We ran around a good number of places today.
But before that, having had Grabbed in a bunch of groceries the night before (thank God these guys work wee hours) we made a breakfast of eggs and fried toast and coffee in the room.
There were two sticks of Blend and Brew Espresso Roast coffee on the table.
I tried one.
That one mug (which I later chilled in the fridge) lasted me two days.
Breakfast over we went out for a stroll towards the highway side. At that time I didn't know but one side of Sukhumvit 42 leads to the Ekkamai BTS, whilst the other side leads to Rama IV Road. What exactly lies this direction of road, I don't know, but at that hour there were a fair number of office workers making their way along Sukhumvit 42 to their offices and destinations.
Somewhere around here we passed by the local market, which, interestingly was not one of fresh produce nor of meat and vegetables as you would think of a wet market, but more like a place where you could stop to buy a quick meal or essentials before continuing forward.
Divided into two sections where one side was brighter and more modern-looking, the other side was, on the contrary, slightly dimmer, had a lower roof (I didn't stop to see), and offered mostly food.
Actually, come to think of it, both sides offered food.
There was a stall that had breads and soft, bouncy, smooth buns all neatly laid out in rows and you could choose which ones you wanted.
There was a stall that sold fried fritters, and this one I particularly remember because the fritters- all of which looked delicious with their thick batter and deep-fried texture -had been arranged in individual heaps side by side. There were, amongst others, I think, banana, sweet potato, tapioca and vegetables, and the fragrance was tantalizing.
Further on somewhere further in the market there was a noodle stall.
It looked like beef noodles.
And then there was a stall offering small sponge cakes of varying colors, flavors and sizes. There were cakes pre-packed into a bag which you could take and go along. There were cakes pre-cut into oblong shapes that you could either finish all by yourself or take along and share. There were cakes of petite sizes that looked like they had a bit of cream laid between them.
I didn't stop to see what flavors they were.
Maybe I ought to have but I don't speak Thai and I wouldn't know how to answer had the lady approached me.
It weren't just small bites and noodles that this place offered.
There were also drinks- in the form of milk teas- that one of the stalls offered.
On the way back to the hotel we dropped into the TOPS Daily- for no other reason besides the fact that I kind of missed TOPS and live live die die wanted to go into one.
In the early afternoon we had a quick brunch at this cafe in Gateway Mall next to the Ekkamai BTS. There was much to be had on the menu but because we weren't very hungry, and we didn't feel like having sandwiches each, we decided to share a very light bite of a small pizza topped with corn and ham, and an avocado smoothie.
Gateway Mall is an interesting place, by the way.
It's one of those places whose retail is not like Central World or EmSphere or EmQuartier but is a place where you can have a bite, have a quick bite, chill out with family and friends or by yourself, and get a bit of stuff done.
There are no boutiques or beauty stores in this mall.
This is not a place (yet, so to speak) for Eve & Boy.
But there is a well-stocked Japanese cosmetics store, there is a huge stationery store downstairs, HarborLand is upstairs, and in the basement there is AEON's MacValue that offers everything in grocery retail that you need.
The one thing about Gateway Mall that's exceptionally charming is its youth-oriented presence.
At first glance it's not obvious- unlike Siam Square it doesn't scream 'youth' in your face- but there is a school close by, there is a bus station close by, and so it be a place where you can get a snack and a meal without having to go very far.
There is a part too for the expatriate crowd, most of whom stay in the area (I assume).
And this cafe's targeted right for it.
From here we headed to Central Village close to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A bit like the outlet stores over at Mung Thong, those here at Central Village included brands from the high street, including Kenzo, Bath & Body Works, Michael Kors, Aldo, Coach, Ducati, even Guy Laroche, and Ferragamo. Other brands that had stores there included Polo Ralph Lauren, Samsonite, Zegna, and Victoria's Secret.
It was quieter here though.
Much quieter.
Maybe it was too far out.
Or maybe it was a weekday.
It was spacious, though, and made for very comfortable shopping and walking.
There was no need to dodge anybody, and the staff in all the outlets were just as attentive too.
We popped into the Samsonite store a while, as we did the Ducati.
I went to see what could be had at Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret.
And we dropped into Kenzo.
But we were here to get shoes- shoes that we wanted to buy, shoes that we wanted to have- so off to the street style brands we headed to, where after some internal huffling and heffling, I got a pair of Converse.
My friend got two pairs, one of which was from Reebok, a silver, shiny, dressy pair.
When we finished we took a Grab back to Siam Square where we had a foot massage for an hour (yes, I fell asleep) then we headed to NAMA Japanese restaurant at Centara Grand for dinner.
It was something we both wanted to have.
The last time we'd come here I had been too busy eating to take really nice pictures.
This time I was determined to not be the same.
One of the very first dishes to arrive on the table were the oysters.
