OIL & ME

No this is not about my eating habit or cooking method, it is about the most patient person in the Land of Smiles. OIL was my Instructor today, who spent 6 hours coaching me in the art of vegetable carving. Valiant in her efforts, she is simply incredible (wait till I show you the veggie & fruit carving book she helped published at Wandee) while I was my usual pitiful self. I have accepted the reality that everything to do with eye-hand coordination I am worse than a primate. Not only I lack the hand part, I no longer have the eyes for micrscopic vision as these precision drills are designed for young eyes only. It is not about not trying either. Oil must felt like my Patisseri masters at LCB ... a Frenchman, a Belgian and 2 Aussies ... all wondering why I should bother.

Back to the class, we covered scallions top to bottom; cucumbers into art forms; peppers & tomatoes into flowers and this is only entry level stuff, 3 more classes will follow. 50% of what is shown on the plate would not be there without the 'hands-on' coaching, literally & figiratively, from my mentor today ... big Kap Kun Kap .... OIL!

KUNG DAN

If you watch AFC (Asian Food Channel on NOW which I am hopelessly addicted) you would have seen 'Extreme Gourmet' with this fatalistic chef turned TV presenter who would eat anything, literally anything put in front of him. I am not remotely close to that league, I am still squeamish about putting certain things into my stomach.

I was walking home last night on Silom, almost 7pm, and the boulevard was lined with food hawkers. I was attracted by this old man whose business was thriving, serving a patient queue of customers. 'Kung Dan' is a spicy salad of fresh, or rather very much alive baby shrimps, tossed with fish sauce, vinegar, dry chili, sugar plus a generous topping of coriander & mint. 'Kung' is shrimp as in 'Tom Yum Kung' but the word 'Dan' literally means 'dance', I am told, which presumably describes the movements of the shrimps. The man had a magic touch, and his assembly line was flawless. I was mesmerized, wondering about the texture, the taste. After 5 servings he turned, and offered me a spoonful (not the spoon he mixed with but a clean plastic disposable) with a gesture that could only mean, 'Go Ahead, Whimp'. For the sake of personal and cultural pride I had no choice so I nibbled at it. Well I expected some wriggling on my tongue, as them babies were certainly wriggling in the basket before being tossed, but there was absolute silence. All I tasted was salt from the fish sauce, coriander, mint over some slimy bits of something .... WOW .... I think this one will not make my 'must-eat' list anytime soon. I can wear the 'Kung Dan' badge though!

LAPP MOO

Without question Thai cooking has lifted minced meats, in fact minced anything, to new heights. This is one of my all time favorites since my first steps here in Bangkok, in 1976. What I did not realize is the art of balancing the complexity of flavors. Cooking the minced pork (which can also be chicken, beef, duck or even pig intestines as done in certain parts of the country) is a breeze, but getting the seasoning ingredients together is the key.

Roasted Rice Powder is one item that excites me .... it is made from dry roasting rice, glutinous rice, kaffir lime leave and lemon grass to light brown, then pounded or blended to a smooth texture for application across many dishes. This is an essential item, one I must prepare at home if I were to ever serve Thai food.

The class sat around a table in the kitchen and ate what we cooked in the morning for lunch, cross referencing each others' final products. I was the last one to finish but mine in fact tasted quite alright, at least they taste Thai, I was told.

1ST DAY @ WANDEE

Almost 7 hours have lapsed when we cleaned up the kitchen for the day. The best news today has nothing to do with food, but with the philosophy of cooking. Thai and French cuisine cannot be farther apart but the way they teach it one would have thought they cane from the same tree somewhere in time. I felt right at home when I see their focus on (1) mise en place (2) due diligence to the recipes and (3) the art of clean as you cook. I could well be in Ryde today, it is eerily similiar.

