Quite easily what I anticipate will be the most satisfying meal I will have had this week. The rice was out of this world.

Salad of fermented tapioca pearls, sambal sago, clam, & pickled cucumber. Flavor bomb + medley of textures. Best dish. 🥇

Pear miso sorbet in Tieguanyin kombucha and olive oil. This was clean-tasting and really refreshing.

Grotto dining at its least pretentious. No menu. You get what they happen to be cooking that day, although, according to the local with whom I shared the table and who’s friends with the owners, they serve pretty much the same dishes day after day. It can be intimidating to dine here as a tourist as you don’t know what to expect and they tell you nothing about prices or what you may get charged extra for, but par for the course I guess, if you are feeling adventurous. Food on the whole is decent and wholesome (the salad was outstanding), and the pricing very reasonable for the quality and for the fact that you’re in Switzerland. However, service is/was(?) a tad inattentive and they only take cash. Primo piatto - Salami 2nd course - A salad of chicory and tomatoes with an absolutely delicious dressing. My favorite of all the courses served. 3rd course - What was likely beef carpaccio with what tasted like an anchovy tapenade.

The large daily brew is complimentary on account of downloading their app. It smells better than it tastes and it is almost as good as DD’s coffee. That being said, their Maple Salted Caramel Donut is excellent.

A wholesome dinner to end the day and that pork chop (with the chile) was really unexpectedly delicious!

Served with rice, miso soup, fresh cabbage and pickles. I got a cuppa matcha 🍵 to go with brief: “THE SECRET TO OUR POPULARITY IS THE COMBINATION OF A CRISPY, TEXTURE-RICH BATTER SURROUNDING A JUICY FLAVORFUL 25-LAYERED SELECTED PORK CUTLET. WE SELECT ONLY THE HIGHEST QUALITY PORK, WHICH IS THINLY SLICED AND STACKED INTO 25 LAYERS. THIS LAYERED CUTLET IS COVERED WITH FRESH BREADCRUMBS AND FRIED SLOWLY IN LOW TEMPERATURE FOR 8 MINUTES. IT IS THEN SET VERTICALLY FOR TWO MINUTES TO STEAM, ALLOWING THE HEAT TO SPREAD EVENLY INSIDE. THIS IS ALL A PART OF OUR ORIGINAL RECIPE AND PROCESS, WHICH HELPS TO BRING FORTH THE MAXIMUM TASTE. ALL THE NATURAL JUICES ARE KEPT INSIDE BETWEEN THE LAYERS AND CRISPY BATTER, MAKING KIMUKATSU LIGHT AND FLUFFY, YET EXTREMELY JUICY AND FLAVORFUL. ONLY THE TOP KOSHIHIKARI RICE GRAIN FROM NIIGATA IS BEING USED IN OUR RESTAURANT. USING SPECIALISED RICE COOKER, EACH GRAIN IS CAREFULLY WASHED, SOAKED IN WATER FOR HOURS BEFORE COOKING TO PRODUCE THE BEST OF JAPANESE RICE. IT IS THEN SERVED IN OHITSU, A TRADITIONAL JAPANESE WOODEN RICE BUCKET, TO KEEP THE RICE WARM & TASTY.” SOOT’S TAKE: No wonder it took 20 minutes to prepare the katsu! Still, that wasn’t what impressed me the most. It was the rice. The rice was out of this world good and I could already tell the moment I uncovered the rice bucket. My first mouthful was revelatory, the same way it was when I had Hom Mali rice at the last Thai restaurant I dined at. The rice made everything taste better than if each element had been eaten by itself.

Papaya shake + 2 franks in the Big Apple for “when you’re hungry, or broke, or just in a hurry!” Apparently the Recession Special has been running for over 35 years.

Iced latte + Cheese Tart seemed an unbelievable deal at RM 16.

Imma watch Barbie! Been 4 years since I was at the movie theater 🍿🎥

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Gruyère and Chives for the win! With Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup for a double win!!

From the NEWSPAPER HAINANESE CURRY RICE stall. A tasty and substantial meal.

From the 海南寶 stall: Gula Melaka kaya + a mini slab of butter on shokupan-like, (not terribly) toast-y bread. + soft boiled egg and teh (tea + condensed milk) of course, but the toast was the standout portion.

180 g of beef parts containing molten cheese of cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan fried ebi, fried beancurd and tofu. Chose to have it with their demi-glacé sauce.

Yam gnocchi in a buttermilk sauce with kuchai oil and leeks, topped with yam chips.

Jerusalem artichoke with umeboshi atop a bed of short-grain rice that would be served over a thing of cured yolk.

Ginger cake soaked in sake and thyme syrup. This was lovely (not overpowering) and it paired very well with the accompanying coconut coffee which tasted like a light roast and (believe it or not), which I actually liked!

2 pc chicken with crispy fries

Substantial.

4th course - Pasta bathed in a tomato sauce that the proprietor will keep dishing out until you say basta, and with as much Parmesan as you’d like. Decent but nothing to write home about. 5th course - Polenta with beef, a regional specialty. 6th course - Gotthard Alpine cheese + homemade shortbread-like cake.

Not the best kaya butter toast I’ve had but the eggs sort of made up for it. Paired with teh siew dai.

I needed something substantial after running 🏃‍♂️ here lightheaded and in a weakened state. Junk food it was.

Velvety Mushroom Stroganoff + Tomato Cheese Toastie Sandwich + Iced Lemon Tea. A Shopee Daily Dining Deal to leave you stuffed!

Poori and dosa served with sambar, coconut chutney and something called spl chutney. Suli C's really excited to try this humongous paper-thin dosa and poori for the first time at this globalized S. Indian vegetarian place! Saravanaa Bhavan has conquered every continent except Antarctica! Appetite risk level: Hungry.

Stewed sliced beef, onion, onsen egg and rice + ICED HOJICHA COLDBREW + sides for a few extra bucks. The seasoned scallop skirts were surprisingly good.

$5 took care of lunch today.

For under $10 not a bad a deal for a solid burger, decent 🍟 and a drink.

Post-lunch snack. Everything was fairly well-made.

BRIEF: “2 Chicken Fingers, Crinkle-Cut Fries, One Cane's Sauce, Kid's Size Drink.” SOOT’S TAKE: I wanted a snack-sized meal. Got their lemonade in my kid cup which was good while their chicken tenders were decent but not necessarily great.

Lobster Bisque (310 Cal) Caesar Salad (300 Cal) Cheddar Bay Biscuits® (160 Cal each) All refillable at $9.99 (+ an extra $2 if you opt for lobster bisque over clam chowder.)