Category Archives: Bangkok

by | 01/25/2012 · 12:12 pm

Take a Big Bite out of …

... this sai oua?

It’s finally happening. Unless lightning strikes me down as I walk down the street (no, even then, it will still go on), the very first Big Bite Bangkok will be unfolding in front of Maduzi Hotel on Sunday, January 29, from 11-2. Yes, it will be in the blazing heat of midday, but there are umbrellas, and vendors will stage a fight to the death over the two berths in the leafy shade over on the balcony (not really). Speaking of vendors, we have some great ones: the yummy NY deli stylings of BKK Bagel Bakery, aromatic coffee from Roast, some toothsome smoked ham from Soul Food Mahanakorn, scrumptious goodies from Birds in a Row, the delicious bounty of Adam’s Organic, and (my mom’s really excited about this one) awesome stuff from Vietnamese & More. We’ve got great veggie Indian and intriguing Sri Lankan fare, donated (read: free) homemade beer (supplies limited, so hurry!) and, yes, even I am getting in on the action by selling sai oua (Northern Thai sausage) hot dogs.

There is no required entry fee, but we would love a donation of 200 baht if you can spare it. This will go to the charity In Search of Sanuk, a great organization helping families in need.

Parking is limited (think nonexistent), so take the Skytrain if you can. Make sure to bring your shopping totes too, and your own utensils and plates wouldn’t hurt either (although I am bringing some, so don’t worry about it bringing some sort of awful camping-style event where we make you reuse dirty napkins from 2009).

To get there: Get off at Skytrain Asoke exit and take exit 1 leading through True Building. Walk down Rachadapisek towards Benjakiti Park and Queen Sirikit Convention Center, past the entrance to Sukhumvit Soi 16. Once you pass soi 16 and the bus stop, look to your left for a wooden gate and painted “Maduzi Hotel” sign.

Hope to see you there!

 

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Filed under Asia, Bangkok, charity, food, markets, shopping, Thailand

by | 01/09/2012 · 1:30 pm

That Girl

I like to think that I’m generally an open person, and generous too. Even if, sometimes, I’m not.

I don’t want to be That Girl. That Girl doesn’t share anything: her history, her experiences, her restaurant recommendations, or, worst of all, the stuff on her plate. But it happens sometimes. A flick, a wrong turn, and That Girl emerges — most often when I am in a taxi.

I am, how do you say, absolute crap at my native language (it’s Thai). My accent could be dipped in cornmeal, deep-fried and served with a tub of barbecue sauce, it is so American. Which is why taxi drivers invariably ask me, “Where do you come from?”, “Are you Japanese/Chinese/Filipino/Malaysian?” or, even worse, “Why is your Thai so bad?”  Sometimes I tell them the long and boring story of how my Thai came to be so bad. But there are times when I am so bored by my story, and myself, that I can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t want to share.

FADE IN. USUAL TAXI DRIVER CONVERSATION.

Me: Please take me to (someplace with food).

Taxi driver: What? Oh, you mean (someplace with food, with slightly different inflection). Your Thai is so bad! You must be from (name Asian country other than Thailand, like the Philippines).

Me: Uh, yeah. I am from the Philippines. That’s why my Thai is so bad.

Taxi driver: Oh! That’s cool! Manny Pacquiao! Manny Pacquiao!

Me: I’m sorry. I don’t speak Tagalog.

Taxi driver: No! (Mimes boxing moves). Manny Pacquiao? (Slowly realizes no Filipino would not know who Manny Pacquiao is, and that I am a liar).

Me: Oh, sorry.

(Drive continues in silence).

FADE OUT.

So there are times when I am lazy. But other times, I am just plain selfish. That is the case with Uncle John (Suan Plu Soi 8, 081-373-3865), which I have been going to steadily for months, obsessing over, and generally making a fool of myself at, with nary a peep about it ever. It’s not groundbreaking, food-wise: competent renditions of Western luxury hotel restaurant  staples, like grilled seabass, or hoary old standbys like tournedos Rossini, or pub faves like fish and chips, with the occasional foie gras dish thrown in for good measure. But I think it’s brilliant all the same — the Thai street food concept, inverted; a Western aharn tham sung (made-to-order) stall, featuring your typical hotel fare at about half the price!

