What a way to start the day

What a way to start the day by browsing for pictures of airplane meals. There's no better way to whet the appetite than looking at pictures of food, and by 10am, I was already pondering about what to eat for lunch. Only a nice restaurant meal could satisfy my gastronomic desires. Having some free time this morning, I was scouring the net for pictures of what Cathay Pacific might serve on its Japanese routes on economy class. I know it might sound odd as nobody would even think anything of airplane food, but I suppose I am one of the few who actually look forward to airplane meals. It's always a pleasure to be served a hot meal on a tiny tray 35,000 feet up in the air. If I were a frequent traveller, I would have a blog devoted to airplane meals but it's a pity that my job doesn't require any travelling. Two pictures on the website AirlineMeals.net caught my attention. The first was a full Japanese course that consisted of a plate of nigiri sushi, some vegetable side dish, a bowl of miso soup, a bowl of udon, a plate of grilled fish and finally a plate of cut fruits to refresh the palette. The second picture showed mouth-watering dimsum being served in dishes that resembled bamboo steamers and noodles served in proper bowls! Alas, these are some of the meals served if you are fortunate enough to experience the luxuries of flying first or business class. Hmmmph!

I decided to invite a few colleagues out for lunch today as I desperately needed to buy several pairs of new socks and some toiletries for my trip this weekend. It's just three more days and I haven't even finished packing! For lunch, we agreed to fill our rumbling bellies at a Japanese restaurant AGAIN despite the fact that I will be spending 6 days eating nothing but Japanese food for breakfast, lunch and dinner! And good heavens - our company group lunch tomorrow will be held at another Japanese restaurant! We really do love our Japanese food, don't we? After a quick hearty meal of chawan mushi, salmon sashimi, steamed rice, miso soup and a bowl of cut fruit (I was rather disappointed as they had placed the appetisers and soya sauce in the wrong spot and the sashimi slices seemed a tad smaller compared to last week's), I had to quench my thirst for bubble tea from a franchise named 'Ochado' while my colleagues took orders for Chatime for the folks back in the office. I love green tea smoothies and was delighted at finally having the opportunity to try out a product by a different brand. After several long sips, I decided I will still have to be a loyal fan of Chatime's as I found that Ochado's lacked flavour and richness. Even the amount of red beans in the drink seemed restrained. Mind you, it cost RM1.00 more compared to Chatime!