Bangkok: Just The Flight

There are more pictures of Cape House Kantary Langsuan today than there are of what I did and what I ate. 

Maybe because there wasn't much that we did. 

What time the Cathay Pacific flight was, I now don't remember, but I know there wasn't much time for us to be wandering about the place. 

There was, however, time for breakfast though, and this morning, instead of the cooked food- which did not have the stir fried flat rice noodles that I liked- I decided to try the pumpkin toast, along with a cup of yogurt, and three hard boiled eggs with Salad Cream. 

The pumpkin toast was a beautiful color, slightly sweet, which I liked, and there was this little bit of crunch in the form of pumpkin seeds on the side. To my surprise the toast went quite well with butter, and although the flavor wasn't distinctive- like it wasn't really, really butter salty- there was a little bit hint of sweet, and salt. 

Interestingly it wasn't crunchy either. 

One would have thought it might be, but no, it wasn't.

The meal over, up I went to the pool where I took a series of pictures. 

A part of me knew that I was going to miss this spot, this place. 

After all, one thing that I've since learnt to do is to appreciate every place, and every moment that I have. 

Perhaps I might not have enjoyed the task that I did at this spot very much.

Perhaps a huge part of me had wished I didn't have to do it. 

But it wasn't the place's s***.

The task, and the place are not intertwined. 

So I took pictures.

Of the swimming pool, of the outdoor lounge area, of the flowers at the corner of the pool, and of the library in the room next to the pool. 

It's a pity that I didn't get to read any of these books during my stay here. 

I would have loved to.

There were crime fiction stories and thriller stories.

There were books with interesting titles. 

There were even books for children. 

But what it is is what it is. 

If one day I do come back here, I'll make sure to borrow a book regardless of whether I have time to read it or not.

Back I went to the room to pack, then we headed downstairs to the lobby where, whilst waiting for the Grab, I went outside to take more pictures- of the hotel's exterior, of the lane next to the lobby, of Lang Suan Road just outside. 

Bangkok: From Phrom Phong to Lift Jam

This was a day that, in hindsight, was far out of the ordinary. 

It was the kind of day that you don't anticipate when you're sitting at the breakfast table. 

It was the kind of day that also, if I may say, brought you surprises here and there along the way. 

Breakfast this morning included my usual choice of hard boiled eggs with Caesar Salad Cream, but joy of joys, in the cooked food section there was Pad See Ew- stir fried flat rice noodles with soy sauce- which is a favorite of mine, and which I can never resist, so I took some. 

Thinking about it now I wish I had helped myself to a full plate. 

Especially since I love how they do their stir-fries! 

But at that time I had thought I might be able to have it more frequent, so didn't think much about taking a larger portion.

Then again, I dont' seem to be able to eat a lot at one go these days.

In the afternoon we had a meeting near Phrom Phong, at this cafe in a little lane behind EmQuartier, so we decided to head there early and try figure out where it was. 

But then in the midst of preparing we thought we might do a spot of lunch first before going for the meeting, so, yes, we ended up at EmQuartier. 

You know, all this while I had thought that the shopping mall only hosted top-tier restaurants and coffee cafes. 

But there was actually a Food Hall, called the Quartier Foodhall, and here we found a stall from Go Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice. 

Needless to say, we were thrilled. 

Ok, I was thrilled. 

Especially since this was a time when I might not be able to go to their main restaurant near Ratchadamri Road.

So this afternoon we ordered the platter that had both the steamed chicken, and the breaded chicken. I'm not sure if we had the roast version, but, yeah, there was that cube of chicken blood, and yeah, I ate up all the rice. 

It would be silly not to. 

When the meeting finished, we hopped over to Ekkamai a bit, then headed to one of my favorite luxury spas in Bangkok for a (birthday) massage. 

It isn't just the plethora of treatments here in Urban Oasis Spa that charms me.

It is also the fact that she's located in what feels like a Thai traditional house only a short distance from Thong Lor. 

Stepping into her premises here at 59 Soi Ekkamai 21 in Watthana is akin to stepping back into a bit of history, a bit of time. From the time where you climb up the steps to the entrance marked by a large heavy wooden door, you're made to feel like you're being welcomed as a guest into someone's home. 

