Goodbye Luang Prabang

This is the view I've been waking up to all week. It's tranquil and so very beautiful. I've always had a soft spot for Luang Prabang. I fell in love with the little town then and am still in love with it now. Although I can't imagine how I survived those months without much internet access!

Service at the hotel might be a little lacking, but it's very earnest and sincere. We should relax a little and follow their way. I forgave every hiccup, even when they gave me the wrong keys to the 2 locks to my room. Be nice here even when complaining and they'll be more inclined to help. Especially when I need their kindness in dragging a bloody heavy yellow box to and fro the front porch without the aid of any trolleys.

At the end of the week, in spite of bruising the bum on a leap over the balcony, breaking my key in the lock to the door of my room; tripping rather badly over a random square pot which poked a hole in my foot and bled for an hour, I'm still feeling rather chirpy.

I found a very sweet isolated spot in the resort for my morning stretches. The cool and crispy morning air and lower temperatures meant a very conducive environment for longer and deeper stretches. This morning's session was just perfect. It's a Saturday and I've very little on my mind. This feels almost like a vacation. :)

Saturday Jaunt To Town

I really dunno how to appreciate Lao coffee. It's like, kopi-o which I don't fancy. Neither am I interested in the breakfast at the hotel. They don't really do it the way I like it. The hosts are too kind and reduced every meal to Chinese stir-fry style without many spices or chilli. As a result, the body had a terrible craving for chilli and a good cup of cappuccino.

My free morning of the week. There needn't be any work done for the day. Bright and early, I went out to town, climbed 300 steps up to Phousy Hill. Many locals were there too. I hopped into 2 temples just to take a look and see what had changed. Then I got hungry enough to eat brunch.

Off I went to Joma Bakery. It's my default eatery in Vientiane and Hanoi. So I'm thrilled to know it's in Luang Prabang too. The fruit and granola parfait of sorts was just lovely. I wanted just scrambled eggs. But they came with toast and bacon anyway. So I ignored the bacon and ate eggs on toast with butter and jam. I figured that lunch could be skipped. Airplane food would be eeky. So I stuffed a croissant down as well. Heh. I asked for a double-shot cappuccino. Oh man, that first mouthful of caffeine tasted like heaven!

I spent a good hour in solitude at the cafe with a coffee, iPod and a magazine. A perfect Saturday morning. I didn't stir till the driver came to remind me that it was time to go back to the hotel to sort out the check-out and head to the airport.

Huean Luang Prabang

Once the Meetings were done, there was one last Closing Dinner held at the Huean Luang Prabang. The grounds are expansive and the architecture is rather grand. Dining outdoors in the cool evening was such a refreshing change to all the indoor restaurants. The lower temperatures meant that there were almost no mozzies to hassle us.

I was deathly afraid that we would be made to go up and sing, like the last time in Vientiane. At least this time in Luang Prabang, they had a guitar and a keyboard. I could play something, like "My Way" or "Honesty", or that "half and half" 881 song. Heheheh. Luckily they ran out of time and had to scrap that idea. But they didn't let go of the dancing. There was PLENTY of dancing and they made all of us do it.

There were 3 kinds of traditional Lao dances! Of course I haven't done them before. Rather different from the ones I learnt in Vientiane. A variation and new ones. So I had to follow the young dancers whose steps weren't very precise or clear. That is the one annoying thing imbued in my dance education. I've always been told to execute precision, not blurred forms. But I picked out the clearest lines from a slightly older dancer and followed her. Tis was easy! I quite enjoyed it.

Since my colleague gleefully squirmed out of the dancing and cleverly took my camera to snap away, I got these fun shots. She also took a video of me doing this! Arrrrgh! Okay, I don't look too clumsy in these shots. Heh. You will excuse my dowdy clothes- I am on a work trip!

Seeing The Mekong Again

Strangely, I'm not particularly hungry or into the food by now. I've a serious craving for pasta, or sambal something. I've had quite enough of rice and chicken. Seeing both simply turns me off the food and I rather concentrate on the scenery, the conversation, the humans and all other interesting manner of stuff, and try to be very politically correct in viewpoints or opinions voiced aloud.

While the other colleagues can return home earlier or head out for some sightseeing, the boss and I are stuck in meetings all day. The other night, we merrily abandoned him while he continued a lengthy discussion for an inexplicable 3 hours. Poor boss has no stable wifi in his room. I almost considered offering him my room for a few hours just so he can get some proper time online. He's as fidgety as I'm without internet access. Ha.

The meetings are punctuated by picturesque lunch breaks with tables overlooking the Mekong. These are definitely a good break to the monotony of negotiations, discussions and presentations. I was a little self-conscious about taking so many photos. But when the other members in the group were obviously using their cameras more, I also merrily followed suit.

So while my brain cells are dying from being under-utilized here on one level, they're fairly active on another level. Again, I remind Singaporeans to leave your friggin Singapore notions behind. As a group, we adhere to group wisdom, however unwise it might be. Once we can do that and stop comparing, then we can totally enjoy the now and learn the nuances of country-to-country relations that no protocol nor diplomacy classes could ever hope to impart. This is the wonderful facet of my job. This should be the final major work trip I undertake before I leave. There's no reason for me to go on another of these developmental trips again. I will miss this terribly.

I've had the opportunities to learn so many things, and through my interaction with counterparts, while I don't deny our little island's achievements, I try to play down the seeming arrogance. I leave no legacy, nor do I care to do so. But in these few years, I've tried to have show another side of Singaporeans and hope that they won't think too badly of us in general.

Banana Pancakes

The colleague was very enthusiastic about the street food. The weather was kind and cool. It made walking around and staring at hot plates and woks very fun. Many stalls were selling crepes and pancakes. She went off to buy a pancake banana thingy. Well, the sign said 'banana pancakes'. But one can never be sure that what it said would also be similar to our interpretation of it.

