Thursday, May 31, 2018

Hybrid duck mazesoba from Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke

Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke, hybrid duck mazesoba

I remember seeing items from the menu at Ginza Kamo Soba Kyudaime Keisuke that might have been interesting the last time I was here so this kamo mazesoba was one of them. A nice bowl of dry chewy noodles with some tangy orange vinegar on the side that you could add. One even gets a seaweed wrapped molten egg. But I'm still not feeling much of the duck in this joint. Maybe I just need to get their regular bowl. Another time perhaps.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Back at Sri Rajya Lakshmi Narasimhan

Sri Rajya Lakshmi Narasimhan, curd vada

This was yet another unsuccessful attempt to get the Andhra meal at Sri Rajya Lakshmi Narasimhan because there was a 40 minute wait. So I ended up with a curd vada and a green bean uttapam/oothappam.

Let's see...I was getting quite a bit of flavour from the mustard seed and peppercorn from the former. Something that hadn't been so prominent in the previous times I've had curd vada. That wasn't a bad thing though. That green bean uttapam was nice. I couldn't say that I could taste the green bean in the pancake, but it was freshly made and that accounted for why it was tasty too. Especially with the coconut chutney and sambar.

Sri Rajya Lakshmi Narasimhan, green bean uttapam

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The mentaiko cabbage redemption at Keria Japanese Restaurant

Keria Japanese Restaurant, Cuppage Plaza

We didn't plan for this particular trip back to Keria. It was truly happenstance. Apparently, we were remembered for the feedback regarding their mentaiko cabbage the last time (which was but two days back) and we were assured that it was a lapse that occured during their busy hours and that it would not happen today. So we said yes.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, otoshi

Otoshi for the day was.....erm, something made with chopped florets of cauliflower and broccoli with Japanese mayo and mentaiko. Very tasty.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, mentaiko cabbage

So there. Mentaiko cabbage redeemed. I'm glad that there was no change in chef or anything drastic of that sort.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, lamb chops

We also dug the lamb chops from that last visit and since it wasn't permanent on the menu, more was in order. Pun intended. Today's chops were marginally more done than the last time but they were still delicious.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, mentaiko spaghetti

Since mentaiko was in season, I thought why not a mentaiko cream pasta spiked with a little bit of shiso? This was nicely done with just enough cream for a dry cling onto the noodles without being excessively rich. A much better rendition than many out there. 

Keria Japanese Restaurant, beef curry rice

For the eagled eyed, yes, it was mentaiko on the rice with the curry. The remnants from the cabbage that I thought should not have gone to waste.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, shima aji

We got ourselves some shima aji sashimi which came after all the flavourful servings of food. I noticed that their wasabi was a mixture of the freshly grated variety and the paste product. It has a nice sweetness and the fibres from the grated root and the nasal ripping kick from the paste. Kinda nice but also rather overwhelming if it had been used on a light fish.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Popeye's Aloha Rendang Chicken


I had these Aloha rendang chicken twice over the past month. The ones at the bottom were supposed to have extra rendang and pineapple. Didn't look very much different from the ones above without the extra sauce/salsa and both looked not so much like their lying posters.

But I had them twice because I kinda liked the combination of flavours. Even though it was just enough for a couple of bites per piece of the bird. 

It's just too bad that their chicken seemed to be shrinking and the quality didn't feel like those from their yesteryears. The garlic rice was dried out from being heated in the troughs and it would be a great idea to put in more elbow grease on that parts distribution so that a three piece doesn't get two drumsticks unless requested for.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

And it ended with uni don and coffee jelly at Keria Japanese Restaurant

Keria Japanese Restaurant, Cuppage Plaza

Dinner at Keria. Look, a little dish with a sunfish painted on!

Keria Japanese Restaurant, otoshi

The otoshi today was boiled chicken stuffed with leeks in ponzu. I'm not sure if stuffed would be an accurate description since it really looked like a roulade where the meat was rolled up with the leeks. The meat had a nice chicken-y flavour.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, mentaiko cabbage

Tonight's mentaiko cabbage was off. There wasn't any of that smoky aroma that normally came with the dish and it was a little too wet. We left a feedback because we felt that they needed to know.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, white asparagus

Seemed that Keria was also in the white asparagus game. These were served chilled with Japanese mayo.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, hotate sashimi

Followed by some nice scallop-y hotate sashimi.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, lamb chops

We saw that there were lamb chops on the menu. These were pretty damned good. The doneness was about medium well but the meat was tender and juicy even - unadulterated except for a bit of salt and pepper. The leftover juices was a great add on to the salad.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, hon maguro negitoro temaki

Next up were the hon maguro negitoro temaki. Yum!

