Cavalock and The Royal Iced Rice

We had more than a couple pleasant surprises while in Bangkok. One that really blew us away was khao chae or rice soaked in ice water. I had never heard of it until my Thai aunt insisted we try it as it's now the hot season and some restaurants are serving the dish.

According to Wiki, it's a dish introduced sometime back in the 19th century and is considered "Royal Thai cuisine" by some. I'm no expert on it so I'm gonna repeat what's already in the Wiki entry. A firmer variety of rice is used instead of the regular Jasmine rice you find in Thailand. The flower-scented water is carefully prepared before the rice is soaked in it. There's quite a spread of specially prepared side dishes to go with the iced rice. Mango, cucumber, fresh spring onions go into the rice which is what I did or I suppose you can also just have them without tossing them in.

When we had it for the first time for lunch in a little neighbourhood restaurant Klang Soi, it was the tempting side dishes that stole the limelight here. I specially like the little shrimp paste balls very much. The shredded beef floss and Chinese radish or chai poh were also excellent. One of the most memorable overseas meals I ever had. Here's another article about it. So the next big question is, can you find this dish anywhere in Singapore?

Cavalock and The Morning Market Meetup

Way back when I was barely out of my teens, my mom wanted to matchmake me with a Thai girl and knowing my late mom and ...er... family connections, there would most certainly be an emphasis on one who was well endowed with both brains and beauty. Of cos nothing came out of it, but it became kind of a running joke here in our tiny little apartment. Ah, always good for a laugh.

During my recent stay in Bangkok, we dropped by the famous Or Tor Kor Market. Ranked No. 4 among the Top 10 fresh markets in the world by CNN, the market is pretty cool. I know we here have our own neighbourhood wet markets in every other GRC but there is so much more here. Clean, organised, spacious and with an almost never-ending parade of local cooked and fresh food, it's the kinda market I can spend hours at. Another plus point is how few tourists there are around shopping in the market.

A most satisfying crabby lunch at Or Tor Kor Market and once again, our hand-carry luggage home was loaded with fresh Thai mangoes and other tropical fruits.

Finally! Cavalock has come back to Bangkok

Well, I'm back after a short trip to Bangkok which I guess would explain the lack of blog posts. So after more than a decade away, I was finally back in Bangkok but unlike my last trip there this wasn't a working venture but a personal one. I met up with my cousin and his elderly mom. It was quite an emotional visit as she was very close to my late aunt. A former university professor, she lives in an estate or compound right in the middle of busy Sukhumvit. I also found out that a distant uncle was recovering from an illness. Anyway, I shan't bore anyone here with all the family proceedings although recently I do wonder if there are still people reading this site.

Now I also had the pleasure of meeting my cousin's daughter who at 8-years-old is already a gifted violinist, pianist as well as competitive swimmer and tennis player. It was absolutely delightful to have her for company during meal time. One of the places my cousin brought us to was Le Dalat Restaurant, a multi-award winning Vietnamese restaurant. Wonderful ambience with a hint of French colonialism and of course, delicious food.

My favourite was the above skewered beef wrapped in veggie leaves. A little crunchy and filled with beefy goodness that pops in your mouth. The rest of the food we ordered was amazing too. I'm no expert on Vietnamese food but I do know tasty food and all this is mighty tasty!

Cavalock and The Scoop on A Scoop

I suppose you could call this a scoop on a scoop. My friend's third ice-cream parlour should be opening to the public really soon and I dropped by a couple days ago as she and her staff were getting the place ready. It's at Gillman Barracks, next to Masons restaurant.

So I got a sneak peek and was honestly impressed by not just the new shop but also by the lush and green surroundings. Definitely a different and cooler vibe than their other Creamier and Sunday Folks outlets. The place is also a lot quieter and cozier. The empty outdoor space in the above pix will be filled with tables and chairs when it's opened to the public later next week.

As for what's in store inside, I tried their work-in-progress Macadamia Tropicana ice-cream. Its got nuts, coconut and pineapple and I really like it. Other things they got planned besides new ice-cream flavours are new coffee concoctions and maybe a cake or two. Can't wait for the new Creamier to open its doors.

It has been a bit of a reunion week for me. Meeting up with other ex-colleagues from the media and advertising industry. And I dare say that all of us have stepped away from that soul-wrenching industry with absolutely no regrets. A couple of them have met with amazing success in their new careers. Am happy for them. My life as a caregiver doesn't leave me much of a career choice but I have been putting together some short horror stories. Last month I got an email that one of them was accepted for an overseas e-book anthology. Fingers crossed, we''ll see how that goes.