They do differ though, noticeably in 2 areas. Firstly the classes are smaller, I am with a group of 7 as the only 'Farang' ie foreigner. I told them it is OK to proceed in Thai, to save translation time, as long as my questions are answered in English. My pre-class was taught in English by Dao, the Associate Director and daughter of Madam Songkhla who 'held my hand' in the kitchen. The instructors were extremely hospitable, all wearing their infectious smiles. I really enjoyed my 'total immersion', what better way can one learn? 'My Ban Rye' I told them, losely translated as 'no problem lah'. Secondly we were taught 3 courses, 2 desserts & 1 drink for a total of 6 items, on this very first day. At LCB we learned 2 recipes per day at Basic, and the pressure will escalate to 3 per day when one graduates to Intermediate. I know it is an apple-orange comparison but still ....

SOM TAM THAI : Thai Papaya Salad (as shown)
LABB MOO : Spicy Minced Pork Salad
KHAOW NIEW KAI-YANG-KA-TI-SOD : Sticky Rice & Coconut Milk Grilled Chicken
BUA-LOY-SAM-SEE : 3 Colored Flour Ball in Coconut Milk
TAO-SOUN : Steamed Mungbeans & Coconut Milk Topping
NAM TA-KRAI : Lemon Grass Juice

GOOD MORNING BANGKOK

Siam Station at 730am this morning, and it was super vibrant and highly industrious already. I understand Thailand is the only Asian country (I may be wrong as I did not check the history books) that was never colonized. These city folks all very civil if what I saw this morning, my first impressions not as a tourist, were any guide.

Take one example; the trains are so packed passengers at the doors have to step off to allow those getting off to get off. They form another line after exit, one that has priority to re-enter the train, while those on the platform (at both sides of the door) wait their trun. As soon as the train is full, they stop and let the doors close. There is no 'please stand clear of doors', no 'mind the gap', no shutting/opening of doors as passengers still try to squeeze in, and lastly, no one in white gloves and megaphones enforcing. Why cant we do this in Hong Kong?

People dress simply for the weather but they are all clean and tidy. Most young women wear their hair long, some look like they just finished shooting a shampoo/conditioner commercial. If you happen to stand behind one on the train, you can smell it, as I did. Men still wear long sleeve shirts to work. I am sure those who wear a uniform in public had to pass a waist-line test first. One never sees a policeman with anything more than a 29 waist. With creases on their shirts, neatly tailored over flat tummies, they remind me of Officer Estrada in Highway Patrol in the 1970s.

THE STREET MAGICIAN

Speaking of good looking young men, what about this street magician at the same market? He attracted quite a crowd. I am sure many girls there had more interests in his looks, his appeal, his classic grin, his style ..... etc than the missing coins traveling between his fingers. Look at his eye brows, his nose, his cheeks, his mouth and even his clean shaven head that goes to prove one does not need hair to be charming, get it? Any fortune teller worth his fee can tell you this chap has 'the right stuff'. I always wonder how these street performers around the world stay afloat? How can one make a livelihood doing that? But for this one I quote the Aussies ... 'No Worries Mate ...' there is always show business!

MY FEATHER PAL

This was taken at the Chatuchak Weekend Market off the Saphan Khwai station yesterday. It was Sunday and the place was mobbed between the open air stalls and the maze inside the complex, sort of like Thailand's answer to the tightest spots at the Istanbul spice market. If you like crowds, touristy ones, this will be heaven for you, I guarantee. Languages galore when one walks through this mass of humanity, fascinating.

Have you ever met a more handsome, young, street feather salesman anywhere in the world? He is Sam (or the equivalent of a Thai name that sounds like Sam) and my instant 'feather pal'. We spent 15 minutes talking in sign language. I think he told me 'business is good' but how, and why, I can never tell you. Aside from the proverbial 'smile' which brands the nation, there is this lack of belligerence in its people which is becoming a rarity, even in Asia.

FAMILY BUSINESS

My body clock was on HK time this morning ie 6am or 5am Bangkok time when I woke. I watched BBC & CNN while doing my Shaolin streching exercises, after which I headed for a trial run to the school. Today is Sunday and the streets are almost empty at that hour. Wandee is located between the Ari & Saphan Khwai Stations on the BTS Sukhumvit Line and it was a breeze getting there.

