Welcome!

  You've undoubtedly been re-directed here from RealThai, my former Thai food blog. Thai food fans don't despair just yet--all my previous entries have been moved here, and I'm still living in Thailand and the bulk of my entries will continue to emphasize Thai eats. However, I'm doing a lot more traveling these days and wanted a more general forum from which I can share my food discoveries. I also like the idea of a 'hub' of my own work, and if you've got the time to explore the site a bit, you'll also find a Photo Blog, my portfolio, as well as my Bio and a few examples of my published work.  Update your bookmarks and enjoy!

Welcome!

This is my first post at my newly-redesigned website. I'm still learning how to post and use some of the new functions, so it's something of work in progress. Once I get everything ironed out I'll start publishing RealThai here and you'll be able to check out all my blogs, as well as a portfolio of my work and samples of my published work, all at one convenient hub.

Until then, the pic above was taken in the old district of Songkhla, in southern Thailand. I'll be posting more from southern Thailand, as well as other places I've been lately, soon.

The deep south

On my most recent trip I spent a week in three of Thailand's southernmost provinces: Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat. Due to a violent insurgency that's been brewing since 2004, there's not a lot of folks visiting these parts, but there's still a lot of interesting things to see...and eat.

Every big city in the south has a night market. Hat Yai's:

featured a few stalls selling curries, grilled seafood and khanom jeen (fresh rice noodles served with curry). There were also several stalls selling kai thawt hat hai, Hat Yai-style fried chicken. However where it concerns the local dish, the residents I talked to consider Kai Tod Daycha, with three branches around town, the best:

Hat Yai-style fried chicken differs from elsewhere in its spice-laden marinade, and Daycha served the eponymous bird over fragrant yellow rice, or with a side of som tam (papaya salad).

In addition to Muslim-style food, there are also lots of ethnic Chinese in the south, and at a cafe in Hat Yai I had a wonderful bowl of ba kut teh:

pork ribs cooked in a herbal broth and served with sides of rice and deep-fried bits of dough. And yes, that's an entire head of garlic there in the broth.

Moving south, Pattani also has a much smaller, but still interesting night market serving a mix of Thai-Muslim and Chinese dishes:

The city also has one of the most vibrant morning markets in the region:

Most people in Pattani are ethnic Malays and there were more conversations in Yawi (a Malay dialect) than in Thai. In addition to language, breakfast is also very different in Thailand's deep south. Undoubtedly the most popular morning meal in these parts is khao yam (pictured at the top of this post), rice, often cooked with a type of purple flower, and topped with a bunch of finely-sliced herbs, roasted coconut, and a type of fish sauce called budu. The thin red strips are a kind of flower called dawk dala.

Another ubiquitous breakfast, especially in Muslim areas, is roti, a type of crispy pancake associated with Thai-Muslim cooking, and often served with a curry dip:

Thai Muslims really love sweet food, and will often put a tablespoon of sugar or three into the dip. In fact, despite southern Thai food's reputation as the hottest regional cuisine in the country, I found that many dishes featured sweet as their leading flavour. In Songkhla they like a dish called tao khua:

thin rice noodles and deep-fried crispy bits swimming in an insanely sweet sauce.

After a meal like that, I rarely felt a need for dessert, but really fell for khanom kho:

These are soft balls of dough and coconut meat surrounding a tiny cube of raw sugar. The combination of the soft, fluffy outside and the crunchy inside was amazing.

Ayuthaya (again)

I've been on the road quite a bit lately, the reason for not having posted in while. However I've recently become the owner of an intimidatingly black MacBook, so you can expect some mobile blogging in the near future.