The staff guide you to a sofa where tea and wet towel is served, where you can cool down as you look out the windows to the courtyard garden below, and where you are then shown the menu of treatments that you can choose from. 

This afternoon we chose the King and Queen massage that included hot stone, hot oil, and a pressing of the meridian points. 

It's been a long time since I've done a hot stone and hot oil. 

But it is really effective in making you calm down and relax. 

The hot stones are amazing.

At first I had worried that they might be too hot, but no, they were comfortable, and effective. When placed at specific points on the body, in particular, you could feel the warmth spreading out under your skin like a soft, gentle touch, releasing whatever tension there might have been inside. 

The hot oil, too, even if it took a bit getting used to, again, warmed the skin, and along with it, the nerves that affectated the system total. 

Therapists of Thai massage tend to be very skilled in detecting trouble spots in your body, and this afternoon, there was special emphasis on the hips, the shoulders, and certain chiropractic points on the spine. 

I won't say whether or not my entire body system felt released- I'm not able to tell- but certainly I felt the circulation, the warmth, and the relaxation that comes with having body tissues gently massaged. 

I only wish I had been in a good frame of mind to enjoy the last part, also my favorite part of the massage- the head. 

Head massages are my thing, really, and there has hardly been a time when my scalp is being massaged and I don't fall asleep. 

But there was a bit of a time I had to meet for today, and honestly, in hindsight, I sorely regret it.

Fortunately Oasis Spa is the sort of place that's got enough network, open space, and quiet, for you to make a phone call, and that's what I did before taking their transport car back to Phrom Phong. 

Here we chanced upon a Prime Burger outlet- where exactly in the vicinity I don't remember- but it wasn't very far from the BTS station, I know. 

This evening we ordered a burger with truffle mayo and pineapple, then a side of sweet potato fries. 

Nothing short of satisfying, I tell you.

The beef patty was tender, full of flavor, and had a tad feel of oil, but it wasn't greasy, and even though you felt the oil on your lips, you didn't feel uncomfortable, or that it was too much. 

On the contrary, you felt it slide into your mouth as soon as you took a bite. 

Imagine, meat juices, warm oil and all, bursting away on your tongue as you munch through your part of the burger.

So large and so filling it was that I'm glad my friend and I split the bun. I would not have been able to finish it otherwise. 

From Phrom Phong we took the BTS back to Chidlom.

And here's where the latter part of our adventure started. 

WE GOT TRAPPED IN THE LIFT. 

It was the lift bringing us from the gantry platform down to the road. There were no signs when we first stepped in but suddenly the lift halted, the doors wouldn't open, the emergency alarm started beeping, and I could hear the faint sounds of traffic coming through the gaps of the door. 

Lift alarms have to be one of the most ear-splitting, penetrative sounds I've ever experienced. 

They're not kidding when they say it's shrill enough to hit your inner ear.

They're also not kidding when they say it's aggravating to the one trapped inside. 

Quickly I had my friend and I to slip on our earphones. 

It didn't block out the sound entirely but it did muffle it down to a tolerable level whilst we did the Emergency Call to the station control. 

Their response time was quick, I have to say. 

No sooner had we contacted the station control that an English-speaking person popped over the intercom and asked whether we were okay. I had thought that would be it, but no, from time to time the same person checked in on us, popping up on the intercom asking in English if we were all right. 

What's better, she kept us updated just how long the rescue crew would come. 

At one point she said ten minutes. 

At another point she said they were on the way. 

Which they were, because not too long after we heard voices, clunking, more clunking, and then, after 25 minutes, the lift doors opened... to the sight of four very concerned faces focused on us as we stepped out the door. 

What surprised me wasn't just how effective the four-man rescue crew were.

What surprised me was the look of concern written all over their faces. It wasn't merely on the faces of the staff from the station control, or her manager. It was also there in the lift maintenance guy, and the first-aider who had come along armed with a first-aid box.  

I didn't need any medical care, but the staff took one look at me and had the first-aider pass me a cotton wool with some sort of chemical meant to either calm you or collect you. 

Perhaps I had a look of frenzy about me. 

But, really, it was more of a paisei kind of feel that I was having, like I had troubled them or that I might put them into trouble, something of the sort. 

I'm not sure what the protocols are- like, would they have to report to the higher-ups, would there be an internal inquiry as to why the lift suddenly broke down etc etc- but at least, there was thoroughness in the lift rescue. 

And only made more assuring with the presence of Thai hospitality. 

It would be a very different feeling, I tell you, had the staff at the station gone into a panic, or worse, hysterics just when I was sitting there with the incessant shrill entering my ear.

It would also have been a different feeling had the staff been commandingly curt over the intercom to me. 

But they were reassuring, and if you ask me, what actually helped was the sense of urgency I detected in her voice. 

To someone else it might not be a big deal but Thais generally- on a professional level- tend not to show emotion in their voice. Gentle and patient, yes, not urgent and concerned, no. 

For her to be sounding the way she sounded meant that she, like her colleagues, took this mishap (and the poor hapless tourists stuck in the lift) very seriously. 

I appreciated that. 

Very much. 

It makes for one to know that help is on the way, and that there are people in this world who take enough pride in their job to not look (and be) nonchalant when mishaps happen, and something goes wrong. 

Bangkok: Christmas Tree at Central

The highlight for me today in Bangkok was the sight of this Christmas tree.

At close of day. 

Outside Central World.

My first Christmas tree of the year. 

The morning began with three hard boiled eggs and two slices of French toast. I'm not sure if I had them with butter and jam or just butter. Very likely I had it with just butter alone. 

Then, for some reason- maybe because the surface looked so smooth and bouncy- I caught sight of the muffin, and took one for the plate. But a person cannot have just a single muffin alone, can they, so I helped myself to a few slices of cheese, a cup of yogurt, and a few pieces of fresh, juicy-looking pineapple too. 

Breakfast over I went up to where the pool was for a while before heading back down. 

Something about the view at this pool makes it a serene and charming place. Never mind the fact that Lang Suan is a busy thoroughfare, being here, just a few floors above the ground, makes me feel like I'm far from the traffic and the tar.

Later part of the morning we went out to Siam Square where I got myself some CC cream. 

It's been a long time since I got BB or CC cream, honestly, but because there're times when I don't want to plonk on the foundation, CC cream works, and in any case it was a good price. 

We had lunch at Eggdrop in the Siam Square side where we had two of our favorite sandwiches. It's become a habit of ours to choose the sandwiches we like.

Even if there be quite a bit of variety. 

Mine this afternoon, I chose Avocado, Bacon and Egg. 

My friend chose Scrambled Egg and Bacon. 

The one thing I like about Eggdrop sandwiches is just how shiok they are. Maybe it's a Korean thing. Maybe it's a Thai thing. I don't know. But they're generous with their portions, they're generous with their sauces, and they've got thick slices of bread that in and of themselves they'll make you feel full. 

Along with our sandwiches we had hash browns, a cup of latte, and a cup of matcha latte. 

We did some work at Eggdrop- thankfully they weren't so particular when we were there- then afterwards tried figuring out where else we could go. 

A part of me thought of going to Platinum Mall for more T-shirts, but then I decided otherwise and we headed to Central World instead where for an early dinner we had Tonkotsu and Tempura. 

You know, I've written about Tonkotsu Wako before. 

More than once, in fact. 

But having a meal here at this place on the 6th floor of Central World never fails to make me wish I had the capacity to eat more. 

It's not just the quantity or the quality (as some might say)

It's the size of the tonkotsu. 

It's how well they bread it.

It's how lovely they are with the number of pieces that are served on each plate. 

And better yet- what I love most of all- their rice. 

Never ever have I had rice that's cooked this fluffy and this soft to the degree that I wish I was able to eat more than one bowl. 

This meal fills you up, certainly, but also gives you that kind of warm, hearty satisfaction that may not necessarily be found elsewhere. 

I love their food. 

And even writing about it now I'm finding just how much I miss it and how I wish I could have it today, at this moment, right now. 

Perhaps it might be soon.

Perhaps it might be really soon that I don't need to head over to Centara Grand's lobby after dinner is over and that I may be able to have my own energy and my own time. 

But this evening I had to dash over to Centara Grand. 

I don't know if it is were this evening that had a bit of trouble. 

But neither do I want to reminisce nor think. 

Especially since, thankfully, after the errand, there was still time for a massage at Let's Relax Thai Massage in the shopping mall next door. 

Bangkok: Thong Lor-Phrom Phong

Much of this day felt like a regular, ordinary type of day. 

