CATCH OF THE DAY

I love supermarkets, a long time habit dating back to my Johnson & Johnson days I was selling Band-Aids to these outlets.  One gets a feel for how people live via the selection of meats, fish, seafood, veggies, groceries ... you name it. Whenever I am in Bangkok I always stock up on Thai provisions, at significantly lower prices, and am always amazed by the incredible selection.  My only regret is I do not read Thai.

Look at these Silver Carps, check out the eyes ... they cannot get any fresher for Baht39, just under HK$10 each.  

THAI PRIDE

I was nursing a Cohiba on breezy Silom Road last night and ran into these kids at a street corner, soliciting sponsorship from pedestrians for their annual Sports Day.  I was attracted by their youthfulness, their singing, their gaiety, their naivety about life, their innocence on the world they live in but, above all, by the pride on their faces, and their respect they show on what they do. I was moved, donated Baht 200 or HK$50 and took this picture, for keepsakes.  What a great bunch of kids!

Two things do stand out in this Land of Smiles, and especially in this City of Life (so much better than our Asia's World City nonsense) and they are ... pride and respect.  Pride of being Thai, and Respect for each other.  At 6pm every evening the National Anthem is played in all BTS & BRT stations. Everyone stops, and stands at attention ...with pride, and with respect.  The rest of the world can learn from it.    

SVB AIRPORT EATS

At Suvarnabhumi Airport on the 1F arrival area, at the far left end of the building (facing out) there is a canteen for locals, the name is Magic!

Instead of paying premium upstairs for tasteless, non-food stomach fillers do try this outlet, where patrons are mostly airport staff, locals, and increasingly tourists introduced by diligent guides who have the best interests of their charge at heart, right up to the end.  Bravo ... Magic is like a mini food court one finds in any department store, with the exact complement of indigenous Thai street foods, my Archilles Heel.  I just love the parade and I am insatiable, like a kid in a candy store.

My favorite stop is Maeboon, as shown, which serves a variety of Chui Chow congee, or porridge if you insist, which is what it says on the board.  One can order any combination between the basic of minced pork, to ribs, to innards (pork liver is very good but in view of my fatty liver I reluctantly passed), to duck, to seafood and of course, to the catch-all version which is not listed, but offered to pre-flight gourmands like yours truly.  I just finish a bowl of fish congee, with a poached egg, loads of coriander, Chinese celery stalk, and finely chopped preserved radish ... a real pick-a-upper indeed, something Hong Kong does not measure up.

Now I am ready to sleep through the 2.5 hour flight home, who needs Y-class CX junk food anyway?  

WANDEE CREW @ CHANDRPHEN

I took the Wandee teaching staff to dinner at Chandrphen near Lumpini BTR Station. It has become a little 'traditon' between me and the crew.  Chandrphen is an all time favorite of Dora and I, serving Thai style Cantonese cuisine.  They have been around for 3 if not 4 generations of Thai Chinese in Bangkok, offering an extensive and excellent menu.  I am so lucky to have found a home at Wandee here in Bangkok. Professor Wandee Songkla is like an Auntie, Director & Head Teacher Dao Sriyaphai like a Sister, and the young teaching staff are like Nieces, some even like Daughters as they are younger than my own girls.  The warmth of their genuine frienship overwhelms as I count my blessing of being counted a member of the ever expanding Wandee family, not only in Thailand, but well into Asian markets like the Philippines and Japan. 

WANDEE, thank you for what you did for me ... may you grow from strength to strength!

WANDEE BOAT NOODLE

A bowl of noodles from a street stall, or a resturant, or 5-star hotel is de rigueur not only in Bangkok, but all over the Kingdom.  I really must learn this ultimate Thai comfort food and my prayer was answered yesterday at my Wandee Refresher.

Why 'Boat' or 'Ruang' in Thai?  It is the presentation.  The noodle is made up of all kinds of goodies, classically displayed in the replica of a wooden fishing boat like Sashimi is presented in Japan, from which one picks like a buffet or, in my case, the whole 9-yards, the entire lot. Not a single morsel should be left behind when it comes to a Boat Noodle.

In a typical bowl one should expect : stewed pork, marinated pork, pork blood (not for me), mini fish balls and served in a dark soup stock which one should immediatey recognize on the first sip.  The noodle come in 3 sizes; fat like 'Hoi Fun', medium like "Lye Fun' and of course thin ones as in 'Mee Fun'.  Adding to it are 5 kinds of vegetables notably Chinese celery, coriander leaves, sawtooth coriander, morning glory & spring onion. Not unlike many Thai recipes the trick is in the authentic taste of the dark soup which is too lengthy to describe here.  Let me know if you want to, genuinely, try the recipe.  Please do not interpret though, follow every step and ingredient, show some respect.

The killer, which many would frown on, is the deep fried pork lard mixed with garlic.  Nuggets of lard cut straight from the fatty skin, fried to perfect golden crispy brown, is the official garnish without which one cannot claim the holy name of a Kwei Dui Ruang or Boat Noodle.

Dora would forbid me to include this, in the name of health but how can I face Professor Wandee and my teachers if I present a bowl without the toppings.  It will be like wearing a counterfeit Cartier, God forbids!

YAM YAI

This special dish is no longer a staple in Thai restaurants, not because it is difficult to prepare, nor because of ingredients but rather the time it takes to make one.  Sadly it is out of sync with our expedient, fast lane life style.  'Yam' is salad, and 'Yai' means large or with variety, so this is a large salad with variety.  I was at Wandee for a 2-day Refresher and learned this recipe, which  is 300 years old, imagine?

The key ingredients are simple ie thinly sliced pork, chicken, poached shrimps, ear mushrooms, glass noodles, pickled garlic cloves, radish, cucumber, boiled egg white, spring onions, coriander leaves, pounded and deep fried garlic as garnish.  Simple, right?

