Beach eats

What do you eat when you're on a Thai island with 11 former students? Food from the country's landlocked rural northeast, of course. Last weekend on Ko Samet this meant sticky rice, grilled chicken and many, many dishes of som tam (a salad of unripe papaya):

The food is sold from mobile vendors, also from the northeast, who prepare both the som tam and grilled chicken from mobile basket kitchens:

At one point we ordered so much chicken that At had to lend a hand to the grilling process:

It wasn't all northeastern food though. At a restaurant in Baan Phe we had a decent dish of puu phat phong karii, crab sauteed with egg and curry powder:

and at a restaurant in Rayong, a nice yam of raw scallops:

There were some culinary lowpoints, however, such as An An's box of cream-filled Doraemon-shaped cookies:

Pics taken with my D100 (my beach camera) without any editing in Photoshop.

Yusup

I've mentioned Yusup, a Muslim restaurant on the northern outskirts of Bangkok, many, many times. The restaurant's rich curries, amazing biryani, and wonderfully sour soups have made it just about my favourite all-around restaurant in Bangkok. I'd love to see more people eat there, but the restaurant is located quite far outside central Bangkok and is something of an ordeal to find. Well, gone now are the days of excuses: armed with Google Maps, you should have no problem in locating Yusup.

I stopped by Yusup for lunch today with a companion and ordered several things, including the dish pictured above, kuruma with roti. I prefer their goat kuruma, but they were out of it so we had to settle for chicken:

Regardless of the protein, the curry is almost impossibly rich and thick, chock fulla dried spices and fresh herbs, and packing a sour bite akin to a vindaloo. My companion ordered kaeng karii kai, Muslim-style chicken curry, over rice:

The curry is lightly spiced, probably not much more than tinned curry powder, and includes thick chunks of potato, tomato and onion. It's served with ajaat, a side of sliced cucumbers, chilies and shallots in a sweet/sour vinegar dressing.

Together we picked at mataba nuea:

A roti stuffed with beef, a few basic veggies and egg, also served with ajaat.

And for dessert? You guessed it--more roti:

this time drizzled with sweetened condensed milk and liberally sprinkled with sugar.

Yusup Phochana (Google Maps link) Kaset-Navamin Highway 05 136 2864, 09 923 8099 Open every day, 11am-2pm

How to get there: The restaurant is located in northern Bangkok along the Kaset-Navamin highway (also known as sen tat mai). If you’re coming from Mor Chit BTS along Th Phaholyothin, turn right at the Kaset Intersection onto the Kaset-Navamin highway. Go past the first stop light and the restaurant is on the left side just after a very large sign with the Swiss flag (as well as several Thai-language signs advertising the restaurant). If you get lost, go ahead and try one of the mobile numbers above, but I’m pretty sure these people don’t speak English.

Finally...

After all this time, it looks like Thailand is set to get to be what appears to be a premium, domestically-made, and if the Gods are kind, drinkable beer: Federbräu. Brewed somewhat surreptitiously by ThaiBev (the brewers of Beer Chang) in Ayuthaya, the beer is a Blond Lager and contains 4.7% alcohol. Interestingly, many of the sites and blogs, not to mention the beer label itself, seem to make a point of mentioning that Federbräu is brewed following the famous Reinheitsgebot, ensuring its purity. But on a tour of a Singha Brewery a few years ago, the German-educated brewmaster ensured me that despite how it sometimes tastes, Singha also contains only water, barley, hops and yeast. Well, Singha had its chance, and iff they can get it right with Federbräu, I'll be switching loyalties very soon.

Now if somebody would only do a blonde ale...

From absolutely Bangkok.com via Thailand's Lost Boy

A work in progress

Anybody who reads this blog has undoubtedly noticed that I tend to spend a lot of time in Bangkok's Chinatown. Other than being a bizarre and boisterous part of town with great food and interesting stuff to see, I've also been taking pics there with the intention of putting on an exhibition at Bangkok's Kathmandu Photo Gallery early next year. After countless visits, I've sat down with the results and have rounded them down to 22 images that I like (at least for now). I haven't been shooting with a specific 'theme' in mind, but have been partially inspired by Khun Manit's (the owner of Kathmandu, and a well known Thai photographer) comments that the early images I showed him seemed to depict the relationship that the residents of Chinatown have with their space--typically their lack of it and the way the deal with this. Some of the pics below are an effort to explore this theme, while others are simply interesting images. It's a big blog entry, I know, but I'd appreciate if any of you could sit down for a few minutes, take look at the images and give me some feedback, in particular, which images you reckon I shouldn't include, and why.

