Urai, a boat noodle restaurant in Ayuthaya’s Sena District, is part of a government-funded scheme called Thong Fah (’Blue Flag’) that has established exceedingly cheap restaurants, often serving regional dishes, around the country (Mae Sri Bua in Mae Hong Son is another Thong Fah restaurant I’ve previously blogged about). I think a bowl of noodles here cost 15 baht (less than 50 cents).

As illustrated above, the broth at Urai is practically coffee-like, and is almost certainly the darkest and thickest I’ve encountered. Yet despite this, it was somewhat under-seasoned, and really need a few splashes of fish sauce and a generous scoop of dried chili. And in contrast to that of previously-mentioned boat noodle joint Jay Nit, the meat here is nothing special, having been simply flash-boiled. On the other hand, the noodles at Urai are served the traditional way, in tiny bowls:

I believe I ate four…

Urai is located in Sena district, about 15km west of Ayuthaya.  It’s the only boat noodle place in town, and is located right at the bus terminal.

Urai
Located at the bus terminal, Sena District, Ayuthaya
9am-3pm

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I’m finally back home after about two months in Laos, and yet again, am craving odd Thai dishes. This time it’s kuaytiaw reua (boat noodles), so naturally I headed to the heartland of the dish (and possibly one of the more underrated food cities in Thailand), Ayuthaya.

Inside knowledge from a local led us to Jay Nit, a longstanding ‘restaurant’ on the man-made island that forms Ayuthaya’s old town. To get here you have to walk through Wat Ratayachai, a temple at the edge of the Chao Phraya River, until you reach what looks like a dilapidated wet market at the edge of the river. The place is frankly filthy, but filthy in that reassuring Southeast Asia way that often suggests good eats.

The ladies here claim that the restaurant has been in business for 40 years, although only the last decade has been on solid land:

The noodle dishes at Jay Nit, which include yen ta fo, are done at two stations, although I didn’t really understand the division of labour (one pork station and one beef?). Regardless, they’re doing something right. The broth of the pork version was satisfyingly thick, thanks to the addition of blood, but wasn’t actually as rich or as spicy as it appeared. But I was most impressed with the pork (illustrated at the top of this post), which was fatty and tender and served in thick slices not unlike a very good bowl of Japanese-style ramen. And unlike most other places in Ayuthaya, the servings here are rather generous (boat noodles are typically served in tiny bowls that sell for as little as 10 or 15 baht - possibly a legacy of the dishe’s waterbound origins), making it a heartier version of the dish than most of its counterparts.

More boat noodles to follow; in the meantime, another good bowls can be got at Lung Lek.

Jay Nit
Wat Ratayachai (Wat Jin), Ayuthaya
9am-2pm

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It wasn’t all sticky rice and grilled meat for the last couple months. Setting out on a road trip to central Laos with my trusty driver Christophe (above, on the left), I picked up a grab bag of French goodies at Les Boutiques Scoubidou, Vientiane’s best French deli:

There was raw milk camembert, saucissson and liver pate. Both loaves of bread were from Le Banneton, Vientiane’s best bakery. And because I was with Christophe, who is Lao but who spent most of his life in France, lots of pastis. All of this was enjoyed in a bamboo hut at the edge of the Nam Lik:

The other gentlemen controls the cross-river ferry here, and in his youth was a revolutionary fighter, having fired his gun at American planes in Vieng Xai in the late 1960s. He ate more camembert than I expected.

In addition to being a fan of pastis, Christophe is also an excellent driver, speaks fluent French and decent English and knows Laos like the back of his van.

Christophe Kittirath
+856 21-223 663, +856 20-550 4604
laowheels@yahoo.co.uk

Les Boutiques Scoubidou
Th Tha Deua
+856 214 073
8am-9pm

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More and more communities in rural Laos are opening up their doors to foreign visitors in the form of homestays. Ban Hat Khai, a village located at the edge of Phu Khao Khuai National Protected Area, in central Laos, is an example of this. I spent a night with a family there a week or so ago, and in addition to meeting some very nice people and gaining an insight into rural Lao life, I also got to witness some Lao food made firsthand. The resulting three dishes comprised one of the better meals I had in Laos.

