Bangkok Airways – Asia’s Boutique Airlines

Posted on October 19, 2011 by P

My first attempt on Bangkok Airways was such a pleasant one I HAVE to blog about it.

The bangkok-based carrier is a regional airline (not a budget carrier) with Ko Samui as its focal destination – It offers flights between Samui and Singapore as well as Hongkong, among others.

The main difference between Bangkok Airways and other airlines is its focus on delighting the customer:

1)  Check-in – very swift with no queue at all
2) Lounge access –  for both economy and business class passengers (albeit, a different lounge for each)
3) Boarding – although boarding was done on a no-row-call/free for all sequence, all passengers were nicely seated within minutes!
4) Onboard Meal – everyone was served a snack, dessert and beverages on a tray – this was despite the fact that the flight from Bangkok to Samui is barely one hour long!

Bangkok Airways Economy Class Lounge


Bangkok Airways Business Class Lounge – also accessible to all American Express Gold/Platinum Card Holders!



Interior of the business class lounge – very cosy, mediterranean-themed and equipped with hot food and internet (no shower or toilets in the lounge)

Our entire experience with Bangkok Airways was very delightful – journey was smooth and we were pampered with high level of service (and attention to details) from beginning till end. Will definitely fly Bangkok Airways again when there is a chance!

We were greeted by beautiful coast of Samui as we land


Our joy was prolonged upon landing – Samui airport to be such a charming airport it swept us off our feet! The entire airport is resort-style – complete with palm trees and tropical decor.

What a wonderful start to my Ko Samui experience 🙂

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[Cebu] Cnt Lechon – I Found It

Posted on October 12, 2011 by K

I have been to The Philippines several times but sad to say, my tastebuds do not agree with the food there. I’m actually happy to eat Jollibee (A local fastfood chain) whenever I visit the country – Perhaps I’m not trying the right food.

We were very fortunate to have 3 Pinoys bringing us to the best local places in town this time! I’m hoping to find something to change my conclusion on Filipino food.

We were told that Cnt Lechon serves one of the best Lechon (roasted suckling pig) in Cebu. The Lechon was sold out when we reached – a true testament of how good the business was. We had to wait for the next batch to arrive in 20 minutes.  To avoid further disappointment, we immediately pre-ordered 2kg of Lechon – 1kg for 6 of us to eat there and another kg to be brought back to Singapore.

If you can overcome the murder scene alike random chopping of the roasted pig- you WILL be rewarded with a very good meal.

The crisp skin cracked in the mouth like a biscuit and the flesh was insanely soft and tender.  Eat it together with the sticky rice and a dab of the accompanying sauce (a mixture of vinegar/soy sauce/chili padi) – you will soon feel the Filipino pride!

Yes! I finally found IT – something i will make an effort to return for in The Philippines.

Cnt Lechon
Add: Ayala Center Cebu, Glorietta 4 Cebu City. 4th Level inside Food Choices

Posted in Cebu - Philippines, Filipino, Food Court, Take-Away | 2 Comments

[Ko Samui] Zazen – A Beauty

Posted on October 7, 2011 by P

Greetings from Thailand!
To celebrate my new-found freedom, I am on a week-long trip in Thailand immersing myself in the land of smiles (not water, hopefully).

Part of this trip includes my virgin visit to Ko Samui – a welcomed change from my first love…Phuket. Like how the reviews say it – Ko Samui is indeed a lovely beach destination and not in any way inferior to Phuket. Last evening, I left Ko Samui with fond memories of the beautiful sea, Six Senses and Samui’s fast evolving culinary scene. Definitely worth a few blog postings but for now, I shall start with a nice restaurant we visited on Day 1 – Zazen.

Zazen Restaurant is a beachfront establishment located along Bhoput Beach, within Zazen Boutique Beach & Spa Resort. It was voted Best Restaurant in Samui for the past 4 years by Asia Tatler.


Although the restaurant features International and Thai cuisine, its decor is skewed towards the mediterranean theme.