Krua Apsorn

In 2006 Krua Apsorn was chosen as one of the Bangkok Post's Best Restaurants (see clip here). Apparently members of the Thai royal family like to get their eat on here, and I've noticed that David Thompson likes to recommend the second branch of the restaurant, located by the National Library, to visiting chefs and friends. Not surprisingly, the place is generally quite crowded and reservations are even recommended (!), but on the rainy Friday night we visited, Krua Apsorn was virtually empty.

We started with yellow curry with lotus stems and prawns (pictured above). I really enjoyed this dish. Having recently been in southern Thailand, which is where yellow curry comes from, I have had it lots lately, but think I prefer this version. Unlike in the south, where the dish is insanely spicy (and often even more insanely sour), this version had a balance of flavours. Another favourable difference is that the lotus stem was still crispy, unlike the typically soggy veggies in the more traditional version.

A laap of mushrooms:

was pleasantly sour and rich with the earthy, smokey flavour of khaao khua, roasted ground rice.

Another somewhat unusual dish was pork fried with a curry paste made with a particular type of chili called phrik karieng and milk (as opposed to coconut milk):

I particularly liked the simple but delicious stir-fry of gourd greens (fak maew) and a type of local flower (dawk khajawn):

And finally, one of the restaurant's specialties, a round omelet with crab meat:

Because of the Thai name, I expected this to have a lighter and fluffier texture. It was good, but a bit heavy on the egg and light on the crab.

In all, we had a very good, though not amazing, meal. I'd definitely come again though, as the expansive and slightly unusual menu suggests that there's lots of interesting stuff in store. For another view of Krua Apsorn, check out this review at previously unknown Thai foodblogger and cookbook author, Oh Sirin.

Krua Apsorn (Google Maps link) Th Dinsor 02 6854351 10.30am-10pm, closed Sunday

Banglamphu & around, April 25, 2008

A newsstand at Tha Chang, Bangkok

Along Thanon Maharat, Bangkok

A monk on the Chao Phraya Express Boat, Bangkok

Thanon Maharat, Bangkok

Streetside chess, Thanon Maharat, Bangkok

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Hairdresser, Khao San Road, Bangkok

Hawking souvenirs to tourists, Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok

Crazy tuk-tuk, Khao San Road, Bangkok

My new tool

The Nikon D300. Currently in waiting outside Chicago, USA. In my hands early May. For details, go in-depth reviews at dpreview.com or Ken Rockwell's site.

Banglamphu, April 22, 2008

Temple doors, Wat Ratchabophit.

Live music on Thanon Khao San.

Making up on Thanon Khao San.

A vendor being chased away from Thanon Khao San.

Nay Lek (Uan)

Arguably Bangkok's most popular hawker stall, Naay Uan's recipe for success must lie in its simplicity. His kuay jap, a basic but delicious soup of of pork offal, thick rice noodles and broth draws literally hundreds of hungry diners to Chinatown every night:

(For a larger version of this image go here.)

But that broth... Naay Uan's kuay jap broth is probably the most pepper-intense dish I've ever consumed. The guy must pour bags of ground white pepper into his broth, leaving the diner with a mildly burning, spicy sensation. For me this is the highlight, but I think most people come for the meat, which includes your choice of pork heart, stomach, tongue or crispy deep-fried pork.

Cnr Soi 11 & Th Yaowarat (Google Maps link) 02 224 3450 7pm-late

Dancefloor

  Bangkok, Thailand. ISO 2200.

Lung Lek

Have you ever rented a car and driven to another province for a bowl of noodles? That's exactly what me, Hock and Andy did this weekend. Andy is the owner of Pok Pok, a popular Thai restaurant in Portland, Oregon, and is on something of a noodle research expedition across Asia. I offered to contribute to this scholarship by taking him to Lung Lek, a noodle shop in Ayuthaya. Hock was kind enough to drive, his expensive mobile phone providing both navigational support and musical entertainment.

Lung Lek ('Uncle Lek') claims to have been making his unique 'boat-style' noodles (kuaytiaw ruea) for 30 years now. I reckon he's just about got it down. I really the beef version:

Unfortunately our first bowls were pretty mild, as seeing that we were not Thai, Lung Lek dumbed the flavours down, assuming we wouldn't be able to take the heat. Re-ordering brought us the bowl shown above. This type of noodle dish is called naam tok ('waterfall') and usually includes a swirl of fresh blood, but Lung Lek adds a tablespoon of the liquid used to marinade his beef. Like other boat noodles, his broth is laden with dried spices, and has a dark colour. Unlike others, Lung Lek's noodles aren't sweet, and his broth is much richer.