Like all great ideas, I wish I had thought of it myself. The mise-en-place is pre-prepared; all cooking is done in front (except for desserts, which are plated in back); and there is liberal use of the squeeze bottle for sauces, recalling early ’90s-era Emeril Lagasse. Kudos to Chef Sanjorn (who works as a chef at a luxury hotel nearby by day, and at this stall by night, every night). So even if there is the occasional misfire (overcooked, tough venison), and even though the menu is far more unwieldy than he can get away with (do we really need the big Thai menu or the Indian selections? The wait is long enough as it is), these feel like mean old quibbles to me, things the Most Miserable Person in the World would complain about.

I am not the Most Miserable Person in the World. I am just That Girl.

Chef Sanjorn

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Filed under Asia, Bangkok, food, food stalls, Thailand

by | 12/29/2011 · 11:48 am

What it means to be underrated

This is the last post of 2011 for me, and because of that, I want it to be special. Many people are predictably rolling out the “Best of…Worst of…” lists to punctuate the end of this strange, strange year, but I want to devote my last post to something more special, more near and dear to my food-loving heart. And that is Jet Li.

I love Jet Li. I love him even though other people gawk and aah and ooh over the usuals, all somehow resembling that boy in high school who was so so useless but still managed to breeze through life intact and popular — you know these boys, they are infuriating. Empty vessel of man-meat Brad Pitt, or repository of broken dreams George Clooney, or — snore — Ryan Gosling — how did he happen again? — you get the picture. They are basically iterations on the same boy. They will always have a “Hi, how are you?” as they whiz past you in the hall, not bothering to listen to your reply. That guy. That one.

Jet Li is not that guy. He is little and quick and quiet. He does silly martial arts movies with strange co-stars, a la Jackie Chan, but he has the acting chops to do serious stuff, too. He is not what anyone would call “conventionally handsome”, or “handsome”, or even “quite good-looking”. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t even care if he is the bad guy. Unlike, again, Jackie Chan, he isn’t that desperate to be liked. This is what separates him from the other actors of his genre, like, uh, Jackie Chan … and, er … … … … … … ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jet Li is underrated. Like hua pla restaurants (see what I did there? What a seamless transition!), which are grungy and dingy and not “charming”, “glitzy” or “stylish” in the least. They have the ambiance of an underground storage space, and clientele who are well past retirement age. And the dishes they offer — well, what do you expect from a genre of restaurant named for a “fish head”?

The namesake dish, bubbling in a "maw fai" (fire pot)

Yet these hua pla restaurants resolutely cling to life on the Bangkok dining scene, scattered here and there in the unfashionable sections of town. A subset of the Chinese-Thai restaurant, hua pla places also feature stir-fried seafood dishes, fried rice and noodles besides the namesake dish, a fresh fish (usually giant pomfret, or thao theuy) in either pickled plum or taro broth (pickled plum is better), bubbling contentedly in a metal pot set over a small flame.

Fried e-mee noodles at Hua Pla Maw Fai Nai Kwan

Of all the hua pla restaurants in town, the one I find most accessible is just beyond the Sam Yan subway stop, across the street from Chamchuri Square. Called “Hua Pla Maw Fai Nai Kwan”, this unassuming eatery is hidden in a soi behind the parking lot to the left of Wat Hualumpong on Rama IV Road. It boasts maybe six tables, creaky old Lazy Susans, and a kitchen in back that may have seen  World War II. It is also the perfect place for a quiet, no-fuss lunch on a relaxing Sunday with the day stretching ahead of you like an empty highway. And what could be better than that?

Stir-fried crab with peppers at Nai Kwan

 

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Filed under Asia, Bangkok, fish, food, noodles, restaurant, seafood, Thai-Chinese, Thailand