Good news on the accommodation front: my existing landlord, for fear of losing revenue, has yielded to my demands to lower the rent or lose me as a tenant.
As a result I still have my humble abode and am able to save a few bucks each month. Pleasant surprise number one.
Pleasant surprise number two was eating out on the weekend:
Went to Bangkok Spice on Saturday night; well worth a visit!
For those that do not know where it is (and its easy to miss):
Coming from Tiger fuel and driving towards Colmera you will notice Wasabi restaurant towards your left just as you hit the big roundabout. Turn left directly at Wasabi and keep an eye out for a smallish green sign on the left, about 50-80meters down that road.
As I said, it's easy to miss, but if you're focused on that little rectangular sign "Bangkok Spice", you're sure to find it.
One of the more pleasant restaurant settings in Dili, it features a courtyard with water features pretty furnishings and a bar, as well as a dining area inside with proper linen & place settings, air conditioning and an allround relaxing ambience.
Its menu is short and to the point, the service reasonably efficient and the food neatly presented and of very good quality. In short, a dining experience well worth repeating.
On Sunday then I went to the Long Beach restaurant, one of many Thai restaurants east of pig bridge along the waterfront. The setting, although neither spectacular nor unique among the 6 or 8 other restaurants along that stretch, is pleasant enough and the sunset certainly looked good from our table. Ordering as it turned out was an adventure and, had we not known that the place had been in existence for quite some time, we would've sworn we were the first ever customers...
Panic ensued with every inquiry and every attempt to place an order, but unlike other restaurants in Dili, where this could easily become so frustrating that it would spoil the evening, here none of the frustrations arose largely thanks to the cheerfulness and friendly smiles of the staff who were truly falling over each other in trying to get it right.
Eventually we actually gave up asking what was available (some things we were told weren't) and abandoned our attempts to create a balanced Thai meal and simply asked the staff to order for us what they thought we would like.
What followed was a truly enjoyable dining experience with plate after plate of coming out of the small kitchen; each one better than the last. There were different soups, fresh seafood, traditional minced pork dishes, fried whole fish and stirfry's... and abundance of fresh herbs, lemongrass and chili...simply delicious.
We couldn't have ordered like this ourselves.
Eventually we had to call the food caravan to a stop as we all struggled to eat another single tasty bite. In full anticipation of having to pay a small fortune we approached the counter only to be pleasantly surprised yet again: we had had a feast for around $20 per person including drinks (of which we downed a few!!).
The kind hostess obviously could see how full we were and promptly offered to book us in for a traditional Thai massage, which, one can endulge in at a separate part of the small venue; alas we couldn't as lying on one's stomach was not the preferred position for the remainder of the evening nor so short after this voluminous dinner.
Maybe next time, aye, as we will most certainly return to Long Beach restaurant!!!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
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