Tong Kee Chicken Rice (東記雞飯), Commonwealth Drive Food Centre

I've been eating from this chicken rice stall (Commonwealth Drive Food Centre or is it Tanglin Halt Food Centre?, #01-25) a number of times over the past months this year and it was only not too long back that I realised that they only do roasted chicken. To be more accurate, there wasn't any boiled/steamed chicken to be had. Talk about being oblivious. The initial impression was that it was pretty decent and the portions were generous. It wasn't fancy and didn't have anything in particular that was outstanding but it served well as a generic chicken rice option that wasn't the least shabby. There was also the option of roast pork belly to be had too. If I might add, their sweet sauce which they use for their roast pork and eggs was good. It was all fine here until Sin Kee which had pretty much ruined most of the other options out there for me.

Etna Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, Duxton Road

We came by Etna (49/50 Duxton Road, tel : +65 6220 5513) previously for dessert when we visited Inaho's Kitchen Bar and decided that we would come back for the food another time. The place looked sharp and fuss free - much like the old Al Forno Trattoria or Da Luca with a focus on Sicilian styled cooking and pistachios on the menu.

Their focaccia with sun dried tomatoes were pretty good. The bread was glazed with light layer of oil and was warm and moist. Was definitely better than the dried out husks that are commonly seen elsewhere.

Starter was their frittura mista. The seafood tasted better than it looked. For the prawns, most of the fried ends were so crispy that they could be eaten. Nothing was over fried or excessively greasy. Their accompanying tartar sauce also didn't taste cheap.

Margherite al Pistacchio di Bronte

We ordered their home made ravioli stuffed with four cheeses and walnut stuffings because it sounded interesting with pistachio pesto sauce. For the lack of a better description at this point, it tasted creamy and walnut-ty. I know the latter is not a word but it conveys quite accurately how the taste was. The stuffings in the pasta were pretty robust in flavour. To the point that I didn't quite remember how the sauce tasted like beyond the walnut and a generic creamy salted cheese. Like.

Risotto Siciliano

This was a very nicely timed risotto. I could smell the Parmigiano Reggiano wafting from the rice as they brought it to the table. The flavour was an interesting and also refreshing blend of orange and the cheese which were balanced in a manner that neither overwhelmed the other. The rice was beady, well cooked and coated in the the stock that made the dish. Enjoyed the slices of oranges and the generous amounts of fresh tasting and crunchy prawns. Like.

Dessert was a caramel cream. Disappointing because it was sweet and boring. The drizzles of the chocolate sauce didn't rescue anything at all.

I don't think I'll be deterred by the dessert. I like this place enough to consider coming back again for sure.

A musical interlude

A briyani poori set

It's been a little while since my last Indian meal so again, I've hit the rather convenient Komala's for their oil heavy vegetarian meals. This time round, it was their briyani poori set which consisted of their vegetarian briyani and a couple of the air filled puri. Nothing very unexpected from what I've gotten here, but I wished that they were more generous with their raita which made the rice go down a lot faster. That's not to say that the briyani was no good at all. In fact, the old Gardenia tagline on TV advertisements applied more appropriately to them rather than those generic white loaves.

My papadum was not crispy again today.

Black spicy ramen from Keisuke's Tonkotsu King

I think I prefer the original. This black spicy rendition tasted peppery, but it didn't much enhance the experience or flavours for the broth. This time round, there seemed to be more oil floating at the top too.

L'Occitane Cafe, Peninsula Plaza, Bangkok

We started the first meal of this trip at a cafe and coincidentally ended in a last meal with one as well just before we made our way to the airport. It partially out of convenience and also that I've heard that the beef noodles here were good that we landed up at this place (153 Rachadamri Road, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330) for lunch after dropping our belongings at the concierge.

But I ended up with a braised ox tongue with butter rice.

This was actually not bad. The tender and chewy ox tongue came with a light tomato sauce which tasted slightly beefy. Made a sufficient meal that wasn't too heavy since that butter rice didn't quite taste of butter and light was something I was really looking for before the return flight.