[Amuse Bouche] THAI PASTA (ravioli) with spicy chicken, shrimps and peanut filling – Very similar to our “soon kueh” with the kind of “hei bi hiam” filling we find in our nonya kuehs. Great way to start dinner!

STARTERS DISCOVERY – The presentation of this dish is definitely one of the most creative ones I have ever seen! It is one of those dishes which you cannot help but let out a “Wow” when it was first placed in front of you.


[CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT]

SCALLOPS AND TUNA TARTARE WITH LEMON & OLIVE OIL – A good tartare but I wished I did not empty the bottle of lemon & oil as my tartare was a little too acidic it masked the sweetness of the seafood.
GAZPACHO WITH MIXED HERBS
SMOKED DUCK BREAST, CHICKEN LIVER PATE WITH BREAD
GRILLED PRAWNS WITH GREEN CURRY CREAM CHEESE DIP – I liked the smart creation of curry cream cheese and felt it went very well with the prawn. However, the prawns were slightly overcooked which is a pity given how fresh it was.

ZEN (TUNA SASHIMI WITH WAKAME SALAD, CRISPY PORK BELLY WITH APPLE COMPOTE,  SCALLOPS WITH MISO SAUCE & CUCUMBER SALAD) – except for the nice presentation, nothing in this dish stood out. Each of the components either had something missing or had some redundancy. However, the presentation of the dish itself is commendable.

TEA TIME SELECTION – A symphony of 5 desserts in tea flavors. This dessert platter is yet another eye candy!



[CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT]

FROZEN GREEN TEA PARFAIT – An interesting creation which I enjoyed – not too rich or sweet.
FRENCH TEA CREME BRULEE – this is probably my favorite…I always liked my creme brulee with a tinge of tea-bitterness to balance the sweetness.
EARL GREY MASCARPONE – this goes well with the green tea macaroon.
GREEN TEA MACAROON
ITALIAN ALMOND TIRAMISU

In Ko Samui, Zazen is where you want to be if you would like to take in the beautiful sunset while sipping a cocktail. Afterwhich, you proceed to a meal that comes with the most beautiful presentation. Although there are hits and misses in the taste of the dishes, the overall experience should still be a beautiful and memorable one.

Zazen
Tel: +66 7742 5085  (Reservations Recommended – especially if you would like to sit on the first row of tables by the sea)
Add: Samui Ring Road, Bo Phut, 177, Moo 1, Tambon Bophut 84320 Koh Samui, Suratthani, Thailand
Opening Hours: 6.30pm onwards (I recommend you arrive before 6pm to watch the sunset while having pre-dinner drinks at the bar)
Spend: ~ $100 Per Pax (3 course meal + 1 cocktail)

Posted in Fine Dining, Ko Samui - Thailand | Leave a comment

Treats from Japan – The Travelling Ramen

Posted on October 2, 2011 by K

Another nice gift from S – She made us a Twiceasdelicious instant cup noodle from the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum! Momofuku Ando is the inventor of instant noodles and the founder of Nissin Food Product Co.

Look at the thoughtful packaging – the cup noodle was bubble wrapped to prevent damage in your luggage. The cute little chick (Hiyoko-chan) is the mascot of the museum and you will see it more of its presence later.

S shared with me the experience in the museum – First, the staff will give you an empty cup and you can decorate it with the markers provided. S certainly did a great job with our URL, logo and initials! Hearts~

There is an expiry date on the bottom of the cup- the noodles will expire 1 month from the day you made it. After decoration, you can proceed to fill your cup with noodles and to choose the toppings and soup flavor.


Left – S picked the little chick fishcakes (how cute), tamago, asparagus (interesting), tofu and tomato soup base.
Right – Look how the dried tamogo fluffed into nice little yellow cushions after adding hot water.

Oishi!!! I had to eat the noodles with a disposable spoon because that was the only cutlery I had in my Saigon accommodation. I will definitely stock up more cutleries soon. This cup noodle actually travelled from Osaka to Singapore to Saigon!