And yet, it wasn't. 

There's nothing ordinary about waking up and heading down to the cafe for a breakfast that has you reaching for a quarter-plate portion of macaroni salad from the salad bar, and your regular hard boiled eggs that you dip in salad sauce. 

There's also nothing ordinary about helping yourself to two thick slices of French toast (with butter)- because you're here in Thailand, it's the day after your birthday, and you can. 

After Bartel's , I'm no longer surprised by how skilled they are with their Western cuisine. 

And I no longer question whether I should, or should not take a good piece of French toast when they make it this good. 

Some work got done in the morning, and then out it was to Ploenchit Boat Noodles for lunch. 

This afternoon, instead of taking the BTS, I walked there, and guess what, entered the wrong lane, and nearly got lost. 

Don't ask me how. 

It's just one of those things that happens to me and I don't know how. 

I had my regular bowl of Rice Noodles with Beef Slices, and let's just say I felt rather satisfied after that. 

There's something really filling about the noodles here, and I don't know if it is the soup, or something more. 

Doesn't matter how frequent I have it- I don't tire of the soup- and I've never been able to return to other styles of boat noodles back here on the island since the first time I had it there. 

Lunch over we crossed over to Thong Lor to get bags of chocolate chip snacks, then walked all the way to the Emporium- the luxury shopping mall in Khlong Toei close to the Phrom Phong BTS station. 

Here we lingered a little at Starbucks, taking a look at various stuff, then after that headed off for an early dinner. 

Sri Trat Restaurant and Bar has her address at 90 Sukhumvit Alley 33 in the Watthana area. 

How we managed to walk all the way from the Emporium to their place, I don't know, but let's just say that it felt like a very long walk on a straight enough road. 

It wasn't one of those busy, lively roads- I didn't find myself getting distracted by tuk tuks or motorbikes or pedestrians in any way. 

Just that a 15 minute walk felt like a very long one. 

Sri Trat Restaurant and Bar is well known for its showcase of home-cooked dishes from the coastal town of Trat down on the far east close to the Cambodian border. 

Known for their seafood and curries, Eastern food is, in their words, a balance between Central and Southern. The flavors have been described to be between the intense and the mellow, with a rich injection of both the land and the sea. 

I'm not absolutely sure what it is that makes Eastern cuisine the way it is.

I also wish I could share more of what the menu had to offer, but I don't remember exactly what dishes they had, except for maybe one or two. 

Something distinctive about their dishes is the presence of fruit. 

And I don't mean the pineapple. 

It would not be much of a surprise if it were- the pineapple, has, after all, been used in Thai-style fried rice, Chinese-style sweet & sour pork, and in a good number of other dishes. 

But here at Sri Trat, there was the coconut, and the durian. 

I would have loved to try Red Curry with Turmeric and Barracuda Fish, and their Massaman Curry with Durian (because where else can you find a dish that's cooked with durian?) but we decided to have dishes from both the coast and the land. 

So on our table there was a plate of Crab Fried Rice, there was Soft Shell Crab with Fried Onion, there was Green Curry Chicken (old habits die hard), and near the end of our meal we thought the Fried Yam and Homemade Tofu with Tamarind Sauce sounded interesting, so we got that. 

You know, there's something about Eastern cuisine that is, really, distinctive from the cuisine of other regions. 

How to define it I don't really know, but let's just say it leans more towards the savory than the sweet, it has a combination of flavors that are all mushed together, yet distinguishable on their own, but more importantly, they're all unique on their own.

It's like, you won't find the flavors of their food at another place (unless it's also Eastern). 

And even for a regular dish like fried rice, their rice had a texture soft and smooth, almost silky, so much so that it was difficult to not want more. 

Perhaps I've been so accustomed to the dry-style of fried rice that a well-turned home-cooked style dish like this makes me feel extra special. We didn't even need to add the lime.

The Green Curry was, in one word, spicy. 

There're some places whose green curry is very green and very coconut-y and is more sweet than savory.

Theirs was more savory. 

And it was generous.

A part of us wished we could take it away.

A part of us wished we could finish it. 

But there was still the Soft Shell Crab, and there was still the Yam that we had wanted to try.

We loved the soft shell crab. 

It was perfectly fried.