What I love in this recipe is the dressing or 'seasoning mixture' as taught at Wandee :

* pound coriander root/peppercorns/garlic/hot chili with stems
* add red spur chili, finely pounded
* then fish sauce x 3 tablespoons
* plus lime juice x 3 tablespoons
* sugar x 1 tablespoon
* now the magic .....1 egg yolk finely mashed with the dressing

You cannot go wrong with this dressing, it is a classic.  How did they come up with this absolutely unique and mind boggling taste ... 3 centuries ago?  

"TOKYO"

In the delicious world of Thai street foods this is a mystery which, to date, no one has been able to explain to me why it is called "Tokyo"?

Seen on many corners this is a favorite of school children, a primary customer target to the vendors.  The ingredients are all there, in the picture : a thin smear of sweet flour, the same as in egg rolls, a quail egg cracked on top, a tiny bite of minced pork with preserved sweet radish, a dash of Maggi, the Thai staple, and lastly a squeeze of Mayo ... simply let the ingredients warm over the hot plate, roll, and it is done.

I could not resist. I waited patiently in line, salivating behind a bunch of 12 year olds, clicking away as they looked at me as if I am from Mars.  I controlled my urge and ordered only 4 ... 25 Baht, the lady said.  OMG, either prices have gone up 25% ie from 20 -25 or I paid the 'farang' price.  Who cares?  This is truly an indigenous Thai snack, notwithstanding it is named after the capital of Japan. Any suggestion on why?

KNIFE SKILLS

One thing that defines Thai fine dining is undoubtedly 'knife skills' as seen in this Lemon Grass Salad. The tiny rings come from taking layers of a lemon grass stick until the circumference matches that of the baby onions, shallots and scallions.  The other ingredients are : mint chiffonade, coriander leaves, dry chili julienned, roasted peanuts, deep fried 'fansi', thinly sliced Cantonese fried dough or Yau-Jar-Kwai to yield texture and further crispiness, a nice touch.  If you look carefully (apologies for the inverted picture, somehow I could not rotate it on Picasa) the different ingredients are cut in direct proportion to each other, to ensure the most esthetic culinary presentation.  It reminds me of the Le Cordon Bleu regimen of preparing 'brunoise' cuts where veggies are cut into juliennes first, then quarter turned into tiny cubes in exact dimensions, for garnish and in consommes.  Such knife skills require only one thing ... practice, practice, and more practice until it becomes second nature, when the command goes directly from the brain to the hand, without even involving the eyes when one cuts.  One starts eating with one's eyes cannot be more true in this instance.  It is a simple salad, beautifully cut, artistically presented and of course, dressed to perfection.   

THAI VEGGIES

What we usually order in Thai restaurants is Morning Glory (Gang-Gong) in garlic, in shrimp paste, in sambal aka chili paste or in fermented tofu with julienne of red chili, the Cantonese rendition.

At Patara we had two veggies, common here but not that common in Hong Kong and they are : Garden Sweet on the left, and next to it Moon Flower ... fresh, unique in flavors, crispy in texture and a wonderful complement to Thai spices and seasoning sauces.

My mission is to source them in Hong Kong.  Simply stir fry them and off you go ... these fabulous veggies will go so well with anything on a Cantonese menu, notably a bowl of hot steamed rice! 

PATARA - THAI FINE DINING

I keep discovering new eateries in Bangkok since my Wandee cooking school days in 2010 and Patara is one more, a very good one in fact.  It is without doubt the custodian of 'Thai fine dining' in my book.  Patara is international, with outposts already in Geneva, London, Singapore, Beijing and Vienna .... visit http://www.patarathailand.com/ to learn more, she has a fascinating story to tell.

Created by the co-founders of S&P, a highly successful food business in the Kingdom, Patara's aims are; fabulous tastes, culinary presentations and atmosphere a la 70's ....which they would easily score full marks if a Michelin Inspector were brought in today.  Mrs. Sila-On Patara is famous and one can see why her flagship is so successful.  Tastefully decorated, against a Thai motif with modern interior design touches, the ambience immediately churns one's appetite.  The extensive menu may be classic Thai but one has to look, and look again when a dish is presented, before one can identify.  The attached picture of mangoes on sticky rice is a case in point.

Located at a magnificient old house in the upscale Thong Lo neighborhood just off the BTS station, Patara can arrange a luxury tuk-tuk to pick up guests.  This is a must try! I guarantee you will revise all your previous perceptions on Thai restaurants after dining at Patara.

PATARA : 375 Soi Thonglor 19 Sukumvit 55 Bangkok (66) 02 2185 2960
         

BKK WEEKEND

Tugged away across the street from the Erawan 4-Face Buhhda in the center of town is the InterContinental cum Holiday Inn Complex, the location for a long weekend reunion with 3 other likeminded, long time pals.  To us star anything means little, which of course includes hotels. Pragmatism is our motto at these gatherings and this gem in Bangkok offers exactly that.  The rooms are spacious, tidy, functional and everything squeaky clean.  Though young and a tad inexperienced, the staff more than made up for it via their enthusiam and what made Thailand famous, their 'Smiles'. For US$104 per night which includes a sumptuous breakfast and free wi-fi & internet use, right at the heart of this exciting city, the Holiday Inn is a real steal.

Coming from 4 different corners of the globe our goals are ; to catch up, to smoke fine Cubans, to drink vintage whiskeys (except me the party pooper who is on a 3-month probation from booze), to indulge in fine Thai cuisine including street foods, to share the joy of grand parenting, to return to the 'crime scenes' from our single-sans-family days, and of course, to fix the problems of the world whilst we attend to the above.

For me, there is one more agenda item, to return to Wandee for a 3-day Refresher Course.