Eating My Own Advice
November 3rd, 2008
Khiaw Mu Daang (Rice with Red Pork)
Bangkok, Thailand – I’ve often felt that you don’t need to travel to get a good meal in Bangkok. There is food, often amazing food, everywhere. Sure, you might get a merely fantastic meal, or sometimes unfortunately a mediocre one, instead of the best whatever in all of Thailand, but when you add in an hour or two of travel time in Bangkok’s famed traffic, the possibility of getting lost or, even worse, the good chance that this magazine’s recommendation or that person’s must-try spot doesn’t live up to the hype, it doesn’t seem all that worth it. Besides, some of my favorite meals have been places that just looked good in my wanderings. If I had been running off hell-bent on trying the best whatever in all of Thailand, I probably wouldn’t have stumbled upon a lot of great meals. I’ve had my fair share of duds, but I can’t say that a 5-minute stop for a 30-baht dish has hurt all that much.
For the past few months, I’ve been staying off and on with some very patient and generous friends on Rama III. The building complex, far from anything of interest, is something of a city unto itself with grocery stores, restaurants, massage spas, banks and anything else residents might need located on the lower level. As there are no transportation stops within walking distance, I typically cab in or out from the building door, magically transported to my destination almost unaware of the everything leading up to it. I haven’t tried a single thing in the area beyond the building’s walls.
I finally decided to venture down the road for lunch one day. Upon exiting the building, I discovered a rotee man frying dough up until crispy and then drizzling it with condensed milk. Now while I’ve been dreaming about a rotee vendor I happened upon my first week or two in Thailand, this guy’s been almost literally under my nose every day (except Sunday). To make matters worse, his rotee is really good and it’s only taken me about 3 months to discover it on the front steps of my adopted residence. After a quick rotee stop, I walked on and on down Rama III passing vendors serving noodle soup, fried chicken, sticky rice, papaya salad, stews, curries, noodle soup and more noodle soup. I settled on a spot serving tender, falling-off-the-bone pork with crisp green vegetables and halved boiled eggs over rice. They also had a ginger-lemongrass-chili vinegar that replaced the typical street stall chili vinegar. What can I say? Sometimes eating your own advice doesn’t taste so bad.
Thai & International Food Academy
View Through the Gates on Rama III
The Bangkok Nail & Wire Company
Khlong (Canal) on Rama III
Vendor on Rama III
Khiaw Kaa Mu Pet Lou (Pork Leg with Chinese Spices)
March 16th, 2009 at 6:37 am
[...] The skin on ours wasn’t super crispy and although the pork leg seemed imposingly and impossibly big, the meat was manageable (for two) once the rubbery skin had been cast aside. I slathered mustard on my dark bread, heaped soft hunks of pork on top and then bit in, savoring the tender meat. In between bites, I found myself reaching for cabbage salad because, at least for me, the onslaught of meat needed to be lightened with something, like the acid of a cabbage salad or say…chilies. [...]