The day began better today.
Nervous wreck that I was, I can't say that it began as well as I had hoped it would- we were still affected by the events of last night- but Rebtel worked- thank God- and getting through to that landline without drop made for a relief.
Just to be safe, however, I downloaded Cloudtalk and Cloudtalk 360, which, thankfully, had verified company details in less than two hours the night before and so I could get onto their demo package right away.
It was necessary to apply for a Starter package though, and whilst I wish I didn't have to- it was a little troublesome- that's how things work, and that's how things had to be. Perhaps we had complicated things a little by adding on what we thought was a local SG number, only to find out that after application, one still needed to submit this and submit that to some authorities and wait for it to be approved.
Still, it worked, and I was glad.
This morning we ordered in a Grilled Tuna Melt sandwich for breakfast.
From Bartels.
Their standards have never failed to impress me.
What's strange, however, is that whilst on many an other morning, this sandwich made for a most comforting meal, today felt a tiny bit different.
Maybe because we were still sleepy.
Maybe because we were still affected by the s***a** of a responsibility that I still had to do and the consequences of it all.
But coffee, and a huge dollop of tuna mousse with green pesto, slices of mild cheddar, Parmesan and mayonnaise on crusty warm bread made things feel better.
Breakfast over we headed out for a Thai massage at Chao 9 down the road.
Strange it is a little that it's taken us all this time to come, especially since this is one place with a most charming garden that's got a beautifully landscaped stone pathway, a small fountain pond at the side, and trees with overhanging vines, flower pots on the walls, and leaves.
An hour later, we headed down the road to Lemon Farm where today we bought a loaf of bread, a box of organic eggs, bags of our favorite organic tea, little packets of green curry paste, and a bag of organic green tea that got my friend charmed.
And because we hadn't had time to go TOPS or 7-11, we decided we'd get small packets of pistachio milk to blend with the frozen strawberries that my friend had Grabbed in the night before.
Morning we got some work done, then later in the afternoon we headed out towards Siam station, to Siam Square, where we stopped at Thai Thai (another one of our favorite places) for a 5-in-1.
I can't remember whether I fell asleep.
Most likely I did- if not the entire time, then at least a while.
5-in-1 massages tend to make me do that.
I think it's the way the nerves on the soles of my feet get relaxed first, after which the heels and ankles get a good rub down, releasing whatever tension there is on the nerves and blood vessels there, then the calves and the knees.
If there's one thing I love about the Thais and their massages, it is that they aren't formulaic.
They are genuine therapists, and they have pride in what they do.
Never has it been that one session is the same as the other.
There have been times when the therapist places more attention on a particular area on the sole of my foot.
There have been times when the therapist moves her skillful hand along the calf only to come to a particular spot, pause, and then press hard before working the direction down.
Then there have been times when whilst massaging my shoulders or hands they come to a specific spot, pause, and work on that area.
It's never always the same.
What makes it so hospitable is that they're always ready to make sure you're relaxed.
Sometimes they get more cushions, one for the back, one for you to hug.
Other times they notice you trying to fall asleep and offer you a disposable warm eye mask that you can place over your eyes, darken the room, and sleep.
They don't laugh at you if you snore.
They don't laugh at you if you wake up bleary.
But they do tell you to please be quiet if you do a loud video call whilst having the massage.
I've not done that, of course.
But I have snored.
It was nearly five when we finished, so off it was to NAMA at Centara Grand for what has now become our newest favorite Japanese buffet.
It was a huge variety of familiar favorites that we ordered this evening.
We began with a plate of freshly shucked, chilled oysters that, to my surprise, didn't taste briny, with a small plate of what I think is Hana Maki, or salmon sashimi wrapped around sushi rice with a dollop of mayonnaise and ikura on top. Here I think they added a bit of Mentaiko.
Our special boxes- a highlight of NAMA's dinner buffet- arrived on the table soon after.
This is a dish that never ceases to delight.
I don't know if it is the colors, the way they have arranged everything so prettily in the box, or the variety.
For one thing, the variety does not disappoint.
Few are the places where you can enjoy a variety of sashimi as plentiful as this.
The first thing that always attracts me is the presence of fatty tuna, and tuna. They don't have a lot of slices- more like two of each- but that's happy enough for me.
Especially since they have salmon, fatty salmon belly, abalone, sea urchin, and what I think might be either flounder or cuttlefish.
Sometimes the abalone is a little hard to eat- you need a lot of powerful wasabi to ease the taste along- but I always try to take a little bit, if I don't manage to finish it all.
Are there favorites in this special box?
I guess I'm someone who likes her fatty tuna and her fatty salmon and who doesn't mind a bit of adventure eating cuttlefish and sea urchin and abalone with a huge dollop of wasabi.
More seafood followed after that in the form of a plate of marinated salmon, scallops, and something else which I now cannot remember.
My friend took a fancy to the salmon.
I too, but I liked the scallops.
Maybe scallops are my thing.
I don't mind them whether they're prepared raw or grilled or fried or steamed.
There's this very clean taste to them that you don't get with other types of seafood, like prawns, which are best when grilled or marinated but don't taste the same after they've been boiled for soup.
I am not a fan of soup-boiled prawns.
I like them lightly boiled, or steamed, or fried, or marinated or grilled.
That's it.
There were some shrimp here this evening that had been marinated in some sort of soy sauce (I think) where they were savory and full of both taste and chew.
These prawns weren't mushy (like some others are).
Neither were they so small and skinny that you felt like you were eating nothing at all.
Nope, there was a it of springiness to them which made eating them prawns/shrimp a joy.
A couple platters of cooked food came around this time.
There were the grilled scallops in Mentaiko sauce, a favorite of ours that we always order not just for the scallops, which I love, but because we like Mentaiko sauce and love dipping in some of the other foods.
There were the plates of beef that we wanted- one was a (small) piece of wagyu steak (I think), one was a huge slice of grilled beef over sushi rice, and then there was a plate of very well done fried rice with tender wagyu on the side.
My friend liked the fried rice, said there was beef oil and beef jus in it.
We had a bowl of ikura.
And then we had more cooked seafood in the form of a delicious crab broth and grilled mantis prawn.
This crab broth is also one of our favorites.
Not only does it look aesthetic- they have it ladled into the shell of a crab- but the broth itself is thick and rich and comes with little bits of crab inside it.
Then there was the mantis prawn scared me a little but the meat was sweet, boing boing fresh and in a perfect chew.
Deciding that we still had space for a bit more food prior to dessert, we went back to the sashimi-style after, this time, ordering two versions of flounder, and salmon.
Flounder is not a fish I often take- not every menu has it- even if it be one of the most popular fish this side of the world for its clean taste and fatty fish benefits- and so we try to order some whenever chance presents itself.
I don't remember the sauce drizzled on top of the thinly sliced flounder, but I think it was slightly sweet (maybe teriyaki?) and it went so well with the clean-tasting fish that had only a very, very faint hint. Texture wise, it did feel a little slimy though.
By this time we were approaching the two-hour mark so to the dessert counter we went for what is probably my favorite part of the meal.
Sugar.
Offhand now I can't recall whether or not I took any ice cream.
I might have, I might not have.
Thank God then that I have pictures, and so I can be confident that amongst all the varieties of cakes and desserts that they have in their chiller, I got myself a blueberry cheesecake, and a ice-cold daifuku filled solidly with cold fresh cream inside.