Keria Japanese Restaurant, uni don

Followed up by uni don. The creamy sea urchins were sweet and delicious.

Keria Japanese Restaurant, coffee jelly

And as promised, it ended with coffee jelly. Another satisfying meal.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

BK beer and burger at Suvarnabhumi Airport

Bangkok, Burger King, double whopper beer

One last meat at the departure before we boarded our flight back. This was yet another BK meal just like the last trip in the airport. This time round, it was a double Whopper with Heine and fries. I just wanted the experience of grabbing a burger with beer in BK. There wasn't anything special about the food. I generally don't drink beers from cans and I'm not even a Heineken person.

By the way, this wasn't cheap at all. The above costed thereabouts of 24 SGD. 

Friday, May 25, 2018

More food from Kub Kao' Kub Pla

Bangkok, Kub Kao' Kub Pla, rice

We came back here because we did enjoy the food from the last time. Not to mention that it was a relatively peaceful and comfortable place to eat.

Bangkok, Kub Kao' Kub Pla, yellow curry crab

We tried the yellow curry with crab meat. I'm going to just describe this as an okay dish. I didn't feel that there was anything particularly impressive about the flavours. But I don't really know much about curried crab and the last time I've had something similar was years ago.

Bangkok, Kub Kao' Kub Pla, crab fritters rolls

Ordered their crab fritters/rolls.

Bangkok, Kub Kao' Kub Pla, crab fritters rolls

These were not bad. The interior was packed with crab meat. I couldn't help but compare them to those crab nuggets from Chandrphen because of the similarity of their skin. Those from Chandrphen by the way, were much better.

Bangkok, Kub Kao' Kub Pla, crab pumpkin eggs

More crab was to be had - this time stir fried with pumpkin and eggs. You can understand how we were crabbed out for this trip. I thought we might have overdone the crab gluttony a little. Anyways, not outstanding because I don't particularly remember the flavour,

Bangkok, Kub Kao' Kub Pla, som tam

What I really enjoyed though was their som tam. This was the regular som tam without the frills which was strangely not on the menu. The lime infused fish sauce concoction was outstandingly refreshing paired with a lot of textural crunch from the vegetables/papaya. Occasional mouthfuls were also infused the aroma from the dried shrimps. I even liked those bitter leaves on the side which I couldn't identify.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Polo Fried Chicken ไก่ทอดเจ๊กี(โปโล), Lumphini, Bangkok

Polo Fried Chicken ไก่ทอดเจ๊กี(โปโล), Lumphini, Bangkok

We've read about this fried chicken shop (137/1-2 Soi Sanam Khli) that was supposed to be pretty popular with the folks here so we made our way down to see what it was about.

Bangkok, Polo Fried Chicken ไก่ทอดเจ๊กี(โปโล), som tam

We ordered some som tam to whet the appetite and also as a palate balancer. If you catch my drift

Bangkok, Polo Fried Chicken ไก่ทอดเจ๊กี(โปโล), fried chicken

I couldn't say that I disliked the fried chicken but it wasn't as spectacular as I was hoping for. Not even close. Certainly not "to die for" as claimed by certain sources. The breast meat was dry and a little tough. While it wasn't so much the case for the dark meat, those were also dryer than I had expecting. 

On the bright side, the flavours of the bird as a whole were quite nice. I liked the skin and those fried garlic bits were deliciously flavoursome. 

Bangkok, Polo Fried Chicken ไก่ทอดเจ๊กี(โปโล), chilli

There were a couple of sauces provided on every table. One of them which looked spicer tasted like it was made with smoked chilli. I thought this made a really good dip for the dry breast meat.