My first trip took me once again visit Ayuthaya. I'm always happy to go there for fresh air and the chance to explore, but the excellent Thai food has also become a good enough excuse in its own right. I've already mentioned it here and here, so by now you know that if you visit Ayuthaya, you must eat at Baan Wacharachai. This time I wanted to try something different, and asked the locals about the best place to eat kuaytiaw ruea, 'boat noodles', a dish associated with the city. I was enthusiastically pointed in the direction of an open-air restaurant across from the ruins of Wat Ratburana called Lung Lek ('Uncle Lek'):

Lung Lek's noodles here must be among the most intense bowls I've ever consumed. There were the usual condiments on the table (fish sauce, dried chilies, sugar), but none was necessary--the noodles were already thoroughly spicy, sour and sweet. The beef variety (pictured above) contained a few slices of very tender stewed beef along with lots of unidentifiable bits, and the pork combined par-boiled pork and meatballs. Both contained a handful of par-boiled phak boong (sometimes known as 'morning glory', a green aquatic veggie), crispy rinds and a dose of blood. After a bowl of each (they're small and cost 15 baht) I cycled just up Thanon Chee Kun to Paa Lek ('Aunt Lek'), another recommended noodle joint. Paa Lek's noodles (pictured at the top of the post) were slightly more attractive, and judging by the crowd (and the wait) more popular, but I felt they lacked the intensity of the previous shop's. Sweet was the leading flavour here, and I'm not a big fan of bean sprouts.

I've previously mentioned roti sai mai, candy floss wrapped up in thin pancakes. On this trip I had my sights set on another Ayuthaya sweet fav, khanom babin:

Tiny pancakes of sticky rice flour and coconut meat. When done right they're just a tiny bit crispy on the outside, and soft and sticky on the inside. And they're usually not too sweet either (a rare trait among Thai sweets). Khanom babin can be found in abundance at the market located directly behind Wat Phramongkhon Bophit.

More at Real Thai

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Nittaya Curry Shop

Many Thai dishes begin with a thick, pungent paste, typically combining chilies, garlic, shallots and sometimes dried spices. These pastes are known as phrik kaeng or khrueang kaeng, and in the past, were made at home, using a mortar and pestle. Nowadays, at least in Bangkok, most people skip this time-consuming step and buy pre-made pastes. There are lots of brands out there, but if you're lucky enough to live near Banglamphu, you can get yours at Nittaya.

Having made curry pastes for several decades now, Nittaya has quite a reputation. They've got everything here, from ready-to-go matsaman paste, to an excellent nam phrik phao. The curry pastes are kept in covered containers:

although this does little to mask the...delicious odour. They're sold by weight, and the staff can even put your choice into a leak-proof tube.

Nittaya also sells heaps of prepared curries and other dishes:

(To see a larger version of this pic, go here.)

Nittaya Curry Shop (Google Maps link)
136-40 Th Chakhraphong
02 282 8212
10am-7pm

Guilty pleasures

Lest you think it's all famous restaurants and ancient recipes for me here in Bangkok, I do enjoy (relatively) trashy food once in a while. This desire usually manifests itself early in the morning, when I'm on my way to Chinatown to take photos. Stopping by Hua Lamphong, the city's main train terminal, I beeline to the snacks shown above. The waffle-like pastry above is in fact, cleverly known as The Waffle (motto: "Enjoy your life enjoy your waffle"). Lately I've been opting for sesame-salt flavour, but I'm also an firm supporter of rum-raisin. A hunk of The Waffle is best enjoyed with a steaming paper cup of espresso from Black Canyon (motto: "A drink from paradise... available on Earth"), a bargain at 50 baht.

And if there was any additional need to justify my decision, here's the view at Hua Lamphong:

(For a larger version of this pic, go here.)

Friend and fellow blogger Newley Purnell is also a big player on the Bangkok waffle scene. He has been known to down one or two The Waffles, but is probably most recognized for his promotion of that ancient Thai snack dish, the waffle-coated hot dog.