The walk to school was another 15 minutes, and breakfast stands were lining the sidewalk. I love corn on the cob, in fact corn anything and I was attractd by not just the beautifully displayed cobs, but the charming smiles on the hawkers. Between their hesitant English and my non-existent Thai we started a dialogue, one I believe will develop in the next 4 weeks. They are a husband & wife team, this is their spot on the street, and they start at 7am daily until their freshly picked corns are sold. For Baht 10 or HK$2.5 one gets a large ear of corn, dipped in heavily salted boiling water and (get this) the cob is shaved in front of you .... table service par excellence ..... and put in a nice sandwich bag, all done without human contact, by the way. I am impressed, I told this nice couple this will be my BF stop from now on. All I need is a nice Chai, since I already have the corn, and a set of new friends.

BANGKOK STREET FOODS

Next to Taipei the 'street eats' in this Land of Smiles are something to behold. My first evening here was greeted by a classic Bangkok rainstorm, pouring crazy for an hour, and suddenly clear skies again. I spent that leisurely hour puffing my most poetic Cohiba yet, leaning against a cool marble pillar of the ITF Palace Building, where I stay. Kalid Razack .... Andrea's Godfather, my Squardron Leader at the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Airforce, current CEO of an airline the Hong Kong Express, but most noteworthy, the man who introduced me to Thailand back 34 years ago in 1976 .... owns a nice studio apartment in the building which he kindly let me use for the Wandee sojourn. Kap Kun Kap, Uncle Kalid!

My dinner was a parade of night market fare. Entree was skewered baby squids in chili gravy; main was spicy fried chicken sprinkled generously with tasty salt flakes, as shown; washed down with a bowl of heavily 'parsleyed' pork & fish ball consomme; dessert was green mangoes plus a bottle of pandan jelly juice, of course. The damage was Baht 150 or HK$40+ and I was elated. I am not sure if this warrants a family outing, especially for Dora, but to me dinner last night made me 'whole' again. I relished not only in the fabulous menu, but in the totality of my new found sense of freedom. I can do this, because I can!

I HAVE A DREAM .....

Food and culture are inseparable. The best way, or at least one of the best ways, to explore a culture and its people is to study the way they eat. The backbone of that, of course, is how they prepare food and how they cook. A lion share of my retirement planning is to attend Le Cordon Bleu, arguably the best decision I made on self-enrichment in my adult life. Then comes the 'yearning', coined by Po Chung in his new book 'Vigorous Retirement'. I yearn to learn more about cooking, or rather, I yearn to be taught more in the culinary discipline. This is the backdrop on which I arrive at the proverbial, dream!

My dream quest is to explore 10 different food cultures, 1-country-1 culture-1 cuisine at a time via cooking schools, between my 60th & 70th birthdays. LCB for French cooking was #1 last year when I turned 60, #2 on the list at 61 is Thai, at the Wandee School in Bangkok. If I play my cards right #3 would be Spanish Tapas in Barcelona, and #4 is Curry in India. I carry on until I finish cooking school #10, at age 70. By then I should have enough for a short story book!

Wandee is 5 BTS stations away from Amarin at the center of Bangkok. Look at the picture, it is a far cry from the manicured campus grounds at Ryde where LCB was located, there is no grass, and certainly no trees. What Wandee has is a huge does of 'warmth' that typifies this Land of Smiles. Its Founder Madam Wandee Songkhla is doyen of the industry. I felt right at home on my exploratory visit, and signed up on the spot.

I am privileged to be the only foreign ie non-Thai student in my class of 12 which starts next Monday October 4th. My 4-week syllabus is comprised of classic Thai dishes of appetizers, mains and desserts. Thai food is one of the most decorative, its presentation is unique and to graduate ... with a certificate endorsed by the Thai Ministry of Education, a student must pass fruit & vegetable carving, banana leaf weaving and of course, napkin folding. Like what I did at LCB my experience will be documented so read my blog.

I have a dream! I am told we should all 'dream big' so here I am, on to Wandee tomorrow and I cannot wait!