Lung Lek's nearly half-century investment has proven worthwhile, in my opinion. Now if he'd only put the ladle down for a day or two and consider improving the aesthetics of his restaurant (little more than rickety tables on a dirt floor under a ratty tarp). If he wishes to maintain some of the more rustic elements of the current restaurant he could could make the simple transition towards French Country, however I'd suggest something a bit more radical like the Queen Anne-inspired whimsy of Raul Villares Gayan's Nouveau series.

Lung Lek

Th Chee Kun (across from Wat Ratburana), Ayuthaya

9am-4pm

Tsukiji

For a larger version of this image go here.

While on a recent visit to Tokyo, I spent four mornings exploring and taking photos of Tsukiji, the world famous seafood market. The highlight of the market for many is the famous tuna auction, which in the last decade has actually become a huge tourist destination. During each of my visits there were at least a hundred or more visitors, standing in the way, taking photos (often with flash, although very large signs asked that people not do this), and posing with the fish. Tiny forklifts are constantly buzzing by at breakneck speed, and the floor is very slippery--clearly not a place for tourists. Being Japanese, the bidders and auctioneers involved in the market were typically polite, but I could sense their frustration. In recent years this madness has reached tipping point, and there's word that since April this part of the market should now be closed to tourists.

As shown above and below, there are several expansive rooms lined with fresh and frozen tuna:

From about 5-6am the potential buyers carefully inspect the tuna, making notes:

looking closely:

and often tasting and smelling the tuna (spitting the meat out on the floor, to my surprise). When inspections are done, a bell rings and the auction takes place:

The highest bidders take their wares off to the interior of the market to be cut and prepared:

This was fascinating, but there's a lot more at Tsukiji than tuna. The entire market covers several cold and wet warehouses:

encompassing virtually every kind of seafood imaginable, from beautiful shrimp:

to crabs:

and fish:

Apparently the entire market is slated to move to another part of town in the next couple years, and will, I've heard, not be as open as the current one.

The entire photoset can be seen here.

Phuket Town

It didn't take me long to discover that, unless you're a fan of mediocre Swedish food or bland Thai/Asian, you'll find little of interest to eat on the island of Phuket. The exception to this was Phuket Town, by far the most interesting and atmospheric place on the island, and virtually forgotten by the hordes of tourists who cling to the beaches. I was surprised to find that many of the traditional dishes you'll find there are nearly identical to those of Penang. This may not come as a big surprise to those familiar with history though, as there was apparently a great deal of trade between Phuket and the former Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore, and all of these areas were populated by similar Chinese ethnic groups.

And it is Chinese cuisine, often with a Southeast Asiann twist, that constitutes much of Phuket Town's traditional food. An example of this is mee hoon, a noodle dish known in Penang as bee hoon:

As well as lor bak:

Deep-fried porky savouries served with a dipping sauce almost identical to that which tops the Malaysian dish rojak. The bits at the top of the plate were nearly identical to hoy jor, and were really delicious.

There was pretty good dim sum:

And another interesting dish of Chinese origin, although I don't recall having seen it in Penang, is something called oh taao:

Somewhat similiar to hoy thawt or or suan, this dish combines chunks of taro, a batter, tiny oysters, egg, a deep red chili and a greenish garlic sauce, and my favourite part, crumbled bits of deep-fried pork rind!

There's a palpable Muslim influence in the city, and on several occasions I had some very tasty roti, both as a savoury breakfast (served with a small bowl of curry), or a sweet snack:

Just outside the city, Ko Sireh is also home to the island's biggest fishing port:

where every morning you can see heaps of interesting looking fish (and on one occasion, three very large sharks!) being unloaded. Not far from the fishing port I found a cool little cafe that served Thai-style coffee and lots of old-school sweets and snacks:

Despite how the look, many of them were just as savoury as they were sweet, and made a wonderful breakfast.

And lastly, if you're looking for something a bit more formal, you can't go wrong with Siam Indigo:

a restaurant housed in an beautiful 80 year old Sino-Portuguese building that does some excellent Thai, Thai-influenced and locally-influenced food.

