Speaking of Food…
London, New York and Paris seem to claim King of Food City, but my it seems that this is more Euro-American talk than maybe the world representation. I am finding Bangkok to be the ultimate food place I have visited. Last night I had the greatest Thai food I have ever tasted. OK, so you might already guess the best Thai food is in Thailand, but I would classify last night’s Red Curry and Chicken with Fresh Coconut Milk as one of the best dishes I have ever tasted right up there with the best I have had in France and Belgium. I picked a place blindly called Mango Tree (I liked the name) while walking backstreets of Bangkok and it was fantastic on all levels – impeccable service, outdoor seating, cold beer (I am in the supposed hottEST city in the world so this is required), delicious mango juice, best satay ever). I have has this dinner on my mind ever since.
But Thai food is not the only food in Bangkok. This city has everything from around the globe. Of course, every cuisine from Asia is heavily represented, but there is a lot more. Last night I passed two Mexican restaurants. I ate some wonderful French food the other day. McDonald’s and KFC are here in numbers approaching NYC – the American contribution! Restaurants are just a small portion of the amazing food purveyors, though. The streetsides are full of vendors selling some amazing items. I was taking a photo today when I smelled heaven and without thinking I purchased a bag of small pancake-looking things (chocolate and coconut) that were being cooked fresh on the corner. My head was spinning over them.
The vendors sell a lot of normal stuff like exotic fruits and juices and recognizable Thai food, but they also sell a lot of weird stuff including many things that I cannot identify. Weird such as pink and yellow hot dogs-like on a stick. They must like their insects in Thailand because I have seen heaps of bugs like grasshoppers and walking sticks as well as some I have never seen before. A lot of the smells throughout the city are amazing food smells, but I am smell things regularly that are horrible. They have a fruit called durian that I thought was the same as jack fruit, but it is a strange looking fleshy blob once extricated from the large spiky fruit and it smells so bad that the hotels have signs telling people that it is banned from being brought in. Apparently, Thais are addicted to this smelly fruit and they want to take it upstairs with them.
I read that Thais are either eating or planning their next meal and I really do see them involved with food constantly. For instance, they have these amazing malls throughout the city (it is so hot here that I have even taken refuge in these places) and a good portion of the space is dedicated to food – from fancy gourmet to Dunkin’ Donuts. There is a lot about Asia that I am already getting to know that I never would have believed before I arrived. For now, I can say that Bangkok is a world-class city of ten million happy and respectful people (rarely is a horn honked – try that in NYC, Africa, Peru (!!!!), and the rest) who may be spending a lot more money on food like the rest of us, but they are certainly eating well. I came to Bangkok expecting an over-crowded, dirty, sleazy city of poor people and I am finding it to be modern, clean, exciting, wealthy with no more sleaze than any other big city. Speaking of sleaze (not sure this is an article to speak about it, but…), although there are a lot of massage parlors many of which I believe are legitimate, I am not seeing prostitution or anything else tawdry. Last night I went out to find the supposed sex center and after walking right by it because it is hidden behind clothing vendors (now they are something you can’t miss) I finally located a very tame area. Maybe Bangkok’s nights of wildness are past. Or maybe they never really existed. I’m going out again this evening for another wild night… of eating.
Tags: Asia, thailand
vagabondrick
Loved this entry! I remember whether or not I enjoyed the foods of the countries I visited back in the 70s, but I could never remember much about what I ate! This was a delightful refreshment of my dinner in a Bankok hotel. Thanks