This is something we always like to order whenever they're on the menu.
Impossible it is to come here and not have these oysters, especially freshly shucked ones like these that are huge, plump, juicy, and most importantly, chilled.
NAMA spares no stinge on the ice.
So good were they that we decided on a second plate, and they arrived somewhere in the middle of the meal.
By that time, however, our table was getting rather full.
There was a plate holding two pieces of gunkan sushi topped with (some sort) of sea urchin and what I think is tiny tuna cubes sashimi style in a jelly-like texture. This is not the kind of sushi that one finds just about anywhere and everywhere. Neither is it the kind of sushi that you can eat one side separately without eating the other.
No, you have to pop the whole piece in as a whole and munch it all up, rice, seaweed, urchin, tuna and all.
After this, there were two other types of sushi that I took pictures of.
One was the tuna, which, if I'm not wrong, we had servings two, because rare is it that one gets to have tuna, and fatty tuna sushi on the same plate at the same time.
Then there was this gunkan-lookalike sushi that really wasn't your typical gunkan at all.
To be really honest I've never quite taken note of what its piled up ingredients are.
So there are two pieces of wagyu beef (or is it just beef), there's more of what I think is urchin, then there's ikura, and then there's what I think is fried beef cubes or something of the sort but it's not very tough and not very oily and overall makes the sushi taste amazingly well.
I guess I'm not the sort to dissect the sushi I'm eating.
And maybe if I were to eat it separately I might pay more attention.
But this sushi is something that I (like the other one) pop into my mouth straight at one go.
So what it has balancing so skillfully on top of the sushi rice, I can't tell you, but I can tell that it's got a burst of savory, vinegary flavors like no other, and a texture that is both soft yet chewy at the same time. I always tend to finish the rice first before finishing up the beef.
That's how long, and thick they are.
After this came another serving of beef, this one that came to your table neatly laid out onto a (real) brown leaf, and which you then had to grill over a portable charcoal stove. I'm not sure if the brown leaf is representative or symbolic, but it creates a feel of the organic, and doubles up as a very useful plate too.
Others might find it unnerving, I suppose, but not South Asians, and certainly not South East Asians, whom most of us, in one way or another, have had food served on leaves in one form or another.
Maybe it might not be this generation, but surely, we're not so far from a time when fragrant fried noodles were scooped up from street-stall woks onto opeh leaves and tied with string. Neither are we far from a time when coconut rice nasi lemak is served on banana leaves, wrapped up in a shape of a pyramid and tied with string.
The salmons came up next.
There were several versions that we had, I think, but these two I remember most.
One was the salmon belly sashimi, which, like the oysters, were served chilly cold and I didn't have to think whether they'd stay fresh or not because they certainly did.
Then there was the fried salmon belly, which, let me tell you, is one of the best foods to be had.
Except that one has to savor it slowly, not rush through each piece, and pick it as carefully as you can so that you don't get overwhelmed by the oil they have to use to get it so perfectly fried.
Up came the special box next.
Which, I tell you, is a dish you must have if ever you come to NAMA.
I don't know if it is a permanent dish on the menu but certainly I hope it is. It is one of the best dishes you can have- one you must surely order- especially if you're the sort who is new to sashimi or not sure which of these raw seafood you like.
Different people have different tastes, mind, and whilst some might be good with everything, others, however, might wonder how an abalone tastes like, how a tuna or a fatty tuna tastes like, and some may wonder whether squid (or is it flounder) appeals to them at all.
I have a love for the salmon, the salmon belly, and the fatty tuna.
I also have a love for the ikura and the urchin.
I, however, find the squid to be a bit of a chew, and a bit tad too slimy for my palate, and although I'm sure there'll be those who like it, there's a bit of effort on my part to chew through the piece, and so I pass it over to my friend anyway.
This evening we decided to order an additional sukiyaki and a shabu shabu.
Some of us will say that they're pretty ordinary dishes, that they're nothing really to shout about, but they're quite a heartwarming addition to the meal, and between the soup of the sukiyaki and the latter, I like the shabu shabu more.
Perhaps the soup of the tonkotsu has always appealed to me.
Or it might have been that this claypot had warm slices of tender beef, tofu and plenty of my favorite lettuce vegetables all soaked soft and mushy in the savory, milky-looking soup.
We ended off our meal this evening with dessert.
There was ice cream- I am sure of it- but there was this matcha cheesecake too.
I wish I could have taken my time with the cheesecake.
But I was getting full, our dining hour was almost reaching the limit of 2 hours, and we had to go.
Definitely we would be back another time, maybe even every time.
This evening, however, it was time to go, so off it was to Big C on the opposite side of Central World where my friend went in, I waited at Moxy Ratchaprasong- complete with paper bags holding our shoes and all- and we Grabbed back to Sukhumvit 42 thereafter.