The first recipe I witnessed is essentially a ‘dip’ of grilled tomatoes that is as simple as it is delicious, and is also very Lao. The second two dishes took full advantage of two live ducks picked up at the market.  On previous visits to Laos I hadn’t really noticed how fond the Lao are of duck, but on this trip I seemed to see it everywhere, particularly grilled, which other than Bali, where I think it’s technically roasted, is something haven’t really encountered elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Jaew Mak Len
Tomatoes, 4
Medium-sized chilies, 5
Shallots, 5
Garlic, 2 small heads
Salt, to taste
Fish sauce, to taste
Cilantro, green onion, chopped

Skewer the tomatoes and grill over a coals until the exterior is slightly charred and the inside is tender. Toss the chilies, shallots and garlic directly into the coals. When slightly burnt on the outside and soft inside, remove from coals, and along with the tomato, peel off all the burnt bits. In a mortar and pestle, pound grilled ingredients together into a rough paste/dip and season to taste with salt and fish sauce (and MSG, if desired). Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onion and serve with sticky rice and par-boiled vegetables such as green beans or cabbage.

Tom Pet and Laap Pet
Ducks, 2
Ginger, peeled and sliced, one 5cm section
Galingale, peeled and sliced, one 5cm section
Shallots, peeled, 6
Chillies, red, 3
Lemongrass, bruised, 2 stalks
MSG, to taste
Fish sauce, to taste
Small sour tomatoes, halved, 10
Young tamarind leaves

Cilantro, one small bunch, chopped
Phak hom laap (a local herb; substitute with mint), equal to amount of cilantro, chopped
Green onions, 4 stalks, chopped
Shallots, 4, sliced
Khao khua (ground roast sticky rice), about 2 Tbsp
Fish sauce, to taste
MSG, to taste
Lime juice, to taste

Kill ducks. Remove innards and feathers. Joint ducks, separating the bones from the meat. Skewer the meat bits and grill over coals until fully cooked.

For the tom pet, a duck broth, while meat is grilling, bring a large pot of water, enough to accommodate the bones from both ducks, to a boil. Add ginger, galingale, shallots, chilies and lemongrass. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes. Season to taste with MSG and fish sauce, add tomatoes and young tamarind leaves. The resulting broth should be equal parts meaty and tart.

For the laap, when the meat is grilled, chop finely and mix with the chopped herbs. Add sliced shallots, khao khua, fish sauce, MSG and lime juice to taste. Serve with a platter of additional fresh herbs (more cilantro, a few sprigs of dill, mint) and sticky rice.

If you’re interested in taking part in a homestay in Ban Hat Khai, information on visiting Phu Khao Khuai is available at the Tourist Information Centre in Vientiane.

If you spend enough time on Rte 8, the Lao highway corridor linking Thailand and Vietnam,  you’re bound to encounter huge lorries bound for Vietnam carrying cages filled with hundreds of dogs.

According to this fascinating four-part investigative report and video by journalists Patrick Winn and Pailin Wedel, the trade in dogs as meat in Southeast Asia actually begins in northeastern Thailand, where stray dogs are caught on a daily basis by what many consider a local mafia. Most Thais don’t eat dog meat themselves, but many contribute to the trade anyway, seeing it as a way to do away with pests and alerting dog catchers of stray dogs in exchange for plastic buckets or cash. The trade is technically illegal, but local police choose to look the other way, claiming that enforcing the drug trade or illegal immigration is a better use of their resources.

The caught dogs are eventually brought to Tha Rae, a town on the banks of the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom, where they are temporarily held in pens, graded by quality, before being packed into wire cages and loaded onto a truck. A typical truck can hold as many as 1000 dogs, with five or more dogs crammed into each cage:

The trucks then cross the Mekong on a barge, beginning a journey across Laos, via Rte 8, that can take up to a couple days. The dogs aren’t fed or given water during the trip, and some die along the way. I encountered one of these trucks (pictured at the top of this post) three times along Rte 8 one unlucky day, and the smell of dog fur and excrement coupled with the endless sound of howling and fighting was truly heartbreaking. A Lao man we spoke to near the border with Vietnam claimed that the trucks pass every single day. “Some days I see four trucks,” he added, causing me wonder how there are even enough stray dogs to supply this demand. Arriving in Vietnam, the dogs can be worth as much ten times the price for which they were obtained in Thailand, making the trade highly lucrative. Winn and Wedel estimate that this particular cross-border trade in dog meat could be worth as much as US$3.6 million a year.