We watched the vendor make the 'pancake'. It's really like a roti prata with bananas drizzled with condensed milk and strange tasting honey (more like syrup). She made us try the snack too. As suspicious as we are about the hygiene of street food, we took 2 pieces each. It was so unhealthy I swear! But it was rather tasty.

It was kinda fun to munch something as we strolled along the streets. But naah, it didn't pave the way for more cravings for items from other stalls. We were contented to just stare and look like dumb tourists who didn't know anything. Heh.

Meal Times!

Food on this trip is slightly disappointing. I'm hoping to try more of Lao flavors. But so far, the food is distinctly not cooked in traditional Lao style. The food simply taste like Chinese stir-fry. Very little spices were put in it. I think the hosts are concerned about taste buds and kept the flavors lighter so as to suit everyone.

One evening, they served spaghetti with chicken sauce at the side. It boggled my mind. It was the last thing I expected to see on the dinner table! There's SO MUCH CHICKEN at meal times! It's the holiest of the politically correct meat. Every frigging dish is filled with chicken that would be either sliced, minced or done in a paste! UGH. At least there's one teeny plate of fish at dinner. So very little vegetarian options. :( Luckily the fresh raw vegetables and sticky rice remain a staple at meal times. That's nice. I've had the usual white, the brown and am waiting for the black to make its appearance.

There was wine at dinner tonight. It was a very young, tart and sharp dunno-what kind of wine. There was no obligation to drink it. So I ignored the glass and concentrated on chatting with my hosts and other counterparts.

At The Night Market

The colleagues wanted to go out to the night market at Sisavangvong Road. I was a little hesitant, but I went along anyway. Otherwise, I'd get serious cabin fever.

The stalls spilled out onto the streets. It's amazing how they can just close off the thoroughfare for the night market from 5.30 - 9.30pm. It was the thing to do at night in a sleepy town- buy some scarves, lanterns/lamps, trinkets and knick knacks.

I thought it'd be crazy crowded, but no, it was a surprisingly pleasant walk meandering through the stalls. It was certainly very colorful. I'd would term it bustling due to the sheer number of stalls, but the wares lacked variety. There wasn't a teeming mass of humans elbowing me. It's unlike the ridiculously crowded and hot markets in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. How very pleasant!

The silver jewelry was rather intriguing. But once I realized they were hollow, I wasn't interested in them anymore. I wanted solid silver. There were some very pretty necklaces and accessories made of semi-precious stones in some of the shops at the sides. Pricier, but of slightly better quality. But nope, I didn't fall in love with any.

The colleagues were serious shoppers. They bought so many items and made many stallowners very pleased with their lack of bargaining. Heh. There were 2 items that caught my eye- a traditional village knife and a Y-shaped slingshot. I loved that knife and its weight. It felt very good in my hands. But clearly, taking the knife home on board an aeroplane was out of the question. I considered buying the slingshot. Sadly, it was unbalanced and not very well-made. It wouldn't throw a stone very far. So I left that.

I wouldn't have minded picking out Lao silk tops and all, but this was the wrong area to look for those. There weren't any blouses! Only eeeky tacky tees. I was very happy to come away with a whole bunch of photos and not a single tangible purchase.

We Didn't Eat Like The Locals

There were a number of stalls lining the street peddling rice, noodles and whatnots. I went closer to peek at one. It was like an economical rice stall in Singapore which offered a selection of vegetables, meats and unknown brown thingies in gravy. One could have white rice or boiled white rice.

We passed by stalls which were quite full. The locals weren't exactly sitting down to eat. I suppose the prices at these stalls are not kind to them. But I knew for a fact that the locals were quoted one fair price and tourists were given a higher rate. Still, the stall owners were mainly the locals here, so most of them took packed meals. Looking at the number of non-locals and tourists squatting on tiny stools by the roadside and merrily eating, we were almost tempted to follow suit.

We retreated to some random expat-ish restaurant for an egg phad thai. I was kinda hoping to go to the Indian restaurant which was halal. I flipped through the menu and saw some good vegetarian options. But the colleagues and I guess are kinda strangers to one another, so we're still doing that dance of doing things where we can select fail-safe options. The colleague must had been really tempted by the street food, but seeing that the other two weren't interested, she didn't ask us. Heeeeee. Oh well. The egg phad thai was good, just not spicy enough. Got MSG in there for sure. Baaah.

Down The Mekong

We laughed and laughed, but we had to do it. No better place than in Luang Prabang. We took a cruise down a tiny part of the Mekong just to see the sunset. This portion of the Mekong is largely unspoilt and almost free of garbage afloat.

There were just 3 of us on the beautifully varnished wooden boat. I was thrilled about that. It felt all nice and exclusive. Work was not on the top of our minds. That could be left aside for a bit. We excitedly chatted about Discovery's 'River Monsters' and what might lurk beneath us today.

The weather is pleasant- not humid and not at all scorching. It'll turn cooler next month, but it's alright now. There were only sounds of nature and the engine of the boat on the river. At some points, they turned off the engine and drift gently, just so let us soak in the serenity. Unlike Vietnam's Halong Bay where like ten thousand boats are fighting for space, it was just us and a couple of fishing boats. Halong Bay looks so much better in photos than the actual experience of checking it out. Here in Luang Prabang, it's still so tranquil. Such a rarity to find a quiet spot like this.

We lingered for a good hour or so on the boat. We simply enjoyed absorbing the sights and sounds of the area. Somehow, today's sunset didn't seem mindblowingly magnificent. It was quietly dignified and elegant.

Out In Town Before Sunset!

