Food Trip to The Big Mango; Bangkok

[EATTV]

Cast and crew of Food Trip with Todd English travel to Bangkok, Thailand to take a bite of the Big Mango.

“City of angels, great city, immortal jewel of Great Indra’s Ayutthaya, land of the blissful nine-jeweled capital, with abundant palaces, immortal palace where Brahma’s incarnation dwells, built by Vishnukarma (the god of engineering).”

The full Thai name for the city of Bangkok is:

Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthayamahadilok Phopnoppharatratchathaniburirom Udomrathcaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkatthatiyawitsanukamprasit

The Thais just call it ‘KrungThep’. ‘Bangkok’ is for Foreigners or…
Farang. Overall our group has only a little Thai, but quickly becomes familiar with the Thai word farang (often mispronounced; even by Thais) as falang - farang with a slightly trilled ‘r’ is the correct pronunciation.) It’s basically used to describe Caucasians. Farang is also the Thai word for the guava fruit, so we heard a few farang eating farang ‘jokes’ at local markets.

Siam dooz and don’tz

Thais are generally “no sweat guys”. Mai Pen Rai and Chai Yen Yen are catch phrases. It means ‘never mind’ and ‘take it easy’ and the squad will hear them a lot while in Thailand. (We’re sporting a hand full a ‘gimme’ and mouth full of ‘thank you very much’).

On the plus side Thais are patient, tolerant, and don’t show their temper. (We will tax all these). To lose one’s temper is most unbecoming of the person and thought of as a person with low character or poor upbringing.

On the minus side Thais are ultrasensitive, so that even jokes could cause embarrassment or displeasure to them. (We’ll be here too)

Some say that forgetfulness and unpunctuality are a cultural thing with the Thai people. (We fit in)

Advices

No temper. No heads. No feet. No Kings, No monks and as always no mothers.

Do use the wai correctly. A Westerner should never wai first and anyone who is paying for any service is the boss and the bosses don’t wai first. (I pretty much blew this. Wai not?)

The guys and I clear customs at Suvarnabhumi International Airport where only weeks ago political demonstrations had shut down the airport and paralyzed the country. Especially hard hit was the very important tourism industry. We hope to encourage people to come and to eat! First stop: The Oriental. Where everybody knows your name. The lobby is lavish with a fountain of gargantuan tropical blooms and temple bells hung from the high ceiling like pendant lighting of the gods. Wais all around. My room has a very nice view of the Chao Praya River from its very excellent and safe balcony.

I sneak away from the group and explore the neighborhood. Soup time at a crowded alley shop where a woman and her young son invite me to join them and tell me what to order. My rusty Thai is getting me by. Another gent at the next table tells me what to drink. They are of course correct. Sen lek noodle soup with fish balls and prawns. A Hales Blue Boy syrup over ice. On the way back to the Oriental a friendly street vender sells me a sweet omelet I saw her crafting on my way to soup. Wrapped in banana leaf it is a fragrant happy second course. The Thais eat 7 or 8 small meals a day. I love them.

A note on: Cab drivers can do anything. We beat em up for “meter fares” only cause we have not a clue what they are saying. Safety meeting.

Take Tuk Tuk (precarious 2 stroke golf cart runs on methane I think) to Soi Polo: This is my “last meal”. The original gloryfried thai fried chicken, flavored with black pepper and the free world’s supply of golden-brown garlic. Add kao niaow sticky rice and som tam peht mahk (papaya salad very spicy) and soak up the juice with sticky rice balls. Garlicky Isaan sausage (Bangkok boudin), minty laab moo, pork neck, and sizzling whole fish and you have the makings of our first ah-hahn glahng wun (Thai lunch). To get there you go down Soi Polo and it’s about 50 yards in on your left. We visit the two giant fry woks that turn out this perfect food and the skinny fry cook who works that forge. The cold fluorescent light reflects in the pools of bubbling oil, the aroma is garlic and pepper and pure fry-elation. For over 50 years Soi Polo Fried Chicken has been building a loyal some say fanatical following including me. I was here three years ago with my son and I just got rid of the breath. Thumbs up tables of happy Thais surround us in the air-conditioned dinning room just down the Soi. Commando demonstrates table etiquette loading with the fork and eating with the spoon. Runners keep the plates coming and tallboy sweating Singha beers ring the tables. Awesome. I understand they deliver if you live close by. I wonder if the Oriental is too far?

Chatuchak weekend market has a tremendous food market. Durian smells like hell and taste like heaven according to some. I’m gonna say Limburger cheese in an old diaper. An acquired bad taste. We were so full from Polo and saw a lot of food included acrobatic pulled tea but with only a few hours sleep on the plane and the very long day in Delhi that we just ……hit the wall.

