Breakfast this morning was at the in-house restaurant named GINGER.
Located somewhere between the walkway of shops and the reception counter, this restaurant was a big one. Cheery-looking, spacious in a contemporary, welcoming color, there was ample space between us and the next table and even had there been a crowd, I wouldn't have to worry about bumping into another.
But we were early this morning and so found ourselves a nice, quiet table near the corner.
The offerings here at their breakfast buffet were plentiful.
There was, of course, the Continental corner, the American corner, the Asian corner, the fruit corner, the bread corner, the egg station, and the juices and cereals and milks.
But besides the noodles and the pastries and the breads and the cheese, there was also a Middle Eastern corner, and this, I particularly liked.
It's not every place that offers you foods from the region, and not every place that lets you try out what it is they have.
This morning I was a little intrigued by this dish called the Umam Ali.
From the description (either it was written at the Middle Eastern station itself or I'd googled it) Umam Ali was a rice pudding or bread pudding, with pine nuts, condensed milk and raisins.
This one, I think, was a bread pudding.
So I took a bowl.
Together with a raisin pastry, an apple pastry, and a Middle Eastern bread whose name I do not know, but I think had chopped pistachio nuts baked on top.
I loved the Umam Ali.
The bread, soft and slightly mushy, actually had a bit of chew, and even though it had been sweetened by the sweet of the condensed milk, didn't cloy to the tongue as much as I thought it would.
What made the texture of this dish extra special were the pine nuts.
Small as they were, they made a great complement to the pudding-like texture of Umam Ali very well.
One thing that surprised me about this morning meal was that I felt filled but not full.
At another time I might have been feeling stuffed with the breads and the pastries, plus the other plate of omelet, and half-plate portion of stir-fried flat rice noodles done Pad Thai style.
But all this was just enough for me.
It would've been lovely had I been able to go for another portion of the noodles though.
After all it is not every place that has stir-fried flat rice noodles done in bright, cheery orange of the Pad Thai style.
But I guess the omelet- I probably took mushrooms and ham and tomatoes and red peppers and cheese with it- together with the cherry tomatoes made this breakfast meal more than enough.
Some time in the early afternoon we headed out to Central Embassy on the other side of Chidlom BTS station for lunch.
My friend wanted pumpkin soup.
So up it was to Okonomi on the upper floors where this afternoon we decided to keep it simple with a bowl of sweet Japanese pumpkin soup, and, for me, a bowl of Mazemen that's a fantastic mix of cheese and salmon inside.
Don't underestimate this simple-looking bowl of pumpkin soup.
The sweetness is just right, the texture of creaminess is perfect, and the addition of pumpkin seeds make for the perfect crunch to the smooth, creamy soup.
Same is to be said of the Mazemen.
It doesn't look much, but mix mix mix the cheese and the salmon together, and I have a bowl of noodles that are a satisfying blend of smoothness and stickiness when eaten together.
After lunch we headed to Big C where this time I had to get a couple boxes of Thailand's ubiquitous Siang Oil- it looks like a very, very traditional medicated oil, but trust me, this tiny little Siangpure Oil Formula II packs a serious punch with its blend of Peppermint Oil, Clove Oil and Menthol.
I love it for its scent.
I also love it for the relief it brings on warm humid days and stress-filled times.
It was particularly useful during those mask-wearing times.
We got a little bag for Miss Brown at Big C, and then because it was nearing evening cocktail time, headed back to the hotel for the lounge.
This evening's hors d' oeuvres included sushi, and amongst the varieties that could be had at the lounge, I chose salmon sushi and avocado sushi.
Actually they were more like maki rolls, but the slices of avocado above each sushi was generous enough, and together with the carefully rolled rice, they made for an easy snack and great meal. I liked peeling off the avocado to eat them one by one.
Today there was quite a bit of fried stuff at the counter, so I got a couple of triangular-shaped samosas, a couple of fried fritters (they were chicken, I think) and specially marinated fried chicken wings that were extremely tasty but now I unfortunately don't remember what marination they were.
Don't mistake these for what looks like ordinary finger foods but trust me, they had been fried really well, all of them were really crisp and eating them (with my fingers!) was quite a joy.
This evening I also took a couple of little salmon toasts.
Rather, I think they were salmon and cream cheese on tiny little pieces of crunchy baguette. Not very sure whether I liked the base more than the ingredients but definitely I had feels for the salmon and the cheese.
Both, after all, do go very well together.
And then afterwards of course there was fruit and dessert, including what must have been a heap of sweet potato chips, and a slice of blueberry cheesecake of which, for some reason, I don't have a picture.
Later that evening we headed back to Panda for a foot massage, all of which lasted two hours, and right, yes, again, I fell asleep.