I had spent a long 2 months in Luang Prabang some time back and well, basically roughed it out. It's a beautiful beautiful place, one of the few unspoilt travel destinations in Southeast Asia. It's such a lovely feeling to be striding along on the uncrowded streets again.

Getting around in English was a little difficult. Not that many speak the language, which isn't a bad thing. It simply means that they don't see that many obnoxious tourists. Heheh. Try speaking in French, you might have better luck. When I was here years ago, I didn't speak Thai fluently. I forgot if the people in Luang Prabang speak it, or use the Hmong dialects. I listened hard, and I realized that while I might not fully comprehend Laotian, they will understand me when I speak Thai. So I gave up speaking English and switched completely to Thai. We had ummm.....'chaperones' of sort who absolutely refused to let us out on our own and then take a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. To put it mildly, they were flabbergasted when we suggested that. I had to talk very fast to convince them to let us out on our own. :p

There's a thoroughfare in Luang Prabang- Sisavangvong Road. Everything is there- the eateries, restaurants, the night market, staircase to the vantage point up on the hill, access to the river, massage places, etc. It's become more bustling through the years. Luckily (for some of us), tourist arrivals haven't increased to an astronomical figure, yet.

We had a bit of time and stole away to town. We strolled by the grounds of the National Museum. Nothing much has changed since the last I visited. But I'd love to stroll through the buildings proper and look at its art collections again, perhaps on Saturday.

The colleagues have some time off to wander around tomorrow and the day after, but I'm kinda stuck in meetings all day. BOO. They're going to the Kuang Si Waterfall. I IS JEALOUS! I would love to tag along.

Hello Luang Prabang

Waking up at 4.30am and then hit Changi Airport by 6am for a flight out is one of the worst possible timings for work trips, next to flying the red-eye or to Africa and the other side of the world. I'm so not a morning person. But I suppose waking up at 6.30am daily in Brunei last week trained the body somewhat.

A double shot of caffeine from Starbucks before I got on the plane didn't help. The moment I slid into the seat, drowsiness overtook. Apparently, there was a toddler who did this high-pitch whine all the way when we landed in Bangkok. Yours truly had ear plugs and completely shut out all sounds and dozed. Hahahah. I slept all the way to Bangkok.

Delays were to be expected. I was muttering under my breath that if the connecting flight was delayed, it better be because they were checking to ensure all luggage had been loaded. The colleagues rolled their eyes at my obsession with the yellow box. Hey, for good reason okay. Those stuff aren't mine!

In spite of the noisy propellers, I conked out all the way from Bangkok to Luang Prabang. And realized I had missed all my meals. Hahaha. Oh well, there's dinner in a bit. Then I want to sleep early tonight. I feel more jetlagged than a London-SIN jaunt! I like this sleepy little town. It doesn't seem to have changed very much. But there're plenty of changes. Major additions, but nothing that has altered the essence of the place. Let's hope I've a chance to explore the surroundings.

This Is My Trolley

One would think that I'm off for a 2-week vacation in Europe and lugging a carton of goodies for the friends and family. No lor. I'm just going to Luang Prabang for meetings. And as far as work trips go, this is the sort where all of us lug like one thousand things in the luggage.

I still love yellow. It's such a happy color. But I'm beginning to dislike this yellow box. It's so cumbersome. It's 18.3kg by the way. I'm not sure exactly what came over the people who packed the gifts for me and think that I'll somehow teleport them over to the destination. Well, I somehow very cleverly teleported the box home. I can lift it quite easily, no issue. Just don't ask me to carry it and walk for like 1km. Anyway, it's all been sorted. Luckily, I won't have to carry the box or my suitcase upon arrival in Luang Prabang.

Such a scary thing to do transit flights. But it's only 1 transit. I must have faith in our national airline and Thailand's. My singular thought when I checked in the box and 1 suitcase- 'never mind if you're late, please arrive at some point in my room'. I think I might have said it out loud, much to the amusement of my colleagues. Contrary to their teasing, the contents in the suitcase and the box are not exactly expendable. :p Technicality, of course.

I'm not too thrilled at the idea of giving away the corporate gifts inside, because it also means that our counterparts will reciprocate. On the way home, I'll still get a yellow box tagging along after me. I hope that the attendees at the meetings won't be carrying this much weight. So please, for the love of sticky rice, don't give me porcelain or glassware as reciprocal items.

Truffles & Pasta At Otto

Between all our busy schedules in and out of Singapore, somehow, truffles have been all but forgotten this year. The moment I got back from Brunei, I developed a serious craving for pasta. It popped into my mind just as I paid for a pretty bottle of Highland Park 25 y.o at DFS. A quick flurry of text messages resulted in familiar humans meeting for a 9pm dinner at Otto Ristorante.

Otto has recently adjusted their menu and included new additions. Old favorites are still there. The usual meats too. The table doesn't like wagyu beef at all because of the fat content; so the piece of meat as steak isn't attractive. The ribeye and tenderloin still take the vote. We're quite happy with the 2 new additions to the choice of fish. Got barramundi.

I couldn't blame the haze for feeling under the weather. I caught the bug in Brunei, no thanks to the stupid hotel room. But the appetite was still raring to go. I was quite hungry and wanted carbs. I skipped the wine though. When a piercing headache throbbed, the last thing I wanted was alcohol. During the descent over Singapore, my ear drums nearly burst and the head felt like exploding. A poor little baby yelled and shrieked all the way till we touched the tarmac. I sympathized with the baby. I wanted to shout and yell too. But I had no viable excuse. The head reeled from the crippling pain of an inexplicable vacuum which sucked the fluids into the nasal passages from the nose to the back of the head. Walking straight into the office from the airport and clearing some work took the mind off the pain. When it finally abated and left a bitter residue at the back of the throat, it was time for dinner.