Overall, I believe it will be an interesting experience to make your own customized cup noodle- I will definitely visit the Museum when I’m in Osaka next time. The noodle was reasonably tasty – the asparagus still pack a crunch and of course the cute little chick fishcakes enhanced the overall eating experience.  Do check this out when you are in Osaka!

Thank you S – she only had time to make 1 cup noodle in her visit to the museum and she made it for Twiceasdelicious. P and I are very touched~

Posted in Japanese, Product | 2 Comments

Preparazzi – Gourmet Food at your Doorstep

Posted on September 29, 2011 by P

After learning about Preparazzi on Facebook one day, K & I decided to check it out!


Preparazzi is a food preparation service that helps you cook delicious, healthy meals at home with no fuss. They help plan, prepare and cook the dishes and deliver right to your doorstep. Preparazzi is the brain child of Jeremy Ngee (above) – he is also the winner of this year’s Martell VSOP Entrepreneur Competition, beating 550 other candidates and 9 other finalists. This is very remarkable given that the competition saw some pretty brilliant business ideas, in my opinion.
(Reference: http://www.ultimatestartupspace.com.sg/top10/preparazzi)

We ordered 5 dishes in all to share among a handful of us and we truly put Preparazzi’s concept to the test by –
1) Having the food delivered to us at around 5pm  – immediately placed the food in the fridge
2) Went to gym and returned at 8.30pm
3) Heated the food and served and food was ready before 8.45pm

Despite the reheating – the dishes were cooked to perfection instead of the overcooked state that we would expect from reheating packed food…obviously, much thought must have been put into how this could be achieved.

[Clockwise, from Top Left]
SLOW ROAST PORK RIBS with Chickpea Puree & Capsicum, Zucchini, Eggplant – This dish is a winner. The flavor and the texture of the pork rib was amazing and definitely comparable to the kind of pork ribs you can get at a nice restaurant. However, I wished it came with potato or apple puree instead of chickpea – have never been a chickpea fan and I felt the chickpea puree was too dry for my liking (Good thing about Preparazzi is that I am pretty sure they are able to change this upon request!)

BRAISED PORK CHEEK with Tamarind Chilli, Apple Potato Puree, Sugar Snap Cherry Potato – The pork cheek was also well received…we were all impressed with the strong flavors of the pork cheek which must have been the result of long hours of cooking with a perfect selection of ingredients. Personally, I also enjoyed the tomatoes very much as it was roasted to the right degree such that the tomatoes burst in your mouth with oozing juices when you sink your teeth into it.

DUCK CONFIT SALAD with Baby Spinach, Young Bastagi Potato,  Sugar Snap, 62.5deg egg – This was probably our least favorite of the day….the flavors of the duck did not disappoint – however, we found the salad too dry and uninspiring as the egg failed to provide enough “dressing” to the salad (not sure why either as I would have imagined it should!).

CAYENNE PRAWN with Cous cous, Salted Egg Yolk, Sugar Snap Cherry Tomato – frankly, I wished the portion of the crustacean was bigger! As a result of sharing, I did not get to try much of this dish and certainly did not detect any salted egg yolk (my bad, probably). The prawn that I had was beautifully prepared and full of freshness.

[No solo shot, somehow I forgot!]
POACHED COD FISH with Rosemary Mash, Nai Bai Pesto & Capsicum, Zucchini, Egg Plant – Nothing in this dish that stood out in particular. However, it was a well prepared cod fish and pretty good value given the freshness and portion!

Overall, we felt pretty satisfied with the gourmet food served in plastic takeaway boxes. Some of the dishes stood out more than the rest so we definitely know what we would/ would not try the next time. We also found the portions of carb and veg way too generous compared to the proteins.

Preparazzi’s concept of gourmet food at your door step is definitely a refreshing idea – I will order it the next time I feel too lazy to go out for a meal when craving for something of healthy and of good quality and value. It is also a good option if you are too busy to step out of the office for lunch!

Posted in Delivery, Fusion | Leave a comment