scrambledminds.com

Inspiring vision.

Engaging leadership.

Neither of these two things have happened recently with the Yum Cha Challenge.

Dissent in the ranks.

That’s what you get if you don’t keep your team focused.

To stop a coup within the ranks of the Yum Cha Challenge it was necessary to get back out and into the fray that is a weekend Yum Cha Challenge. For better or worse, Zilver was the lucky venue this time around. This place was great, even if we did have to wait for it. You know what they say - Good things come to those who wait. I don’t know who said that but we waited and good things came so they definitely were right! Zilver has has taken the lead in the Yum Cha Challenge with a score of 4.2. For the benefit of all you avid readers of the Yum Cha Challenge (you both know who you are), let me recap the sores to date:

• Marigold Citymark in July 06 - 3.3
• The Regal in July 06 - 3.7
• Kam Fook in Jan 07 - 3.2
• Golden Jade Seafood Restaurant in March 07 - 3.6
• Palace Restaurant in May 07 - 4.1
• East Ocean Restaurant in May 07 - 3.9

The Good

• The great food, including variety. This place is the first one to get a perfect score for Quality.
• The Mango pancakes were the best going around!
• Getting to see a Chinese Dragon dance (I think that’s what it’s called).  This was for Chinese New Year apparently.

The Bad

• The wait - a good 45 minutes to an hour. We managed to head off for some refreshments and came back.  Maybe the Chinese New Year thing would explain the wait for a table!
• The unhappy staff

The Ugly

• The quotes (see below)
• Jason cleaning Neil’s blackberry nipple

Quotes

“The steam stuff is all exceptional quality” - Michelle after gobbling some steamed dumplings.

“I got a look at Ernest Chan and he’s quite a good looking man” - Che after seeing Enest and wishing she was his numero uno.

“My ball is clean” - Neil after realising he just likes saying ball and clean in the same sentence.

“The only reason I’m sticking with 4 on variety is that it took us to the end of the meal to get BBQ pork buns” - Che voicing her discontent with the time taken to getting pork buns and subsequently marking Zilver down in the wrong category (personally I think it should have been a frequency mark down).

“A lot more ‘high end’ items which we appreciated, like duck pancakes and soft shell crab. Very impressive” - Jody getting excited over the snazzy plates, most of which we didn’t order.

I wish I could eat more of it. Maybe some of these recipes will help you satisfy that hunger, scratch that itch. Just ask where the recipe is for Beer Can Chicken.

Jodes and I made a great Prawn and Chorizo Paella (Pa-aya) from The Good Weekend (The Sydney Morning Herald weekend magazine) a few months ago. It tasted so good that I thought that I would throw the recipe away! So after buying the prawn and chorizo and realising that the recipe was not to be found, my obsessive compulsive stupidity was rescued by the wonders of the Interweb. I found this stonking recipe and we relived the dream. We just followed the directions, put twice as many prawns in and skipped the Scallops. What more could you want?

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