I wasn't particularly communicative. But hey, these friends are used to my quirks. They weren't too sorry about the pain in my head although they were very very tickled at how out of 22 rooms in BSB, mine was the ONLY room with such nonsense happenings. Anyhow, my singular focus was on the truffles and complementary dishes. I asked for small servings of both egg tagliolini and ravioli. 11 grams of a white Alba truffle. All mine, all mine, all mine.

Strolling Around BSB

It’s absolutely refreshing that there’s a dearth of shopping choices in BSB. It’s awesome man. You don’t even have to think about shopping. The brain cells are freed up to consider other entertainment options. We place so much emphasis on tangible material acquisition which is sometimes unnecessary.

I'm so not used to cars stopping to allow me to illegally cross the road in Asia. The first few times cars stopped, I was pleasantly surprised, after which I decided to be law-abiding and used all the pedestrian crossings. While there're flipsides to an unhurried pace of life, at least in BSB, it seems less stressful in terms of lifestyle and deadlines at work. There's something attractive about the quality of life here.

Of course my perception of the country is largely enhanced by the hospitality shown by my personal friends, away and outside of work. I’m so grateful that the friends have shown me generosity when I tire of dealing with inept hotel staff who said they can't do anything about the icy water from the shower and suggested that I scoop water in a small glass from the sink (which has hot water) to bathe, and also insisted on a ridiculous policy when they disallowed a change of room or an upgrade paid out of my own pocket. Murphy really loves me this way. Luckily my friends love me too. They fed me, provided a warm bed, broadband internet access, comfortable air-conditioning and hot showers. *happy sigh

To me, Brunei has so much to offer. Well, I'm a girl who doesn't have to do National Service and therefore have never stepped foot into the jungles of Temburong. I’m rather disappointed that I’m not able to stay the weekend to explore the nature trails and treks further north/south. I’d love for a chance to dive in Brunei's waters too.

It Is A Shark

(Photo courtesy of AT)

Too bad I didn't have time to explore the wet market with the guys. The wet market was still open at 5pm and would only close about 3 hours later. There were also food stalls selling food. We zipped by it in the van a couple of times but we didn't get down. There was time today and it promised to be a fascinating walk. I was busy clearing emails and sneaking out to the friends' house before meeting up with the rest of the people for dinner. I had to pass.

The guys came back with such colorful photos depicting the vibes and a sense of place. AT passed me the camera to scroll through. He took alot of good shots of the market wares, the people and the raw seafood on sale. He offered his SD card for me to upload any photo desired. So sweet! But it was okay; nice to be able to look through.

I just wanted this one of the baby shark. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I knew it was dead. But it didn't look so dead! So with his permission, I lifted the shot off his camera. It looked like a tiger shark. My heart twitched. :(

Ambuyat

At dinner, I went straight to the counter that carried the plaque 'Ambuyat'. It's a Brunei dish whom many say we have to try it once. Locals eat it mostly at lunch. But at dinner, I guess it can be an appetizer. I hadn't tried it before. So I wanted a taste of it. There was a confusing array of sauces and dips. How to mix all of them up to eat ah? The chef patiently explained the ingredients and showed us how we should eat it.

That starchy gluey thingy is made from adding hot water to the powder of palm sago. One is supposed to mix all the sauces, twirl a small ball of starch and dip it in the sour mix called 'cacah'.

I skipped the shrimps and stuff, but accepted the cencaluk. Then the chef merrily scooped in something suspicious before I could stop him. It was fermented durians. ARRRRRGH. There was mango and lime stuff, cucumbers and all. An oily looking fish soup was drizzled over it as well. The entire dish was rather sour.

Chewing isn't encouraged. But I did it anyway and didn't see why one couldn't chew. Swallowing it whole might actually choke me. It makes for an interesting experience. I ummm.....am not fond of it. It's too starchy. While I don't mind the stink of the fish soup or sauce, I don't like the rest of the taste that defines the sour-ness of the ambuyat, the same way I'm not fond of sour stuff like preserved plums, Thai som tam and salads.

Yummy Thai Food At Bann Nucha

There is only so much of the food at the hotel’s café we can swallow. We walked out for a breath of fresh air and looked for a dinner venue. There are only so many easy-to-get-to places in Gadong. We ended up at The Mall again, and decided to try Thai food at the restaurant which looked rather authentic.

What a surprise to find out that it’s owned by a friendly Thai lady who says her food is good. In the end, we agreed that her kitchen churns out rather delicious homey Thai food. I was secretly overjoyed. It was quite unexpected to have a good Thai meal on this trip.

We didn’t over order at all, but just took a sufficient dose of spices and textures to tantalize our tastebuds. In fact I thought we under ordered! I skipped the rice and had to try the phad thai. That's how I judge the standard of a Thai restaurant. The phad thai has to be of a certain standard. It was good. Not too sweet and just right in terms of saltiness. From the tom yum soup, it was clear that they toned down the spices for the Bruneian palate, but retained the flavors of all the ingredients. Nice. The rest of the food was most satisfying. From the faces of the colleagues chowing down the meal, the food definitely hit a very sweet spot.

I was really full. You know I’m not much of a dessert person. But I couldn’t resist that red ruby. This version contained jackfruit. Awesome. The rest shared tiny bites from a plate of very sweet mango with the traditional sticky rice. What full stomachs. Nonsense. They even had space for some peanut butter and chocolate mini waffle thingy from another stall! Doh.