Fire works, lit up river boats and illuminated Temples are out at night on The River of Kings, the Chao Praya. DVRBs at our table along the river at The Oriental. Double Vodka Red Bull is nominated the Food Trip Thailand go-to cocktail. State Tower. The dome. Sirocco. Safe at the Hotel. Nightcap.

The local contemporary floating market is Taling Chan, about 30 minutes down river by longtail. Lot’s of food on the water but the Thai “farmers market” is on land. Another Thai Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat at a floating restaurant near Talad Don Wai. Tom Yum Thelay, crab curry, sizzling plaa, som tam, lobsters, prawns. Very hot day. Very cold Beer. The Crazy Market, Talad Don Wai was buzzing. We came to see sweets. We were full of lunch. Nice Buddhist Temple visit brings serenity now.

Wat Po has the huge reclining Buddha with the mother of pearl inlaid feet. It also has Temple Massage where the Chefs got bent over and twisted like pretzels. You haven’t lived till you’ve seen 90 pounds bend 230 pounds like a twig. Verandah lunch back at the Oriental featured an Erawan Curry and a Surratthani crab meat and pomelo salad:

In a mortar and pestle, smash a clove of garlic and two bird’s eye chilies with about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Then add a finely chopped stalk of lemon grass and smash it up some more. About a tablespoon of dried shrimp and the juice of one wedge of lime and smash this more and mix into about 1.5-2.0 cups of shredded pomelo. Add about 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar or palm sugar, more lime juice and 3-4 teaspoons of good Thai fish sauce. Mix this all up and serve as is or chilled slightly. The heat of the chili is offset by the sweetness of the pomelo, and it is a bracing and flavor packed accompaniment to fried foods. Toss in a whole mess of crab meat or giant river prawns or lobster tails or whatever you having on hand.

Our Chefs cook Alms they plan to give to Buddhist Monks at the Marble Temple tomorrow way too early. Chef Norbert, Exec at the Oriental opens his kitchen and extends his patience as we fumble for a menu that will please the monks but be something different. Chef Norbert tells us “Of course there would be rice, some fruit, a piece of cake. They like that.” And Nobert Kostener knows having been here some 30 years as an expat and married to a Thai with two luk krung children.

Old Siam Plaza. Super Super Market, Department Store. This was played with their PR media, video and flashing still cameras in every shot giving it a weird entourage feel. We had fun in the high tech super market and the plastic card food court. There was water chestnuts and rose petal on ice; tup tim which means rubies. Was tasty.

Ultimate Pad Thai over live fire.( Imagine the following in a very Thai tonal sing song speech and be transported kap).

(Thai bloggers sayJ) “Pad Thai is like Coca Cola…except does not take the rust off metal…it’s served in every major city in all the major cities that has Thai restaurants. What’s the catch? Wouldn’t it be a thrilling experience to taste the original coke and how it actually SHOULD taste? So here it is…”

PAD THAI PRATOO PEE translated would be ‘Gates of Ghosts’ …I guess the name derived from ancient times (there is a fort with a cannon down the street)…The setting is simple…the focus is in the food. Fresh prawns and secret sauce with nodles stirred fried …watch the flames go up in roar…Big fans blowing the sweet aroma….The final finale…pad thai wrapped in omelete served with fresh sprouts and veggie condiments! hmmm… 50 to 80 baht a dish…

try also the fresh orange frozen drink…

this place is not too far from kao san and are mostly known only to locals…

PAD THAI and the ORANGE FREEZE!

“PhadThai is usually have big prawns in it. Which makes it very groovy. (ones those sold on Khaosan road is budget PhadThai..sorry…no prawns) and at Thipsamai they various kinds of PhadThai Price per dish goes for 30-40 Baht.

There’s a movie named “Jao Sao PhadThai” (Phad Thai bride!) showing in Thailand now. And the actress she had to learn how to cook Phad Thai,So the director sent her to ThipSamai..for real!

Well, it’s not expensive, it’s original, it’s good old restaurant, Locals love it, best selling in town, I think probably only one PhadThai restaurant in Thailand that even has website. The setting is simple…the focus is in the food. Fresh prawns and secret sauce with noodles stirred fried …watch the flames go up in roar…Big fans blowing the sweet aroma….The final finale…pad thai wrapped in omelet served with fresh sprouts and veggie condiments! Hmmm… Fresh orange freeze drink makes this complete.

And they’ve been selling Phad Thai there since year 2509 (this year is 2552 in Thailand) over 40 years already! don’t be surprised if you see a royal entourage and diplomats stop by for a pick up….it’s that good!

Theme: Local

Price: less than US$10 » Currency Converter

Comparison: least expensive

Address: 313 Mahachai Road,Phranakorn,Bangkok Phone: [phone] Directions: From Khaosan Road take a bus no.159 once the bus turn right around the corner. Off at fist bus stop.