The entire photoset can be seen here.

A different kind of curry

I’m currently in Tokyo, so this is what my curries will be looking like for the next few days. I love this city and am here taking photos at Tsukiji, the world-famous seafood market, for a magazine article. Will post some pics from that, as well as some of the fun food I had in Phuket just before coming here, soon.

In the meantime, do any of you who read this thing happen to live in Tokyo? I’ll be here until the 2nd and since the language barrier has largely limited me to eating things such as the above, I’d be more than willing to meet up for a real meal. My email can be found at my Bio/Contact page.

Tokyo, March 27 & 28, 2008

At a smoking area, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.

Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.

Paper lanterns line a street in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.

Public awareness, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.

Shinjuku reflected in a bus window, Tokyo, Japan.

The greatest

Throwing around superlatives can be a scary thing, but I think I'm justified in this case. I've been to many, many restaurants in Thailand, and have eaten some pretty amazing food, but Bangpo Seafood particularly stands out in my mind. I knew something was special about it after my first visit over a year ago, and wrote quite a few good things about it, but have always been keen to go back and see if the restaurant was really was as good as I thought.

Well, after two recent visits, my initial impression was right, and I think Bangpo Seafood just might be my favourite restaurant in Thailand.

This informal beachside restaurant located on the northern coast of Ko Samui serves the local dishes of the island. This means lots of seafood, including some unusual ingredients such as waay, a type of small octopus, sea urchin roe and flying fish. Coconuts, a major crop on Ko Samui, feature in several dishes, including khaao man, rice cooked in coconut milk with a pinch of salt and dried green beans. This is the house carb, and apparently was how people on Ko Samui used to prepare their rice. And as with southern Thai food in general, veggies also play a large role, especially in khoei jii:

Shrimp paste pounded up with coconut meat, shallots, chilies and crab, smeared on the inside of a coconut shell then grilled over coals and served with local herbs such as young cashew tree leaves. This dish is given to everybody who walks in the door, and is far from being a throwaway appetizer. I'd be more than happy with a few of these and the previously mentioned coconut rice.

The first dish I ordered was plaa hoop ping:

Flying fish (plaa nok en) that is splayed, coated with a coconut milk/plack pepper/turmeric mixture, then grilled. The result is smokey, salty, oily--everything you'd want in a fish dish.

Yam saaraay:

A Thai-style 'salad' of a local variety of seaweed, which included sour mango and cockles, and oddly, peanuts.

The owner didn't exactly have to twist my arm to convince me to try two of Surat Thani's famous oysters:

Served Thai style with accompaniments of naam phrik phao (a sweet/spicy chili sauce), lime, deep-fried crispy garlic and shallots, seafood dipping sauce and pungent krathin leaves. Despite how impressive they look, I found this the least interesting dish I ate at Bangpo Seafood. The oysters were simply too big, too tough, and had little flavour.

There was also plaa insee phat chaa:

Mackerel stir-fried with fresh herbs. Very oily, as you can see, but the mixture of green peppercorns, krachai (Chinese key--a ginger-like root), garlic, Kaffir lime leaves and fresh fish was outstanding.

And these are just the dishes I ordered. While I was wondering how I could possibly consume all this, the owner's wife brought out a couple more dishes for me to try, including tom som waay:

a soup of a kind of small octopus made sour by the addition of tender young tamarind leaves, as well as several tiny deep-fried fish that one eats in one go, head and all.

And you know what? Other than the oysters, it was all outstanding.

So if this isn't enough to convince you to hop on the next plane, I don't know what else I need to do. However, a brief word of warning: apparently in the same area there are a couple identically named restaurants serving inferior food. If you aim to go to this one, be sure to make certain that you're at Ta Khoe's (the owner, pictured at the top of the post) restaurant.

The entire photoset can be seen here.

Bangpo Seafood (Ta Khoe) 6/4 Moo 6, Mae Nam Ko Samui 077 420 010 lunch & dinner

What are all these tourists looking at?

  Dancing ladyboys along Thanon Bangla, Patong, Phuket, of course:

Art at work

Reproducing famous works of art at Chaweng Beach, Ko Samui.

A work of art

Lunch at an unidentified curry restaurant, Ko Samui. Isn't food beautiful?

Vendor, Chaweng Beach, Ko Samui

This pic makes me smile. She was originally from Bangkok, is a housekeeper at one of the big hotels at night, and by day is a vendor on Chaweng. Buy something from her if you see her!