Bann Nucha
Unit 2.3.1, The Mall, Level 2, Abdul Razak Complex
Gadong BSB, Brunei Darussalam
T: +673 2456122 Mobile: +673 8903437

Kueh

The kuehs served at refreshments are mainly these 3 items. It's either the kitchen only knows how to make these well, or they think the taste of these couple of items will go down most easily with us. There was a day when cute little round begedils were served. I loved those. Yummm.

Very welcome after the overly-sweet desserts in Indonesia, the kueh-kueh in Brunei definitely doesn’t contain as much sugar. Less sugar brought out the flavors or flavorings and made it quite tasty. I've attempted a couple of pieces and didn’t mind them at all. Then there're always the egg sandwiches which are my default food really. Mashed eggs and butter go so well together. One cannot go wrong with an egg sandwich.

If the topics of discussion for the work portions are kinda dry, we look forward to meal breaks where we always hope to see something different from our usual food at home. I understand Indian food in Brunei is good. But our hosts haven't served that at all. Strangely, we've been having rather Chinese zi-char style meals. The best item so far is a fish curry at one lunch. I ate the most portions of rice that day. Rice drizzled with curry is just so tasty! That is the spiciest of many dishes by far.

At The Gallery

A number of colleagues and I signed up for a walk through the Sultan’s Islamic Exhibition Gallery. I stared at a Moroccan Qur'an in total fascination. It’s supposedly 1000 years old. The pages are brittle and torn at the edges. But the black ink used to pen the verses in Naskhi script stayed true and dark.

There were walking sticks displayed in the glass cases. The body, grips and tops are beautifully crafted in all sorts of material. I like the ones made of a single piece of ivory and banded agate. There’s also one made of a single shark bone which looks rather menacing and powerful. A colleague and I oohed and ahhed over all the exquisite craftsmanship till we suddenly realized that we were the last and the group had gone on ahead. Heh.

Other members of the group moved so fast through the portion on prayer beads that I had no time to linger and look at the various stones used for the beads. I saw so many pretty colors! Hmmmmpf. I do not like to rush through galleries. UGH.

Outside, a fossilized tree trunk lies horizontal on display. We were told that it’s been dated as 130 million years old. Some parts literally looked like stone. We were allowed to touch it. Rather fascinating. I enjoyed this brief interlude away from the technical topics of structures and systems.

Excapade Sushi

Okay, I didn’t mind eating out with the colleagues, but to have Japanese food at an eatery that is similar to a fast food outlet is just not something I can stomach. I’m particularly finicky about Japanese food. I said I was picky and didn't want to go for dinner. But they dragged me out anyway. So we went to this Japanese eatery called ‘Excapade’.

It was a little strange that all the grilled food arrived before the platter of sashimi and sushi. It made for rather strange taste. But the grilled stuff wasn’t too salty. Nothing complicated or mind-blowing; simply edible. The 2 dishes of fish were decent.

What horrified me was the platter of sashimi and sushi. It wasn’t about being impressed by such a generous serving for $40. It was how much rice they rolled in with the sushi. It was not unlike the size of an onigiri. I couldn’t do this platter. Just by looking at the slices of fish, I shuddered. I wasn’t at all interested to chow down on any of those. The cut and the quality of the fish just didn’t do it for me. If I can’t do Akashi at home, there is no way I can do Excapade here.

The sashimi of scallops was the surprise of the evening. Again, this portion was large and the pieces of scallops were thick. It was rather fresh. Not as sweet as the usual ones I prefer, but fairly good. The restaurant imports seafood directly under the label SnoFood which has the store right below its restaurant. That definitely helps to lower overheads for its ingredients.

For some reason, the table had only fish and seafood. There wasn't any meat even though the colleagues are omnivores. Nice. I didn't have to do subtle avoiding of dishes. Dinner was filling and not too unsatisfying.

The Economics Of McDonald's

I've not been to Brunei for a long while. It's rather refreshing to be in BSB again. It's a pity I've no time to go trekking or explore the seas- that would have been very enjoyable.

It was quite odd that I had a craving for McDonald's at BSB. I was curious to check out The Big Mac Index on all fronts. Ummm....I profess to reasonably conclude that the economy and culture of the country can be more or less summed up in the 1.5 hours at the only McDonald's in the country.

It was CRAZY man. The 2 levels of the fast food outlet were packed out. People were ordering McD's like there's no tomorrow. There was a giant children's party upstairs which probably had like 100 Happy Meals sent up. The trolley that headed upstairs came in and out of the kitchen 5 times, fully stocked. I stood in a queue that had 8 persons ahead of me for a good 35min. WTF! I was more amazed than miffed at the long waiting time. Granted, I was there at 1pm, smack in the middle of lunch, but still, the degree of slowness in the counter service was incredible, along with the onslaught of orders people made. Each person didn't just buy 1 or 2 meals. They bought 5, 8 and 10 sets! There was a couple of orders for 15 and 20!

I spent most of that 35 minutes observing humans, listening to their conversation topics, preferred language used among family and friends, looking at their accessories, shoes, watches and whatnots. It was most enlightening. In very stark contrast, the adjacent Jollibee outlet was near empty.

When I finally got to the counter to place my order, I saw that the kitchen was churning out food really fast. The bottleneck was at the counter. It wasn't really a matter of insufficient humans. It was just the staggering amount of orders that landed in their hands. Also, the staff painstakingly wrote the orders on paper in longhand, calculated it and then punched it out on the ancient cash register.

Yah, I sound damn suaku. But hey, it's quite mindboggling to equate such a rich nation with a complete dichotomy when it comes to its people and culture; pace of urban development and aspirations of its citizens. Don't ask me to check out the not-the-only Restoran KFC at The Mall next door. I is no like chicken.

Oh, and my upsized meal of fish fillet burger costs $4.45. It costs $6.10 at home. Tasted the same though.

