Food Travels in Thailand
You travel far but the journey happens between your ears.
There are varieties of journeys, culinary journey is just one of them.
In parts of the world where you don't belong, your familiar is not familiar, your familiar is not of consequence, your familiar is not a norm, your familiar is not a glue, not a rope that binds like it binds you back home, your familiar is not something to suffer, your familiar is not a rule, not a law, not a sentence, like it is when you are home.
'Exotic' is just another way of saying 'unfamiliar'.
In the streets, vapors from steaming pots in restaurants, holes in the walls, stoves on the sidewalk accost you. Food is all around, everywhere. Boiled or fried something dumped in a soupy noodles with fermented and herbal garnishes. Sweet thickness with flakes of heat smeared on crispy textures. Divine, chilled Pandan Water, Grilled ripe bananas, deep fried critters, odious fermented fish sauces, passionate fruits, fruits that confuse you with passion and putrid smells, bold chunks of meats...it is an assault on the familiar.
Photos and stories are inadequate to document your inner journey as you walk through these streets. But I will try and make it less inadequate here.
Hover or click on the photos - if image alone is not complete, you will find a few words to go with it. Click again to let go.
There are countless restaurants, street food stalls that serve excellent food. You'll need forever to explore everything. Here are a few noteworthy places for me personally - I remember these places vividly. The most notable are Raan Jay Fai, Bangkok and Nong Beer Restaurant, Pai. Click to jump straight ahead.
The other two are:
Jek Meng Hainanese Restaurant, Bangkok - locals throng this place and few tourists do - which means it is the place to go. I walked into Jek Meng when I wanted to eat at Jeh O Chula but found that place opens in the evening only - serendipity?
Huan Kung Kum, is a charming restaurant in the back alleys near the moat in Chiang Mai. Run by an elderly couple, they make some dishes very well, it has a soothing, village like ambiance.
