Rice and An Onsen Egg

I eat out a fair bit. I could cook, but often, the man has a different idea of what he wants to eat. Obviously I can't cook to meet all of those cravings. He could cook, but he's not allowed to unless I'm in the mood to clean up. Ha! On some nights, he would want an oyakodon. I wouldn't have enough time to even thaw out a chicken fillet. We'd pop out to a nearby yakitori restaurant. 

Is it me or are you thinking the same — many stalls at hawker centers and bistros, and even some restaurants have swopped out the quality of their rice from decent to something not very good. Different brands of Thai jasmine rice carry different qualities within the brand spectrum, and some straight up sell only the lower quality ones. The prices of rice and inflation within the supply chain decide the type of rice to be used at various eateries. The point-point rice stalls serve up the worst-tasting rice. Ah well. They're carbs. If I'm not burning them off, then I can skip the rice.

F&B is a tough industry to be in. Many F&B owners feel it even more now. By December 2023, we've seen 30+% increase in food prices, electricity and water. When Singapore doesn't produce much food to feed the population, and survives on imports, we're very much affected by the availability of global stocks and price surges. Prices at hawker centers soared to the highest ever. Sure, we can't ever have the prices we used to have when we were young adults, but even us could see the faster rate of increase from 2022 to today. *shudder

All I wanted for dinner tonight was a bowl of properly cooked Japanese white rice, an onsen egg and grilled chicken hearts. And maybe a highball. Decided to order an utterly unnecessary (and unhealthy) bowl of soy braised chicken skin too. I'm not fond of fried food. So these grilled and braised things are ideal for me.

Luckily this restaurant kept its standards. The Japanese rice was still of the same quality as I've tasted over the years. It was satisfying. Tonight, the bonito flakes atop the rice weren't necessary. Next time I should ask for furikake.