Chinese Tapas

For convenience, The Cathay Restaurant is the default meal venue each time I'm at Cathay to catch a movie. It's been rather crowded the last few times as it gets more popular. The food is pretty decent.

But I'm a tad suspicious of this restaurant now because the (ex) boss mentioned that its yam paste mooncakes which I gave him turned moldy in 3 days upon receipt despite being chilled in the fridge. That was rather annoying. It made that 4 days from purchase at the restaurant. I was too busy to go scold people, and I had no solid proof to make a case. Grrrrr. Remind me to stick to buying mooncakes from hotels, only.

After the movie, we were in the mood for light bites. No alcohol was desired at any other venue. Too much of a good thing over the past few days. So just food it would be. We dropped in for small portions of noodles with scallops, tofu with spinach and pan-fried cod fish.

ROARRRRRRR Raw

[Kome is still Kome. But the original chefs Lawrence and Gary now have shifted to Hinoki, as of February 2011]

It felt like a 'headless chicken' sort of day at the office. By the time I left at 7.45pm, things were more or less done, but it could have been better. I had let alot of things slide and got a little nervous about the upcoming work trip. I didn't like the uncertainty in certain areas. ROARRRRRRR. I wanted comfort food- sashimi and sushi. A cold dinner would be the best.

Luckily I didn't bother making plans for tonight. It would be pretty dumb to do so when there were plenty of loose ends to tie up on a Friday before I zip out of town again. I was tired and a little irritable. Yet I chose to go to Kome for dinner. Well, I was grimy and was in drab clothes, and not bothered to change to go elsewhere. A casual venue fit the mood.

If you're fans of Kome, Chef Lawrence and Chef Gary, head to Kome before the end of November 2010. The restaurant will either close or move to a new location, or something. I didn't bother to listen closely to the details when the Chefs were talking to the customers. I was busy communicating with my food. In short, Kome might not exist in 2 months.

You know there're 3 kinds of wasabi. Kome's wasabi uses a blend with a higher proportion of powder. I dislike that. The powder or whatever comes out of a tube taste really really fake, sharp and spicy. YUCKS. I prefer it grated fresh from the root with that subtle flavor and finish without the sharpness. It's kinda like whisky, ya know. :p In between the pieces of sushi, we also shared a portion cold soba. A couple of mouthfuls were good. There were quail eggs. I asked for 2, then decided that 2 more would be perfect. They were really nice to slurp up.

Bowmore Trilogy Dinner Singapore

This was a social and we knew it. But the Bowmore Trilogy Dinner at Au Jardin Les Amis was not to be missed. It was a good chance to sample the 1964 Black, White and Gold. The dinner menu was the usual, done by Chef Galvin Lim. The table enjoyed the food. However, the dishes featured, although matched the single malts perfectly, weren't items I fancied. I was not really bothered about it though. I could just eat a little. I was mostly there for the whisky!

I understand that proceeds from the Bowmore Trilogy Dinner in New York City's Aureole contributed to National Geographic Mission Programmes. If my schedule had allowed it, I'd have flown into NYC for that. A pity this one in Singapore didn't do anything similar. It's a wasted opportunity, really. There was ALOT of money in the room tonight and I was really tempted to pursue some of my personal causes, but had to bite my tongue. I'll leave that to another occasion. I'm not sure I want the publicity. Heh.

There was champagne earlier that I identified as a Dom Perignon youngish- it was a 2000. It was always nice to begin an event with good champagne. In fact, I wanted to keep the palate clean for the Black, White and Gold. I'm fond of the various Bowmore expressions and am familiar with most bottlings already. There were cigars. But it was too hot and eeky to stand outdoors in the humidity to smoke those. The evening started properly with Alaskan crab with urchin, aquitaine caviar in chilled bonito broth was unusual, but nothing to scream about. It did match the Bowmore 12 y.o fairly well.

Then we moved on to the cod tongue wrapped in iberian ham to sit in an olive oil emulsion to match the Bowmore 15 y.o. I scrapped off the ham and prodded the tongue. Interesting. The main was the roasted US prime short-rib in seasonal vegetables to go with the Bowmore 18 y.o. I jabbed at it and sat that out. They didn't give diners a choice of mains and I forgot to mention it to the organizers about my food preferences. I had quite alot of bread to make up for it though. The roll of butter was quite tasty.

Dessert was a warm chocolate moelleux with goat's milk ice cream and the Bowmore 25 y.o. I loved this pairing. The dessert was not overly sweet and went beautifully with the one of my perennial Bowmore favorites.

Between the appetizers, main and dessert, we sampled a dram each for the Black, White and Gold. Ahhh....the familiar fruitiness and peat. Mango, guava, creamy goodness, tart and lingering aftertaste rolled in one after the other. Beautiful. The Black's sweet flavors are deceptively simple because its afternotes are long and complex. The White's afternotes linger clean and hint at more peat. The Gold, my favorite of all, is as multi-layered as they come in terms of an intriguing nose and swirl. I'm not going to expound on its individual flavors. Google them and you'll get a flood of information. Otherwise, my previous posts here, here and here, contain more information on the respective flavors and character of the Trilogy.

Ever since I was told to block the date for the Bowmore Trilogy Dinner in Singapore, I was fervently hoping it wouldn't clash with any of my work trips. This is one social event that I want to attend. It didn't clash with anything. Yay! I'm a very happy imp. Thanks Joyce and Khoon, it has been a very delightful night.

Tawandang Brewery At Dempsey

Each time I'm at the Tawandang Brewery at Dempsey, I refuse to sit indoors. There is no way in the world I want to subject myself to listening to the band play kitschy songs. But well, that's exactly what the original outlet in Bangkok does, so one can't say it isn't the real thing. Heh. When seated outdoors, I can still hear the music, but the walls and glass windows sort of buffer the sound, making whatever plaintive screeches of lines from "My Heart Will Go On" a little more bearable.

