"Gege, this place looks so fancy."

It was her first time in such a high-end restaurant, and Shen Jiaxuan was clearly a bit unaccustomed. She held Li Qinghe's hand tightly with one hand, following him like a well-behaved young wife.

"Jiaxuan, don't put a halo filter on this place. Just treat it as a place to eat, no different from a hawker center."

Li Qinghe gently demystified the place for Shen Jiaxuan.

After giving the reservation phone number at the front desk, a waiter led Li Qinghe and Shen Jiaxuan into the restaurant, introducing it as they walked:

"Our Jin Ting Wan Restaurant's decor is primarily in the Song Dynasty architectural style, using deep blue and gilded tones, and adorned with exquisite dragonfly motifs..."

Jin Ting Wan Restaurant

Led by the waiter, Li Qinghe and Shen Jiaxuan entered their reserved private room.

It was very interesting that the private rooms here were not named like 'this hall' or 'that pavilion' as in other Dragon Kingdom restaurants.

The private rooms here were called "Exclusive Chef's Table."

On the 55th floor of the high-rise, golden sunlight streamed through the wide floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a golden edge on all the tableware in the private room.

It was breakfast time, and the Chef's Table only offered Cantonese dim sum. Lunch would not be served until 11:30 AM.

Because Li Qinghe had mentioned yesterday that he would take Shen Jiaxuan to eat bird's nest, he had already ordered the signature tonic here last night—Stewed Bird's Nest with Hand-Shredded Crab Meat and Chicken Puree.

For other dim sum, they chose seafood soup dumplings, bamboo shoot and fresh shrimp dumplings, conpoy siu mai, abalone pastries, red rice rolls, steamed phoenix claws with fermented bean paste, Alaskan crab meat spring rolls, and a whole host of other authentic Cantonese dim sum.

The dim sum here averaged 12 singapore dollars per serving, with the more expensive seafood soup dumplings at 36 singapore dollars per serving, and the most expensive Stewed Bird's Nest with Hand-Shredded Crab Meat and Chicken Puree at 88 singapore dollars per bowl.

Compared to the dining environment here, although it was expensive, it wasn't outrageously so.

As soon as Li Qinghe and Shen Jiaxuan were seated, the waiter quickly brought out the prepared dim sum one by one.

The entire table was soon filled with a dazzling array of dim sum.

As a Taipei native, Shen Jiaxuan had seen some of these dim sum varieties in hawker centers after coming to Singapore, but she had never seen such a complete selection.

Girls are natural foodies, and Shen Jiaxuan was no exception.

Looking at the plates and baskets of exquisite, small, and appetizing dim sum before her.

Something shiny started to appear at the corners of Shen Jiaxuan's mouth.

"Jiaxuan~"

"Ah? *Slurp*~"

"Oh, Gege, how embarrassing."

"What are you afraid of? There are no outsiders, just eat freely. But first, finish the bird's nest in front of you."

Li Qinghe pushed a bowl of crystal-clear bird's nest closer to Shen Jiaxuan.

"Gege, this bird's nest looks so delicious, ha."

Stewed Bird's Nest with Hand-Shredded Crab Meat and Chicken Puree

"You eat the bird's nest first. For the other dim sum, just pick what you like."

Li Qinghe was always very patient with an eighteen-year-old girl.

Although Shen Jiaxuan had received several years of Western education, her sweet Taipei accent hadn't changed much, and she still spoke Mandarin with a distinct charm.

Li Qinghe quite liked girls who looked very pure overall. Although he occasionally went on a wild spree, for the most part, his palate was quite clean.

Since he had the means, of course, he wanted to arrange something good for himself.

Encouraged by Li Qinghe, Shen Jiaxuan embarked on her dim sum journey.

She scooped a spoonful of bird's nest into her mouth, and her already cheerful little face crinkled into a smile.

"Gege, it's so delicious."

"If you like it, you can order more."

Li Qinghe, smiling beside her, also finished his bird's nest in a few bites. The bird's nest made by a top chef was indeed worthy of its reputation, with a smooth texture that melted in the mouth.

Seeing that Li Qinghe had finished his bird's nest, Shen Jiaxuan also quickly ate hers.

Although the bird's nest was delicious, she was more eager to taste the various dim sum here.

Different dim sum brought different taste sensations.

Li Qinghe leisurely picked up the Dahongpao tea poured by the waiter and took a sip.

Cantonese morning tea, besides dim sum, is also about tea, which is a very important pairing.

Generally speaking, Pu'er, black tea, Tieguanyin, and chrysanthemum tea are the most common varieties.

Because dim sum like shrimp dumplings, steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce, and glutinous rice chicken can be relatively greasy, pairing them with tea can effectively cut through the richness, neutralize various flavors, and refresh the palate.