Corny snacks

Lately, I discovered that corn niblets can be a scrumptious after-lunch snack. Scoop them into a cup, pour some sour dressing in and add a sprinkling of sugar... yummy! Here, a young street vendor was seen running his ladle through a big pile of corn. As he mixed and thrashed them around, aromatic whiffs was sent drifting to the noses of passer-bys. 

Khai Yiao Maa Kra Pao Krop

Rice with Century Eggs & Crispy Basil Leaves 

Khai Yiao Maa, literally meaning horse urine eggs, is what Thais call their century eggs. I seriously don't think that century eggs are made by dunking eggs in horse urine, but it would be interesting to look up the origins of the naming. This was one of the latest dishes discovered in the Ram II neighbourhood before we moved out of it. This visually inviting dish is comprised of crispy fried basil leaves, pieces of century egg stir fried with pork and some corn, carrots and long beans. Lovely. 

Naem Nueang - Vietnamese rolls a la Thai

A generous dosage of the greens...

... with paper-thin, semi-translucent rice rolls and a bowl of special dipping sauce ...

... together with a plate of pineapple cubes, sliced cucumber, carrot and radish slices, dried banana wedges, garlic pieces, dried spicy chilli andddd fragrant pork cubes,

VOILA!

You will get Naem Nueang (แหนมเนือง), a kind of Vietnamese roll that Udon Thani is particularly famous for.

Cim Cum - the tasty hot pot

Udomsuk is one of mr;p's and my favourite dining place in Bangkok, and we usually go there when we want a better dinner or there's any occasion for celebration. Last week, we headed to Aroi Naenorn (Confirmed Delicious Restaurant) for some Isan specialties.

Cim Cum ranks high on my list of favourite Thai food. It is an Isan favourite that mr;p first introduced to me last year in Udon Thani. The flavourful soap concoction in the ceramic pot is slowly brought to boiling point by the charcoal underneath. One can choose between seafood, pork or mixed soup bases. We opted for the pork option. It comes with an abundance of raw vegetables (I can only name cabbages for now - some of which will give very strong flavour to the soup), an egg, a plate of glass noodles, and most importantly, naam cim (the chilli sauce concoction) for dipping all the food morsels.

Food court delights in Bangkok

Food courts in Thailand offer an easy and convenient amalgamation of the various street food delights. While taking a break from shopping at Pratunam one day, we headed to the food court located at the topmost floor of the Platinum Shopping Mall and a satisfying meal ensued. 

In Thailand, all sorts of meat can be strung onto the bamboo sticks, from chicken parts to squid. Muu Satii  หมูสะเตีะ (pork satay) is also a common delight in Thailand, and looks very much like the satays in Singapore and Malaysia.  Unlike its halal southern counterparts, pork is the meat most commonly used and this variant is tasty too! 

I always have a weakness for sweet things. Not knowing which dessert I should choose, I told the hawker to mix everything. In this bowl, there is a wonderful concoction of red beans, kidney beans, sticky rice, sago seeds, yam, tapioca niblets, and topped with a sprinkling of sesame seeds swimming in a sea of thick, creamy coconut gravy. Yummy. 

Khao Soi

When I first tasted Khao Soi (ข้าวซอย) in Mae Sai, Chiangrai, Northern Thailand, I decided that it was a cross between the laksa and mee siam (signature dishes in the Peninsula Malaysia and Singapore). It consists of flat egg noodles in a curry-like sauce, complemented with lime wedges, sliced onion, pickled vegetables and chilli powder. Meat such as chicken, beef or pork is also packed within the creamy coconuty soup, so be sure to specify your order, whether it should be Khao Soi Kai, Khao Soi Neur or Khao Soi Muu respectively.

It is one Thai dish that I often crave for, for it is not that easy to find it within mr;p's immediate neighbourhood when I am in Bangkok nor within Singapore (but Golden Mile does offer this dish of course!). Some accounts that I read pointed that Khao Soi is Burmese, or Yunnanese-Hui (Hui is a term that refer to Muslims in China) in origin, but it is certainly a Northern Thai specialty now.

