Pig Roast
Sapa, Vietnam – High in the emerald green mountains of northwest Vietnam sits Sapa beset by rice paddies cascading down steep mountain slopes. The town is known for its stunning vistas and the hilltribes that live in surrounding villages. The town itself is quite touristy, mostly composed of hotels, western eateries and tour services, [...]
Pho
Hanoi, Vietnam – My first day in Hanoi, I woke up in a complete haze. I had somehow managed to stay out until 5 a.m. drinking the local draft beer, bia hoi. I really needed breakfast and headed towards the nearest noodle joint to grab a bowl of pho, tender rice noodles with beef. I [...]
Yesterday, I had to stop reading my friend Andrea Nguyen’s blog because it was making me too hungry. Vietnamese coffee, bahn mi, pho, grilled shrimp on sugarcane, goat curry with lemongrass and coriander – it all sounded so good. And why torture myself when I would be leaving for Vietnam in just one day? Yes, [...]
Bangkok, Thailand – I’ve written before about how much I love gai toht (fried chicken) and khao man gai (boiled chicken over rice). At most khao man gai stands, gai toht is also served with the same rice, which is made with chicken fat, cucumber and the a bowl of chicken broth. The difference is [...]
Vegetarian Thali at Punjab Sweets
Bangkok, Thailand – It was strange. The hookah shopkeeper told me so. As did the Indian food importer. And the girl selling bangles and sequined sandals. Even the samosa vendor, who sniffed at Punjabi Dhaba across the street as “okay,” pronounced it “excellent.”
So, why was it that I never saw locals [...]
Bangkok, Thailand – A waft of this fried nibble is head-turning. They’re also irresistible; I saw one man pull a few from the pot as he waited 15 seconds for his bag. Sanitary? Not really. Understable? Completely.
Right in front of 203 Pahurat (in between Burapha and Chakphret) is a little cart with the Islam crescent [...]
Butter Naan
Bangkok, Thailand – Lately I’ve been spending some time in Pahurat (a fact quite apparent from my past few posts). Although I haven’t really taken to the main dishes in area restaurants – the curries, tandoors, etc – I have come to find satisfaction in simple flatbreads, sometimes plain, sometimes stuffed, sometimes with spiced [...]
Rasmalai – Milk, cheese, pistachios
Bangkok, Thailand – Hanging around Pahurat, it’s hard to miss all of the Indian sweets. Although, admittedly, I liked looking more than tasting.
Punjab Sweets
436/5 Chakrapet Road
02-623-7457
Standard Sweets and Restaurant
95/47 Chakraphet Road
02-623-8620
Balushai – Flour, fermented yogurt, sugar
Jalebi – Flour, sugar, saffron
Badam Barfi – Sugar, ghee, almonds
Gulab Jamun – Flour, milk, syrup, rose [...]
Mak (Betel Leaf Chew)
Bangkok, Thailand – Betel chewing was once an ubiquitous habit across Southeast Asia. Its side effects – blackened teeth, spitting, a red-stained mouth – haven’t won the old practice favor with newer generations. Still it can be found today in the back alleys of Pahurat (Little India). In Thailand betel chewing is [...]
Chai at Khana Khazana
Bangkok, Thailand – Rounding the corner on Chakrapret, the Pak Khlong Talat now far behind me, I came into an invisible spice cloud of cardamon and fennel, coriander and cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon. On the edge of Pahurat, Bangkok’s Little India, I was in front of an unnamed import storefront selling bags and [...]