Bangkok, Polo Fried Chicken ไก่ทอดเจ๊กี(โปโล), rice

The sticky rice was something that was recommended. I didn't think much of it and I'm not sure why it's the thing to have with the fried chicken. It was too dry to be enjoyable and not particularly aromatic. I had to eat this with their smoky chilli.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), Ekkamai, Bangkok

Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), Ekkamai, Bangkok

We arrived at Nhong Rim Klong (Ekkamai Soi 21, Khlong Tan Nuea, Kate Wathana, Bangkok, tel : +66 86 044 9478) ten past eleven in the morning and waited a good forty minutes or so across the road before we managed to get our seats.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), menu

While we were waiting, we were given the menu so that they could take our orders ahead.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), cha yen

Once we were seated, it was cha yen with a view while waiting for our orders to be served.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), cha dam yen

Or also a cha dam yen with a view. In retrospect, the cha dam yen was a better drink here.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), rain

Oh yes the view. Strangely tranquil in the pattering rain which brought a reprieve from both the heat and the smell wafting from the canal.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), stir fried crab

We had stir fried crab with Thai chilli. This was pretty good with steamed rice. The portions were generous and the flavour was also much less spicy than I had imagined. I had thought this to be lip burning but it didn't quite get that far with the heat.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), crab eggs cabbage

To crab ourselves out further, more crab meat stir fried with egg and cabbage in fish sauce. Not bad too. It came in much larger portions than we had anticipated.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), stir fried shrimp

Then came the shrimp stir fried with garlic. Deveined shrimps. Simple and delicious.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), rice

Of course, all that food had to go with steamed rice.

Bangkok, Nhong Rim Klong (ร้าน หน่องริมคลอง), kitchen at the drain

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Donuts and espresso at Dunkin' Donuts

Bangkok, Dunkin' Donuts, donuts espresso

I thought this was worth a post because of the amusingly cute little cup that Dunkin' Donuts (this was the branch at MBK if anyone was wondering) served their espresso in. It was a pretty thick bitter brew but I suppose was just the thing after those sugary donuts. I haven't had these things in a while and I actually enjoyed it. Both the coconut coated chocolate glazed and the regular sugar donut. :p

Monday, May 21, 2018

Revisiting Paste at Gaysorn

Bangkok, Paste, Gaysorn

We were here at Paste last year just shortly before the Michelin Guide announced their results for Bangkok and awarded them a star. Nothing much seemed to have changed but we were informed that it would be difficult to get a table by the window without reservations these days.

Bangkok, Paste, bael juice

Same welcome drink of bael juice. 

Bangkok, Paste, smokin heat

This was a tasty cocktail called Smokin' Heat. Clove smoked bourbon with apple juice, lime, elderflower liqueur and chilli. There was something in the flavour that reminded me of nutmeg but with so many ingredients, I couldn't be sure. It was good though.

Bangkok, Paste, amuse bouche

Amuse bouche was smoked mackerel in cashew nut leaf topped with jamon and caviar.

Bangkok, Paste, watermelon ground salmon salad

We liked the watermelon and ground salmon salad from the last time that we ordered it again.

Bangkok, Paste, river prawns

grilled river prawn wrapped with mulberry leaf, northern pepper-berry & topped with seasonal ants eggs - This was awesome. Quite a mix of delicious flavours going on so it's a little difficult to describe. Those ants eggs tasted like Rice Krispies.

Bangkok, Paste, japanese black cod

Japanese black cod poached in duck lard with white turmeric, roasted sesame, Chinese wine and superior stock - Cod was buttery, tender and delicious with what tasted like a tangy dashi based broth that we drained. We certainly couldn't tell that it had been poached in duck lard.

Bangkok, Paste, green curry

green curry of wild mushroom, palm heart, pea eggplant & white turmeric - Pretty good green curry that left me spooning mouth after mouth of it like a soup. We could also taste that it was a lighter rendition than the usual green curry that we have had since it didn't have meat.

Bangkok, Paste, Massaman lamb curry

Massaman lamb curry with young Mhon Thong durian, Thai cardamom and dried coconut apple - Another kickass nutty/sweet/spicy that perfectly paired with steamed rice. The delicious lamb would have been fall of the bone tender if there was any bone in there to fall off.

Bangkok, Paste, coffee

Some coffee - again unsuccessfully deployed to ward off the post lunch coma.

Bangkok, Paste, chocolate

Some petit fours of Valrhona chocolate with Thai rum. I preferred the truffles from the previous time over these.

Bangkok, Paste, Gaysorn