Choy Tii

Ever find yourself in a rut? There's so much good stuff to eat in Bangkok's Chinatown, but somehow I always find myself going to the same places. Thus with the intention of trying something new, I stopped by Choy Tii, a shophouse noodle joint on Thanon Plaeng Naam in the heart of Bangkok's Chinatown. What initially drew me in was the shop's sign (above), which advertised phat mee hong kong, Hong Kong-style fried noodles. Unfortunately Choy Tii was out of the thin, pale wheat noodles used to make this dish and I was asked if I'd rather have mee haeng, 'dry noodles'. I agreed, reluctantly, and received this:

The noodles, the flat kind known as bamii, were par-boiled along with a few leaves of lettuce, and the whole lot was topped with cubes of fatty muu waan, 'sweet pork', and generous lashings of thick dark Chinese-style vinegar. The dish was meaty, oily and sour, and I thought it was one of the best bowls of noodles I've had in a long while. I ate every last bit.

Looking at the sign again it appeared that yen taa fo was Choy Tii's signature dish, so I decided to try a bowl. I was highly disappointed: the soggy noodles, tasteless factory-like fishballs and weak broth were particularly disappointing, especially after the wonderful yet simple bowl I had just eaten. It was almost enough to make me order another mee haeng.

Choy Tii (Google Maps link)
59 Th Plaeng Naam
02 222 6087
Lunch & dinner

Poj Spa Kar

This restaurant, pronounced phot saphaa khaan, is famous for its cook, who is the relative of a former cook in the royal palace. The restaurant, which has been located in the same place since 1925, claims to follow these royal recipes, and serves excellent old-school faves such as mee krawp (sweet/sour crispy noodles) and kaeng liang (a thick soup combining shrimp and vegetables). I particularly like the more unusual dishes such as a delicious salad of fresh herbs and grilled pork, and the deceptively simple but delicious omelet with lemongrass (pictured above).

Poj Spa Kar (Google Maps link)
443 Th Tanao
02 222 2686
10:30am-2:30pm, 5:30-9pm Mon-Fri; 11am-9:30pm Sat-Sun

Media roundup

It's been a busy holiday season:

Phil, of The Last Appetite, and I did a piece about Cambodia's pepper (above) that is in the current issue of Chile Pepper.

I took the photos for a piece about dining in Bangkok in last month's Olive.

I believe I have a piece about phat thai in the current issue of Intermezzo.

Here's an interview (in French), with friend and photographer Eric Valli about our experience photographing bird nest gatherers in southern Thailand one year ago. His photos, including one that I took, were in a recent Paris Match.

And lastly, RealThai was mentioned in a recent New York Times piece on food in Bangkok.

Sor Raad Naa

You'd think you could get fried rice just about anywhere in Bangkok. But Cherry insisted we needed to go to Thanon Thaa Din Daeng, across the river in Thonburi. Cherry has taken me to some good places on this street before, so I had no reason to object.

What makes Sor Raad Naa's fried rice worth the journey is that owner fries the rice old-school style in a wide flat wok over very, very hot coals. Occasionally he tilts the wok to impart everything with a smoky flavour:

If the coals aren't hot enough, he flips a switch that turns on a high powered fan. He does two types of fried rice, one with tomato (pictured above) and another with Chinese kale:

The tomato version was slightly sour, and I imagine that the kale version would taste slightly bitter from the greens. Both are topped with pork that has been marinated and cooked ahead of time.

As the name suggests, the shop was originally known for its raad naa, noodles fried in a thick gravy. They also do the fried noodle dish, phat sii iw, but it seemed that most people, like us, came for the fried rice.

Other places on the same street that Cherry has taken me to include the famous satay place and Chua Jiab Nugan.

Sor Laad Naa (Google Maps link)
Soi 13, Th Thaa Din Daeng
Lunch & dinner

Sanguan Sri

This restaurant (pronounced sa ngoo an see), resembling a concrete bunker filled with office furniture circa 1973, has been a longtime favourite of the the lower Sukhumvit professional set. The kitchen specializes in central and southern Thai fare, with an emphasis on sweet-savoury dishes and curries.

On a recent visit, friends Liz and Dan and I ordered khaao tang naa tang (pictured above), crispy rice cakes served with a sweet-savoury coconut milk, herb and ground pork topping. On previous visits I have had a good kaeng phet pet yaang, red curry with grilled duck breast served over khanom jeen noodles, and an interesting salad containing dried fish:

I've eaten here quite a few times recently, and have enjoyed each meal. This is in contrast to David Thompson, who told me he didn't enjoy his latest visit. I urge those of you in Bangkok to stop by and let us know what you thought.