Yes, there was a bit of the oil when you bit into the crab, but it was so crunchy and so crisp that you didn't feel it at all. What's more, it had been so well done that the parts that were meant to be crunchy (like the legs) were crunchy, and the parts meant to be crisp were crisp. The flesh of the crab wasn't dry either, and the whole crab was smothered with lots and lots of fried onions. 

So plentiful were they that we had to scoop the onions out onto our plate like a little heap, and we went back to nibble on those onions even after we'd finished the tofu and the yam.

Will we have the yam again next time?

Maybe.

Maybe not. 

Perhaps next time I come I'll want to try their desserts and the Massaman Curry with Durian. 

But we'll see. 

They're quite structured with their quality and their service, by the way, and whilst it makes for a great place to entertain, one does feel the need to be conversational, homely, comfortable, and quiet. 

This is, after all, a place that makes one feel very much at home, from the decor to the lights to the service and the lamp hanging on the wall down to the random fly that lands in your glass just at the moment when you're about to take a sip. 

They gave me a new bottle. 

We went back to the Lang Suan area after that, and because there was still a bit of time, went for a Thai massage at De Spirit before heading back to sleep.

Bangkok: OKONOMI & Little Farms & Phaya Thai

Breakfast this morning was at the Italian-Thai fusion restaurant downstairs. 

You know, since the night before I had been silently wondering whether breakfast here would be of the conservative, functional type, or the touristy, business-like elaborate type offering what they felt their guests (from various cultures and cuisines) might possibly like. 

As it turned out, the offerings here were a lovely mix of both styles, and by that, I mean that they not only had local offerings that would delight any a local business traveler, there were also Western offerings that would suit the palate of an American or a European.

On one side of the buffet counter there was the egg station. 

Then there were the breads and pastries close by, followed by a whole selection of cooked food right in the center, and at one end, right near the entrance, there were the salads, the yogurts, the juices and the fruits. 

Somewhere in the middle of all these there were probably the cereals and the milks, but I didn't take notice this morning, going light as I had chosen to be. 

It was impossible to resist the croissants- they were so huge- so I got one, with the butter, and then I took two hard boiled eggs along with Caesar salad sauce to dip the eggs in. My friend got a slice of toast, and an omelet. 

Afterwards I headed upstairs to the pool (can't remember which floor) but here at Cape House they've got a rectangular workout pool, and a round jacuzzi type one. 

The view's not so fantastic- surrounding you are other condominiums- but they've placed a lovely coconut palm tree there, there're shrubs of bougainvillea flowers around, and they've got some lovely garden seats. 

Later we headed out for lunch at OKONOMI at Central Embassy. 

Three weeks, and we found we were missing their food quite a bit.

But since we weren't really hungry, we ordered our usual of Salmon Spicy Rice, Salmon and Cheese Mazemen, and a bowl of the sweetish Pumpkin Soup with pumpkin seeds on top. 

Lunch over, my friend brought me to this place called Little Farm over in Onnut. 

Little Farm, together with its sister location a short walk away, is what we would call a pet cafe. It's gotten more popular these days, what with urbanized people like us yearning to be closer to nature and interact with animals without having to travel a long way off to the city's zoo where even the most domesticated of animals are in their cube, in their enclosure, or behind a glass in their pen.

The first thing that greeted us at the lobby/wait area was a hedgehog. 

A big one. 

Whom, by the way, didn't do anything but stay asleep in his little house the entire time.

There was no getting him awake, by the way.

I (kind of) tried. 

But I didn't mind.

I liked watching him sleep. 

Plus he looked so cute. 

I didn't know hedgehogs looked this way when they slept. 

I mean, I've never seen a hedgehog before, much less a sleeping one.

But if I'd thought the sight of this was good enough a surprise, well, guess what, I was in for more. 

See, I had been told that this was a corgi cafe. 

What I hadn't been told, however, was that this place was actually more. 

One of the very first animal friends we saw after entering the playroom was a raccoon at the side of the room right by the window lounging away sleepily on his perch of a shelf. 

He wasn't restless or mischievous or anything of the sort. 

He was just snoozing there, literally ignoring the many hands that stretched out to pat him and only paying attention to the minder when she swung by to (playfully) poke him awake. 

Afterwards we went into another room where there sat another much larger raccoon on some sort of a bench. 