Several farang bloggers have written about Khao Soi as well, read The Other History of Khao Soi for an interesting peek into the purported historical account.

So if any of you is heading to Northern Thailand soon, be sure to order this! It also goes by names of Chiangmai Curry Noodles, Burmese Noodles, etc.

Kung Chae Naam Plaa

If you like sashimi or raw seafood, this Thai dish will probably take to your palate well if you can also stomach the strong flavours of Thai fish sauce (naam plaa). Known as Kung Chae Naam Plaa - กุ้งแช่นำปลา (Thai: shrimps dipped in fish sauce), this dish is commonly found in Thai restaurants and is somewhat like sashimi a la Thai style. A must-try if you love the intense flavours of Thai cuisine.

The critical factor here, whether this dish will make or break, will have to depend on the freshness of the shrimps. Not only do fresh shrimps taste better, they are also easier on the stomach, you wouldn't want to hog the toilet after eating these shrimps, isn't it? And with the complement of the dipping sauce (naam cim) which consist of chilli, lemon juice, garlic bits and mint leaves, we are ready to go. Tuck in... or dip in!


mr;p first introduced this dish to me last December and i really like it. When i introduced this dish to Mum, she absolutely fell in love with it and requested to have it for our dinner three days in a row! We even had to order a second serving of kung chae naam plaa for one of the evenings because Mum ate so many of the shrimps before we could get to them. Meanwhile, Papa had a much harder time though. He was caught dipping one of the shrimps in the hot tom yam kung hotpot, and we all burst all laughing at that!

Naam Tok

Another favourite dish of mine, Naam Tok (น้ำตก) is supposedly an Isan dish that is also easily found. However, what I find very amusing about this dish is its name - Naam Tok, which means waterfall in Thai. So far, none of my Thai friends nor mr;p is able to tell me why this dish is named after a natural occurrence.

Its namesake aside, this is a wonderful dish to behold once you are used to the strong flavours of Thai food. To make a mean Naam Tok, the beef which was prepared and marinated with fish sauce, tamarind concentrate and lime juice, is sliced into thick bite-sized pieces and then served with generous helpings of raw cabbages, long beans and mint leaves.

Mouth-watering Chok

Cooking porridge is not hard, but to cook it really well and tasty, it's not easy. After reading a raving review about this chok (โจ๊ก / porridge in Thai) stall from a farang blogger, i insisted that mr;p and i have to try this supposedly well-known porridge stall located near On Nut Station (by the roadside, on the same side as Tesco Lotus).

So one fine morning, mr;p and i traipsed to this porridge stall. Thank goodness we didn't arrive any later (8.30am or so), for if we reach any later, we would not taste the porridge as we were served one of the last bowls for the day! This stall must be enjoying a roaring business.

The stall signage proclaimed that no MSG was used, but that didn't matter as the chok is indeed aroi maak maak! Prior to this stall, mr;p and i had tried two other stalls in his Ram II neighbourhood, but they paled in comparison to this...

The porridge was piping hot when i was served and i had to blow on each mouthful before putting it into my mouth. Generous dopings of minced pork, pig intestines and livers, spring onion and ginger slices were heaped on top, while an egg sat at the bottom of the bowl. The rice was soft, mushy and flavourful and it just melted in my mouth. A very satisfying start to the day indeed, mr;p and i decided that we must head back to that stall again!

Naam Tau Hu

I am often fascinated by how a dish varies across the neigbouring countries, in this instance, the soya bean milk. I like to drink soya bean milk that is warm and thick. So i was most astonished in my earlier days when i realised that there is an option of adding fillings into soya bean milk in Thailand, unlike in Singapore which we often just drink it purely.

I chanced upon a *naam tau hu (น้ำเต้าหู้) stall at the market near mr;p's place. For an extra 2B, i.e. a total of 6B, i added a mixture of yellow beans, barley, pearl sagos into my morning drink. I still can't decided which version is better - with or without fillings. I need to drink more!

