think about food: Food Memories: Thailand

While on a trip to Asia last spring, it was all about the food. Inexpensive, beautifully prepared, fresh food. From curry to fruit to pancakes to soup it was all amazing. So amazing I fell of the vegetarian wagon for a full 8 weeks. Here's a little trip down memory lane.

Spicy Wide Noodles with Squid, Rambuttri Road food stall, Bangkok. This was my first street stall food experience. Street food is quick, cheap, fresh and tasty. The produce was market fresh and sat atop loads of crushed ice. No regrets here, I loved this stall so much I ate here practically every day for about a week. A drink and a plate cost about $3.50.

This is the view from where I sat and ate my meals. Notice the crushed ice covering the fish. There were a couple woks and butane burners behind the produce and that's all you need to make a meal blog worthy!

Peking style duck with greens and ginger, Chinatown, Bangkok. This meal was a bit daunting to find. I had wandered into Chinatown to have a look around and suddenly there were no farangs (foreigners), no English signage and narrow shady lanes. I felt like Chinatown was one giant covered market. After exploring awhile, I decided to look for somewhere to eat. I entered a diner type place with metal tables and ceramic tiled walls and sat down, hoping there'd be an English menu. There wasn't. I saw what people were eating and decided I would point at something that looked good and hope for the best. The Chinese owner sent a young waitress over to me and she asked me what I wanted in English. I told her I didn't know and she said "pork, chicken or duck". I chose duck.

Chicken Noodle Soup, Soup Stall, Rambuttri Road. Singha Beer, 7-11 Rambuttri Road. Consumed at 1.30 am in my hotel room. Total cost, less than 2 bucks. You know when you're traveling alone and just get tired of eating in public by yourself? It happens. I wanted to sit in my underwear in my air conditioned room and watch BBC and eat soup. Picked this snack up, the stall lady packed it in plastic bags and I borrowed a bowl and some chopsticks from the cafe in the lobby. A complete success I'd say.

Fried Red Snapper and grilled prawns at the Treehouse, Lonely Beach, Ko Chang. What a great night that was. The Treehouse is a conglomeration of huts, shared rooms and a bar and restaurant on stilts going right into the water at high tide. I dined with new friends from the UK and had my first Thai bucket o' booze.

Vegetarian Buffet Lunch on board the snorkeling ferry, near Koh Chang. Somehow I ended up on the ferry that had all the Thai tourists. I swear I was the only farang on the whole trip. I was also the only person not wearing board shorts. I found out why when I got my very first (and hopefully last) sunburned butt.