We're not exactly there for the beer. It's a convenient location for us to meet. It's also quite a welcome venue to have a quick fix of Thai food if we don't fancy the sleaze at Orchard Towers. Tawandang has hired some seriously good chefs in the kitchen man. Over the 4 or 5 times we've been there these 2 months, every dish came out tasting authentically Thai.

The friends swear that the pork knuckles are good. Crispy and tasty. Okkkkkaaay. I don't really care. I love that broiled squid in lemongrass and chilli. It's beautifully tender and tasty. I love those spices. At each visit, I'm pleasantly surprised by how good the food is. Perhaps I always lower my expectations when it comes to pub grub in Singapore, hence when I do get decent bites, it's always a surprise.

You know how much I'm averse to Pump Room and its food. In contrast, I strangely like this place quite a bit even though it has none of the 'glitz' of Pump Room. Somehow, it feels real here.

Till I Bug You!

Made it in time to catch the bff for one last meet before she returns to her city of residence. An easy afternoon of beers and conversation. It feels like we can be seated at any cafe or bar anywhere in the world and it doesn't really matter so long we've got each other. Eeeeps. So mushy. But I've missed her quite a bit.

I got nudged to go visit. I haven't visited her at all since she packed her bags and left! My crazy work schedule didn't allow me an extra luxury to head up. We tried to meet in London last December, but the dumb dumb European flights which were anyoldhow cancelled, ensured that we totally missed each other. Boo. But hey, I make it up with the sending of huge 'care' parcels every other month filled with supplies from home. This bff is manja. She likes a certain familiarity in her toiletries and whatnots.

She grumbles that nobody wants to visit her in the previous city of residence, but everyone doesn't mind heading home to this new one. Hahahah. Well, it's more cosmopolitan. One is a government and cultural centre and one is a commercial hub. I'm so done with the former and it'll be a much more pleasant experience to visit the commercial hub! I definitely will do so next year, when I can stay till my visa expires and she tires of my face and voice! Muahahahhaha.

Stocking Up The Wardrobe At Puma

The kind people at Puma Singapore had given us a nice letter to redeem complimentary shoes and clothes. We hopped into a Puma outlet to check them out.

Besides picking out a couple of tees, the man is very pleased with his Puma Clyde sneakers. The colors sorta mesh well together. Quite cool. He's thrown out alot of shoes that are practically torn and falling apart, and is now on a mission to replenish his shoe cabinet.

No shoes caught my eye. I wouldn't have minded the jeans, but the sizing was a bit off. So no go for that. I managed to pick out a classic Puma tee. I like the Puma-Evisu denim skirt. A good fit! At least it's not ultra short. I'd better wear 'em while I still can.

Lest you think this post is an advertorial, I'd better tell you it's not. They didn't 'pay' or 'bribe' me to write this post. My blog is personal and whatever I post, it's because I want to. We've always had labels send us clothes and accessories one way or another or being granted very generous discounts for some stuff just because the items are very compatible with our lifestyle. Not because I blog. I don't see the need to write about those all the time either. I always turn down certain invitations to free hotel stays in other countries and post reviews because that, is clearly a conflict of interest with the integrity of my job. Even if I don't have a job, I won't do it because I don't want to compromise the integrity of this blog. And no, I don't ask for discounts or freebies that way because it'll be so crass and embarrassing.

We didn't expect to see stuff that we wanted at Puma. We're picky people and thought we'd just have a look and let the voucher lapse if there was nothing that caught our interest. Sometimes we pick out things for the friends, but mostly we don't. I view redeeming vouchers as owing a favor somehow. Since I did pick out cool stuff from Puma, I thought it'd be nice to mention them. Thanks, Puma Singapore.

Brunch & Whatnots

Like every other work trip, I relish the efficiency of Changi Airport upon arrival. I've learnt that landing at Terminal 3 also means that my suitcase will arrive even before I finish paying for the bottle of single malt. This round, the colleagues had lifted my suitcase off the carousel even as I paid for the bottle of Laphroaig 18y.o, and I was the second person at the cashier's.

Once home, all I wanted was a night of long deep sleep. Waking to a day where I've no agenda is PERFECT. Well, don't count the pilates session. That's like a given must-do thingy. I've very little time to myself this month, and if I can, being selfish and curling up in bed to do nothing is wonderful. I need re-charge before being assaulted by the madness of the week.

Champagne at lunch is a really really good idea. It doesn't have to be a fantastic bottle. The Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label served at Jiang Nan Chun is a decent sip. To tell the truth, I wasn't very awake and most of the conversation floated over my head. I didn't remember giving many answers or comments to the table. I probably drank more than ate portions of actual food.

For A Coffee

Oh the smell of coffee! Hopped into Wild Honey for a good cup of flat white. The withdrawal symptoms are showing up clearly- it's been a sad 6 days without a strong proper brew.

I don't miss home when I travel. Not a big deal. I don't exactly miss the man either. For the past week in Jakarta trip, I probably spoke to him once over the phone and sent just one text every other day. Heh. It helps to be occupied with work in the day and have friends in most cities to catch up with in the nights. I tend to sleep better because there're less distractions and not so many social obligations to fulfill. But the bloatedness sets in on some work trips because it's alot of eating and drinking.

It's difficult to merge my pilates routine into the day on work trips. No issues when I'm on vacation- that is a must in the itinerary. Or another activity equivalent in terms of burning calories and testing flexibility. Since I dislike gyms unless it's the bright airy sort, often, I'm stuck to stretching in a hotel room without the machines. And I need those machines for maximum effect.