Cowboy up. Elephants. Glass Ceiling. Waiyulai. Doggie bag. Wicked early call, like 4:30am. I smell like fire and pad thai.

We make merit by giving Alms to Monks. They compare what they got from the Chefs like kids compare trick or treat spoils. Our Chef decided on pasta cakes with fresh fennel salad. I think we threw in some other goodies too. Gracious and amused the saffron robed broze with the big bowls single filed back to the temple. Our crew is early enough for the Flower and fresh market as the street light gives way to day and Krung Thep stretches.

At Pak Klong Ta Lad Flower Market in the wee hours Phuang Malai garlands are being threaded by many knowing hands. Marigolds, orchids, dahlias, lotus, bird of paradise… The ubiquitous “Ubu” of jasmine and roses is the traditional greeting for travelers in Thailand. At our hotel a fresh chain of blossoms is left for us each day. I find the scent of the jasmine intoxicating. Bulgari makes a scent like that. (note to self).

Market Day with Kuhn Norbert. I love his Thai/(Italian by passport only)/ Deutsche accent. Mountains of chilies, holy basil, lemon grass, kaffir lime, galangal, and cilantro stir our appetites. Pea sized eggplants and wrinkled bitter melon. Morning glory a kind if water spinach. Noodle soups (mine with roast duck) are breakfast on plastic chairs in front of the 7/11. (note to self; get plastic chairs) Thru the locked refrigerator case beer is trapped inside at this hour.

Ban Baat; (ชุมชนบ้านบาตร) The Alms bowl village. The ‘villagers’ craft the bowls the old school way and a venture down its winding lanes and alleys reveals the process of making alms bowls for Monks and a slice of the real life of Krung Thep. Cutting, welding, fire finishing amid the day care, corner store, and open single room flats. Spirit houses and daily offerings to serve the animistic superstitions and flat screen TVs to pass the time. The GGH and Commando bobble thru. We buy some bowls as souvenirs. Merit making. A very Thai mitzvah.

State Tower; zoom with a view, “From atop the State Tower, the world’s highest al fresco restaurant in beautiful Krung Thep , I’m the GGH and this is my Food Trip.” Red Skye at night. On our tour of skyscraper restaurants we land here. I’ve been getting that the higher the restaurant the worse the food. Caesar salad and lamb chops. Wai? Insert bad news here. Oy gevult. ‘Lah gorn na’, goodbye to the Oriental. Regarding beach to the sand, waiyulai?

Kaloang Home Kitchen (ครัวข้าหลวง)We have a nice lunch and blow a good story. Address: 2 Soi Wat Thevarajkunchorn, Si Ayuttaya Road Tel: [phone].

Chefs know that to find the real deal in any cuisine you have to eat where the locals do. We gathered a posse of our Thai friends and headed down an alley near the National Library. Down at the end past the Buddhist Temple where the kids are playing badminton is Kaloang. A ramshackle pier with plastic chairs and family style tables it’s a Krung Thep favorite. We’ve ferreted it out for it’s outstanding seafood including river prawns as big as my forearm. We suck up the Singha with yam pla duk foo, a grilled fish salad that’s rather spicy, but goes great with a cold beer. I remember laab goong, spicy-and-sour shrimp salad with banana blossoms. Tom Yum Thelay, Crab curry. We had kitchen access too. The staff stood at attention and applauded. Loved this place.

Outside the Rachdamnoen Stadium the vendors are grilling, steaming and frying. The beer is chilling. Inside the main event is Muay Thai. Betting is strictly illegal in Thailand so naturally at the national stadium it is rampant. Ever see ‘Roller Ball’ or ‘Gladiator’. We cruise the locker room as the fighters get taped up. They are tough little elves with wicked sharp teeth. “Sabai dee, kap? cool?” We take our hard to get ring side seats. The traditional hurdy gurdy Thai band of oboes, drums, and symbols plays. Odds makers shout up to the cheap seats. Two jacked little dudes come out and after a ceremonial intimidation just break each other down using the “art of the eight limbs” and ultimately one gets whooped. Commando meets Thai Movie starlette Janesuda who was a great get for the show and learns about the national sport; Kick Boxing. Street Food and attitude. Blue wins. I shoulda bet. Outside amid the stadium street food choices, all our new friends. Som tam, Isaan sausage, gai yang (grilled chicken w/sweet chili sauce), Singha, Leo and Chang, oh my; Janesuda gets the whole BBQ squid.

Last breakfast along the Chao Praya, River of Kings. I will miss the Oriental where Maugham and Kipling and Conrad hung and wrote. Did I mention Sophia Loren has stayed at the Oriental? A caffè latte with a double add shot to start the heart. Passion fruit and mangosteen, congee and croissant and the Squad are off like a prom dress. Next stop; Phuket.