Saturday brunch at home with BB — phase 2 reopening had been rolling for a few weeks, but the home Saturday brunch had become so locked-in that we weren’t going to break the rotation just because restaurants were open again.

Today’s plate:

Hot rice base
Fried egg (sunny-side)
Stir-fried vegetables
Pan-seared protein
Chilli sauce on the side

The Saturday brunch routine had taken on its own quiet rhythm over the lockdown months. Rice cooker pre-programmed the night before, the rest assembled in 15-20 minutes of active cooking. BB and I traded weekend kitchen duty depending on the week, but the format stayed close to the same.

Hot rice base was the standard fluffy jasmine. Always reliable.

Fried egg was the M-style sunny-side standard. Crispy white edges, runny golden yolk centred on the plate. The yolk over rice gives the meal its small daily upgrade.

Stir-fried vegetables today were cabbage and carrot today with smashed garlic and a splash of soy. Tender-crisp stems, lightly salted.

Pan-seared protein was today a small portion of pan-fried sausage rounds — sliced Bratwurst, hit in its own rendered fat, browned both sides. Crispy casing, juicy inside.

Chilli sauce on the side as always.

We sat at the kitchen table, drank coffee from the V60 dripper, ate slow, talked about whatever wasn’t pandemic news.

Phase 2 had brought back the option of cafe brunches, mall food, weekend dim sum lunches. We tried a few in the early reopening weeks, but the home weekend brunch had quietly out-competed all of them on the comfort, cost and zero-queue front. Some lockdown habits earned their permanence.

Overall: 4.3 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Reliable Saturday brunch — keeping the routine.

Original IG post