If the heat lets up later, I'll do some jumping. It's bliss to be able to fully stretch out the muscles at a tough session of pilates this morning. I was left drenched in perspiration and slightly breathless. WHEW. I might just have muscle aches tomorrow, and that will feel absolutely fabulous. I think the idea of getting coffee after, is a great motivation!

Goodbye Jakarta

All in all, it’s been a good trip. The week concluded an exciting project that my team has seen through from inception to implementation and almost joyous completion.

When my counterparts asked me about future projects, I crafted the answers carefully because all that matters is the continuity between institution to institution ties, and the trust in our brand name and our quality of work that will remain excellent in spite of the different humans.

Yet, so much of our work and warmth with our counterparts are built upon the interpersonal relationships. Is it not clear then, why we won’t be able to go beyond a certain level in terms of establishing strong linkages. It's more than the language. There're certain actions that can always transcend language barriers. We always underestimate face-to-face contact. I’ll miss this.

With the work wrapped up, it was time to go home. Rain sent us off on the journey to the airport. With the traffic jam, a 40-minute journey turned into a 2-hour crawl on the roads. Not surprisingly. We had allocated 3 hours to get to the airport, so there was no panic, just a quiet acceptance of the wait as part of the travel experience.

As the car passed street vendors huddled under umbrellas and make-shift shelters, we really couldn't complain very much about our situation. At least we were dry and comfortable. The rain meant that they would sell less items and earn little for the day. What is mere annoyance to us will have a greater impact on the street vendors.

There's always a queer mix of wistfulness at the end of each work trip. I'm glad to be heading home, of course. But I'm not desperate to be home. To me, being in Singapore clearing work in the office is the same as working out of anywhere else. But hell, I'm damn happy to not be bound to clearing the work emails at night. Pulling double shifts can be a tad tiring.

Some Luck In The Shopping

We were supposed to get a birthday present for the man’s Dad way earlier than this. But the boutiques in Singapore don’t stock the item. We hopped into a couple of shops and didn’t find it at all. It was clear that we had to pick another present.

So I decided to try searching for it in the malls of Jakarta. I thought I’d have better luck, as exemplified by all other items I had wanted but not stocked in the boutiques at home, and I found them here on the last trip. Shopping with a purpose is much easier as I simply run through the shops very quickly rather than lingering to waste time.

True enough. A jaunt to Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia got me what I wanted, and more! This boutique didn’t just stock the item. They carried the exact specifications we wanted. And they presented a selection of tea and served the chosen earl grey piping hot while I was waiting to sign the bill. Such considerate service. Yay. It’s now a belated present, but well, I’m just happy that we got the birthday boy something he needs than to substitute it for something else, or worse, buy yet another camera or lens to add to his growing collection.

Then there were random other things at the rest of the boutiques that were worth checking out- like a shade of a pouch in a color I haven't seen in Singapore or at DFS. Not for myself! The other stuff are procured for the girlfriends who asked me to take a look!

Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta

Do not even ask how I ended up at Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta. By golly, I haven't stepped into any HRC for eons. Hey, it was just dinner, okay. It's not uncool as a dinner venue....umm...right? A light beer Bintang was my choice of drink for the night. Too much alcohol from the previous nights already. Without good strong shots of caffeine to last me through these few days that began at 7am, I'm only relying on adrenalin from the intense pilates stretches in the mornings to get me through.

Service was so bloody prompt that I was a little bowled over. Drinks appeared within 3 minutes of our order. That huge plate of nachos arrived in 4 minutes; the rest of the food came in 10 minutes. I didn't mean to count, but the speed was amazing.

I loved the nachos. Awesome stuff. Couldn't say the same about the fish and chips. Decent oil and flour used for the deep fryer. But that fish held a strong muddy taste that couldn't be ignored in spite of the thick dabs of mayo and chilli sauce. I dumped the fish, ate the chips and cleaned the plate of nachos.

The house 'DJ' played MTVs on the projector and plasma screens. I forgave the uncool factor of HRC when they put on John Mayer and Kings of Leon. There was Audioslave, The Police, The Killers, and oh dear, they also had Jason Mraz. Eiooowwww. Anyway, the company definitely didn't know rock music and I didn't see it fit to add on to their random comments. I was busy stuffing nachos in my mouth just so I wouldn't be able to make bitchy remarks. It was all I could do not to die laughing from the mere fact that I was sitting in Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta.

The resident band comes on at 10pm. I was a tad curious about it. But after Prost Beer House and Rossi, I decided that it would be better should stay in for the night and watch telly. Shark Week beckoned on Discovery at 9pm. So I scooted back to the room really quickly.

One Final Meal Together In Jakarta

On this final work day of the week, we were hosted to an epic lunch at Grand Duck King. I was damn glad that I didn't eat breakfast beyond fruits and juice. Ditched the coffee at the hotel because it really sucked.

The photos here don't even show half the dishes we had. There were plenty of dishes at lunch. Prawns, soups, dim sum baskets and MORE! Quite standard Hong Kong style Chinese food, but I love the additional spices that mark it uniquely Indonesian. The food is rather good!

The duck and the chicken looked lean and nicely roasted. They were soaked in oil. Looking really tasty. But I gave it a pass and concentrated all my stomach space on the fish, broccoli and cumi!!! I like cumi when it's well done. This one was lightly grilled and still juicy. The sambal that came along with it was da bomb. Washed it all down with 2 thick glasses of jus alpukat. Glorious.

None of us wanted dessert. But of course the colleagues were most interested in the durian goreng. They decided to eat it like a main savory dim sum thingy. Some like it hot and some like it cold. But whichever way, it's quite yummy, they said. I no like durian, so my portions were given to the colleagues who ate up every last bit!