One of Andrew's and my major preoccupations when we travel is eating. If it's weird, we like it, but if it's weird and tasty we like it more.

Somehow, though, I have manged to visit Thailand four or five times without ever sampling the dried squid that vendors proudly wheel about town. I think this will have to be remedied soon!

At first glance, the squids are pretty freaky-lookin': they're all pinned up in neat rows on the vendor's cart like scores of lottery tickets or tiny little flags. Squashed flat until they're paper-thin, they have a kind of transluscent rice-paper look - but unmistakeably seafoody at the same time. Apparently, they are a favoured drinking snack here.

What I can now recommend, though, are tiny quails' (?) eggs cooked up in front of you and served with a hefty sprinkle of white pepper and a great dash of salty Golden Mountain sauce. The eggs are cooked in one of those heavy cast-iron moulds set with dozens of little dimples, just like Japanese restaurants use to make octopus balls. 20 baht (about 60 cents Australian) buys you a plateful, served on a bed of shredded greens and popped into a styrofoam container.

Also good is 'Octopus Roe' ... at least, that's what the stallholder was billing it as, and I didn't want to enquire too much further! It was a little fishy, and quite scallop-like in its texture - but verry nice with spicy chilli sauce.

For some visual cues, have a look below. The octopus roe is on the left and the miniature eggs are on the right: