Old Face, New Place

I admit I did find it a little surreal when I saw Chef Manav in his new chef outfit at a new restaurant. His departure from his last gig a few months back certainly took many by surprise, but his new restaurant, Leela, on the other side of the harbor, is promising and represents quite a change in culinary direction and style. 

Indian Dinner for Six

While I was kind of proud of myself being able to get a table booked at CHAAT a few months ago, this time I did get some help from Chef Manav for our family dinner for 6 people at the end of April which also doubled as an informal birthday celebration for our nephew N. And we also troubled Chef Manav for a few new dishes apart from what's normally available on their a la carte menu, and gosh, we got much more than what we asked for. 

Getting My Own

“I got the booking on my own!” is probably not something people would brag about but it’s my first time being able to secure a table in this ultra-popular restaurant CHAAT inside Rosewood through their website instead of tagging along someone’s booking or got invited to one of their dinner tastings as I did previously. People who tried to make a reservation there would understand the sense of achievement. 

Eating in Bagan

Food was not the main reason I travelled to Bagan for but turned out I did have a couple lovely meals while I was there. Lunch was not included in my private tour package but the tour guide Mr B recommended this place called Starbeam Bistro to me, saying they served the best bread out of Bagan. Well, for a town traditionally more into rice and noodles than bread, that’s hardly something worth bragging about I thought, but I went along with it.

Thai Cooking Class

Knowing I love cooking at home from time to time, my friend M asked me to tag along to a special cooking class event organized by the local Thai consulate, instructed by Chef Nooror Somany Steppe and her daughter Sandra Steppe from Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant in Bangkok.