This raccoon seemed to own the place, not just the perch- mind, and to get near him you had to get some sort of tacit agreement from the minder seated nearby. 

She didn't stop you or anything.

She just indicated if it were 'safe' enough to come close or pat his head. 

Perhaps the only animal friend that got really, really close to the raccoon was a red fox who hung about nearby and climbed onto the perch above his head. 

After this large (kind of fat) raccoon, we wandered to where the meerkats were. 

There were two, and I was surprised by just how tame they were. 

Neither of them scrabbled on top of you or clamped at your hair or anything of the sort. 

What they did do, however, was fall in asleep in your arms as you reached out to stroke their fur, and hair. 

I had one fall asleep right in the crook of my arm. 

And there it stayed, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, I don't know. 

I couldn't move.  

I didn't want to move. 

Not when it was such a privilege to have it choose me (of all people) to tuck itself over my forearm and fall asleep with its head snug in the crook of my elbow. 

Motionless I stayed a while, watching it sleep, and just when I was wondering if I'd be spending my entire allocated time of an hour and half here cradling a meerkat, in came the staff (who had snacks inside the pocket of her overalls) and all at once the meerkat woke up, scrambling over to try dig out the snacks from her pocket. 

We went out to the main play area after, and whilst my friend went around the room playing with the other dogs and cats in the room (yes, he went back to tease the raccoon), I settled down on the floor between two corgis who let me stroke their fur and take all manner of photos. 

Words can't describe the quiet delight I felt to finally be able to pat and stroke one of my favorite dog breeds of all time. 

I have liked corgis for a while now, but haven't had much of a chance to get up close, so to be on the floor now, with two right beside me, not minding whether I played with their ears or stroked their loaf-like bodies, it was like a dream come true. 

To be able to watch them quietly as they lay about, to be able to look at their cute little faces staring curiously at me, I don't think I could have asked for a better birthday celebration.

When our hour and half came up, back out to the hedgehog house we went to collect our drinks, and cookies. I got an iced coffee, he got an iced chocolate, and we kept the cookies. 

From here we took a short walk to their sister property called the Little Garden. 

Here, instead of dogs and cats and raccoons and meerkats, there were the larger animal friends. 

Rules here were the same, we got drinks each that were to be collected after, but here, instead of cookies (for the humans) we were given baskets of feed and plants to be given to the animal friends inside. 

It was a very intimate sort of place. 

On one side there was a bit of a pond near which a capybara was taking his afternoon snooze and snuggle. 

What surprised me was just how large these capybaras were. 

And they didn't seem perturbed by the noise these hoomans were making. 

No, the fella just slept. 

No sound, nothing made him awake, and I wasn't sure if it were the right thing to do, but later when he did wake up, it was to the happy sight of a fresh leaf snack dangling in front of his face. 

By then I'd gotten acquainted with a very curious and friendly goat who'd butted his head into our baskets and gave you the most queer looks until you relented and gave him his afternoon snack of dried brown hay. 

Come to think about it, I'm not sure if the goat ate the leaves or the hay. 

Maybe he ate both. 

Or maybe just the hay. 

The staff know better (and they will advise you). 

I spent most of my time watching the goats and the capybara, but at one side of the garden there were ducks waddling about, there was a mousedeer resting languidly in its fenced up pen, and nearer to the cafe there was a huge dormouse. 

The mouse fascinated me. 

I don't think I'd ever seen one this size ever before. 

So intrigued was I by it that I forgot to take a picture. 

I didn't get to take pictures of the ducks too. 

A pity, I should have. 

But I managed to take the picture of the mousedeer (in between pets from the other visitors), and nearer to the cafe, the tortoises. 

So quiet were the tortoises that I didn't even realize they were there. 

By this time I was feeling a little warm, and a little tired from the delight of being so close to animal friends that I would never have previously had that we decided to collect our drinks from the cafe and blow a bit of aircon. 

My friend had iced roselle tea. 

I chose an orange Americano. 

I had thought we'd be heading back. 

But no, there was still a special dinner celebration. 

My friend had booked for us an omakase dinner at a restaurant called Hotaru 119.

I'm not sure if there are other outlets in Bangkok- I think there's another one on Rama 9- but this one here was located in The Seasons Mall in Phaya Thai.

Omakase is Japanese-based, and it is best described as a dining experience where the chef chooses the menu and prepares the meal based on the ingredients available. 

It's the kind of meal that you go not knowing what you'll get, not knowing what you'll eat, not be able to choose what you want to eat, and your entire meal will be in accordance to whatever the chef decides to make for you.

For some people, it's a gamble.

For others, it makes for change and heightens the anticipation. 

I was more for the latter. 

Because even if it be but a little, I did find myself wondering what the first dish would be and how it would be served. 

Not that I came for omakase without expectations. 

There are standards to adhere to, like the element of innovation, the element of surprise, the element of artistic performance. 

But, practically speaking, I was just going to eat whatever the chef introduced me to. 

Here at Hotaru 119 this evening there were three other pairs besides us. 

I'm not sure if all of took the same set- there were four to choose from- a 14 course set, a 15 course set, a 18 course set, and a 20 course set- but from the looks of it, I think all of us got the same. 

Here's the thing.

I can't remember which dish is which dish. 

I can't remember which fish is which fish. 

And I can't remember which ingredient belongs to which dish. 

So I have to refer to a translated post on Lemon8 app that, thankfully, features the 14 course set, and so describes most of the dishes that this evening I'd enjoyed here. 

Starting off the meal we got a small glass of sour and sweet-tasting Aka Shiso Juice that certainly helped to open the palate and whet the appetite. 

I had thought I might be able to sip it slowly through the course of the meal but you weren't supposed to do that, so I drank it all down the same way I saw the others do. 

Following that I'm not sure whether the dish I got was the Ika Hachi Squid, but there was a bit of foamy bubble on top of the dish so I think possibly that bubble might have been the Yuzu Orange Bubble sitting on top of the squid.

After that came a variety of sushi that I know included the Madai- the Japanese red snapper, the Shima Aji and maybe the Aori Ika. 

Honestly I'm not sure which fish is which fish is which fish, but I'm pretty sure there was the red snapper, because I've seen this breed of fish before but have never had it prepared in such a fresh, tender-flesh kind of way before. 

I too don't know what the Aori Ika looks like, but the post on Lemon8 tells me it's got a fresh octopus texture. 

Thing is, I don't know which of these sushi is the octopus. 

I can only imagine it be the first one that's white in color... but then again I can't recall if there were any lemonade on it. 

One dish that I'm very certain I got was the Hamachi, or yellowtail fish, because somewhere during the middle of the dinner, the chef had us all stretch out our hands and on top of each hand he carefully balanced the sushi before spraying some sort of a gold dust over it. 

It felt glamorous. 

Besides the sushi, there was a Chawanmushi Ebi Tempura.

And this was the tastiest chawanmushi which I'd ever tried.

All along I'd thought I had been having good chawanmushi. 

Until this one. 

It wasn't just the flavor of the egg. 

It was the spoonful of soft, bouncy, perfectly-steamed egg that you placed inside your mouth and let its flavors burst out as you rolled it around. 

It was the feel of its cozy warmth slowly going down your throat.

I loved it.

Somewhere after the chawanmushi, we got an Aka Ebi, which is a shrimp puff that had a shrimp head poking out of the puff, but shrimp heads frighten me and this one I dared not eat.

What I did take, instead, was the Honmaguro Don- a dish comprising of (precious) sea urchin and a bit of tuna laid on top of a piece of seaweed and some bits that I thought resembled rice krispies but I think was really fried flour. 

After this, there was a fish bone soup. 

Clear in color yet thick in texture, I loved how tasty and nourishing it was yet so clean and smooth on the tongue. 

The second last dish we had at this omakase was a sando.

To be specific, it was an unagi eel sando that I'm not sure whether I ate the unagi or if I gave it to my friend, but no matter, the eel would have been fresh and thick and tasty, and the bread would have been filled with flavor. 

We ended the dinner with a dessert of Tamago Egg Cake that, for some reason, I didn't manage to get a picture. 

Nonetheless, it was a cake in the shape of a tamago and I honestly thought of it so cool. 

When dinner finished, we hung around the mall a while then took the BTS from Sanam Pao back to Siam Square where we got a Thai massage at one of the outlets here (either Thai Thai or Moon) before heading back to Lang Suan and Chidlom.