To find Sanguan Sri, enter Thanon Withayu and look for a gray, featureless building that you'll inevitably walk past without noticing.

Sanguan Sri (Google Maps link)
59/1 Th Withayu
02 252 7637
Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm

Maan Mueng/Yaa Maeng Wai

I've mentioned this northern Thai restaurant suburban Bangkok previously, but after a recent meal, and now that I'm mapping restaurants, feel compelled to mention it again.

Perhaps I wasn't so decisive about this before, but after my third visit, I'd say that this place serves the best northern Thai food I've eaten outside of the region. In fact, I'd wager that Maan Mueng puts out better northern Thai nosh than many restaurants in Chiang Mai! If you come during the day, the selection if huge, and you can just point to whatever looks good from the pots out front. It's probably one of the only places in Bangkok where you can get seasonal dishes, such as the dish pictured above. It's called yam phak hueat, and is made from sour-tasting leaf (phak hueat) that is minced and par-boiled before being mixed with a curry paste and some other herbs and seasonings. It may not look (or sound?) that pleasant, but was delicious.

Another fun dish was something of a northern Thai tempura; big green chilies stuffed with a delicious minced pork mixture, then battered and deep-fried:

But perhaps the coolest thing about Maan Mueng is the greens; there's a vast table topped with bowls containing different veggies, leaves and herbs, many of which most Bangkok Thais wouldn't even recognize:

A waitress warned me that one herb I chose would make my mouth numb. She was right.

Maan Mueng, which is also known as Yaa Maeng Wai, and which is now open evenings, recently moved a bit further up Ramkhamhaeng, and is now truly outside of the city, but is definitely worth a visit.

Maan Mueng/Yaa Maeng Wai (Google Maps link)
Ramkhamhaeng 162
8am-10pm (closed Tuesday)
081 913 3413/081 771 1708

Samut Songkhram's morning market

Samut Songkhram, a small town south of Bangkok, has one of the most interesting fresh markets in the country. As illustrated above, a significant part of the market is located directly on the city's railroad tracks. When the train runs through, as it does several times each day, everybody picks up and moves to allow it to pass, then immediately gets back down to important task of vending. The aesthetics of the situation, not to mention the excellent food, led to some interesting images, some of which can be seen here.

Update: Reader cranrob sent a link to a hilarious YouTube video (not mine) of the train running through the market:

Foreign food

It may not look like it, but these very Thai-looking sweets, photographed at a market in Samut Songkhram, are in fact Portuguese in origin. Here's a description of how they came about, excerpted from an article I wrote a while back for Chile Pepper magazine:

Other than simply having brought new ingredients to the people and places they colonized, in some cases, by living and mixing with local populations, the Portuguese also had an impact on the way Asians cooked. This can be seen as early as the early 16th century, when after having secured the port of Melaka in present-day Malaysia, the Portuguese went abroad to nearby Thailand, then known as Siam. Establishing friendly relations with the kingdom that was based in Ayuthaya, the Portuguese influenced an unexpected aspect of Thai cuisine: its sweets. By introducing the concept of using egg yolks and flour, ingredients integral to Portuguese dessert making, the Portuguese had an impact on Thai desserts that exists until today. Remnants of this legacy can still be found Ayuthaya today. There I came across a variety of Thai sweets, probably variants of ovos moles, a Portuguese egg custard. These bright orange sweets included foy thong, ‘golden strands’, thong yot, ‘golden drops’, and thong yip, ‘pinched gold’, the names all including the Thai word for gold, thong, a reference to the color imparted by the use of duck-egg yolks.

Do I have any Portuguese readers out there? Am curious to know if these sweets still take the same form in their country of origin.

Stay tuned for more pics from Samut Songkhram's very impressive market.

Kok Kaat

Curries are a big deal in Kanchanaburi. People in this province love them, and love lots of them. I saw a restaurant in Thong Phaa Phoom district advertising 100 dishes. You can recognize such restaurants by the stainless steel pots out front. Other than curries, you'll also find soups, stir-fries and other dishes. Understandably, it's a big decision:

Finding myself both in Kanchanaburi and hungry, I was lucky to find Ko Kaat, a roadside stall boasting 39 dishes. After lifting about 20 lids, my partner in eating, Aong and I finally rounded it down to four dishes. Unfortunately, Kok Kaat appears to favour quantity over quality, and the dishes were had were average, although not bad. These included a pretty good tom yam het, mushroom tom yam:

and kaeng khii lek, a curry made from a bitter leaf:

For a few more pics, see the slideshow here.

Kok Kaat (Google Maps link)
211/1 Th Saengchuto, Kanchanaburi
034 512481
7am-3pm

Jay Wa

Khao man kai, Hainanese-style chicken rice is a dish you can find just about anywhere in Bangkok. The hard part is finding a good one. Working on vague word-of-mouth instructions, my food detective friend Aong and I found ourselves near the Victory Monument confronted by two identical-looking khao man kai restaurants. Employing an innate ability to find good eats in Bangkok that has yet to fail us, we chose Jay Wa. Good choice. The rice was perfectly-cooked (not too soggy or to dry), and my favourite part, the sauce -- a mixture of tao jiaw (fermented soybeans), ginger and vinegar -- was also wonderful.

In the course of our gluttony we discovered that Jay Wa also does a wonderful kuaytiaw yentafo (a noodle soup combining fish balls and a red, spicy broth).

Khao Man Kai Jay Wa (Google Maps link)
Victory Monument
02 640 9891
lunch & dinner

A change is gonna come...

In the words of the great Mr. Cooke, I'd like to announce some significant changes coming to RealThai. In the next couple days, those visiting this blog will automatically be redirected to a more general foodblog at my online portfolio, www.austinbushphotography.com/foodblog. RealThai has been just as international as it has been Thai for while now, so you can expect to see no real change in content. However I thought thought that integrating my blogs (I'll also have a photography blog, www.austinbushphotography.com/photoblog) with my online portfolio would make a unique 'hub' of all my work. I hope you'll agree, and I also hope you'll take the time to check out the new images that form my portfolio, as well as my photography blog. Enjoy!

Naay Mong

Mr. Mong makes the best hawy thawt, fried oysters, in town. Actually, don't tell Mr. Mong, but I prefer it when Mrs. Mong is at the stove (see above). Her dish is greasy, has little nutritional value, and honestly, doesn't look very attractive:

but it's delicious, which is what counts.

To make it, they fry a flour and egg-based batter over a coal-burning stove until it resembles crispy and nearly burnt pancake:

They then toss either mussels or oysters on the stove and along with some spring onions, soy sauce and a corn starch wash, fry until just done. These are then used to top the crispy batter.

I'm told they also make an excellent fried rice with crab.

Naay Mong (Google Maps link)
539 Thanon Phlapplaachai
02 623 1890
5-10pm

Thai Charoen

Wandering about Bangkok's Chinatown as I often do, I tend to pass by lots of good eats, usually immediately after I've finished eating. I always make a mental note to come back, but it's not often that this happens.

A couple weeks ago I finally made it back a shop that I had noticed several times. Thai Charoen, a tiny family-run place along Thanon Charoen Krung, sells equal parts Thai (curries, spicy stir-fried dishes) and Chinese (stewed veggies, fried noodles), and dishes, such as the stuffed squid shown above, that seem to straddle both cuisines.

I had eggplant stir-fried with fish dumplings (another Thai-Chinese 'fusion' dish), and a bowl of jap chai, a Chinese vegetable stew.

Both excellent, and I would recommend stopping by. And on this note, I realize Bangkok is a big, confusing town, so from now on, I'm going to try to link all my restaurant writeups to Google Maps. Hope this helps!

Thai Charoen
454 Thanon Charoen Krung (Google Maps link)
02 221 2633
9am-7pm