Also known as 豆浆 or 豆奶.

Agalico

I first knew about Agalico from Ye Xiao Zhong （叶孝忠), one of my favourite travel columnists. Subsequently, after reading many raving reviews about this chic cafe in Bangkok, I decided that I must give it a try. So during my latest escapade to Bangkok, mr;p and I went in search of this garden cafe.

From sources on the internet, Agalico is located at Sukhumvit Soi 51, so we happily alighted at the nearest BTS station at Thonglor. To our dismay, we couldn't locate Agalico at all on our first try! In fact, Agalico is located near the entrance of Soi 51 at Bunjirathorn Building, a white building. Just push open the wooden door at the entrance to the carpark, and voila, you are there!

There are several unique points about Agalico. Firstly, Agalico only opens on Fri, Sat and Sun because it will otherwise function as an interior design firm on workdays. Secondly, the owner is purpotedly related to the royal family. Thirdly, and its most attractive feature, is the garden-like setting with ample greenery in the cafe. My pictures can bear testimony to that.

Some people find it refreshing that such a tranquil place can still be found in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. It is indeed , but it is certainly not the best I've been to in Thailand. With cake prices hovering at 95B, I wouldn't exactly call it cheap, and mr;p felt that we could get such similar settings at much cheaper prices upcountry (anywhere out of Bangkok is considered as upcountry).

Well, at least we spent a delightful and leisurely late afternoon at Agalico, where I went a bit trigger-happy and attempted a few close-up shots with my macro lens. If any friend is keen to check out this cafe with a lush tropical setting when you are in Bangkok, let me give you the directions.

Black Canyon Coffee

Thais seem to love their coffee very much, judging from the number of cafes, coffee houses, kiosks and joints that are dotted in shopping malls, petrol stations, train stations, etc across the country. Black Canyon Coffee is widely available, and even seem to enjoy greater popularity than Starbucks in the kingdom. When i first knew about Black Canyon, I thought it is a foreign brand, based on its seemingly internationalised design and style, but in fact, this is a homegrown coffee house franchise of Thailand.

I'm not an ardent fan of coffee, and don't really know how to appreciate the finer flavours of it. However, Black Canyon X'press at the National Stadium BTS Skytrain Station has been a good place for me to hang out after mr;p has gone to work, leaving me to enjoy the aromatic flavours while scribbling notes in preparation for my interviews.

Not too long ago, I found out that Black Canyon Coffee has established an outlet in Singapore at 19 East Coast Road (pretty near to Katong Shopping Centre). Should check it out one day!

Som Tam

Som Tam (ส้มตำ) or Papaya Salad (as it is often called in English) is a ubiquitous dish in Thailand. What was originally an Isaan (Northeast) speciality can now be found throughout the kingdom. It is actually made up of unripe papaya grated into long and thin slices, with tomatoes, long beans, chilli, lime, fish sauce or even crushed peanuts, etc added to give an assortment of flavours- sour, spicy, sweet. This particular version above is Som Tam Sai Puu, or Papaya Salad with Crabs. This dish will go down very well with khao niao (sticky rice)! ;)

Tips: Avoid biting into the chilli seeds if you can't take spicy food very well. You wouldn't want your mouth to be on fire and gasping for water, which happened to me so often in my early days of getting acquainted with Thai food. These little things can be vicious!

I'm hungry

Friends who know me know that I have a weakness for Thai food, places, culture and men, though not necessarily in that order. So I've decided to start a blog entitled "hiwhiw", which literally translates as "hungry hungry" in Thai, with the double emphasis to show how much i crave for Thai food and drinks or knick-knacks associated with Thailand.

The aims of this blog are to:
(i) introduce friends to Thai food (so you would order beyond fried rice and phat thai the next time you are in the kingdom)
(ii) record the types of food i've eaten so that i can find out more about the dish's origins and remember their Thai names better;
(iii) meal times are a favourite for mr;p and me, so which better way to record the memories other than a blog?

Hiw laewwwwwwww...