thai food festival @centralworld

By this time next week, I shall be eating myself into a coma in Korea. Seoul apparently has a vibrant street food culture and I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into something I've never tried before. Live octopus, maybe?

In the meantime, I'll have to be content with reminiscing about the street food fair that I visited in Bangkok last month.

This is what a food festival should look like!

Actually, we found it by accident. We were supposed to have dinner at Zense that evening. While waiting for my friends, we did a bit of window shopping at the incredibly ginormous CentralWorld, the sixth largest shopping complex in the world. After half an hour, we were overwhelmed and had to go outdoors to get our bearings. And there it was.

The Thai Food Festival: Easy Tasty Street Food, held from 13 to 16 June 2013, is literally all the Thai dishes you can think of under one roof.

The som tam (papaya salad) lady. Check out the pickled crabs in the jars. 

The ubiquitous pork leg stew. The anise perfumed the air around the stall.

bittersweet bangkok

Bangkok has always been one of my favorite cities, and I feel so fortunate that I have friends living there-- gives me an excuse to visit.

Hello, baby!

On 15 June 2013, my last night in Thailand, we had dinner at Zense Gourmet Deck & Lounge Panorama which is on the 17th floor of the Zen Lifestyle Trend Megastore. The view, advertised as "downtown's most encompassing panoramic view", was truly dramatic and the jazz singer was surprisingly good. As for the food, we agreed that it was satisfactory but not spectacular.

Isalata Caprese with fresh burrata. 4/5

Squid ink pasta with seafood. 4.25/5

last day in chiang mai 2013

Our last day, 14 June 2013, started late. We were at The Riverside Bar until the wee hours and couldn't get moving until it was time to check out of our guesthouse at 11AM. After a quick breakfast and visit to the money changer, we said goodbye to the old city of Chiang Mai and went to the Holiday Inn to wake Hot Tuna up.

It took ages for us to decide where to go for lunch; everyone was still feeling the effects of the Sambuca. In the end, CentralPlaza Chiang Mai Airport Mall, more popularly known as Central Airport Plaza, seemed to require the least effort. Shopping malls always have food courts, and faced with a myriad of choices, it should be easy to find something to eat. In theory.

Here was the problem: There were too many choices. Our solution: Get everything.

A platter of deep-fried things with the best shrimp paste I've ever tasted. Should've brought some home. 

Braised pork leg. I've noticed that Thais are crazy for this dish.

My first mango sticky rice of the week. The mangoes were super sweet, as all Thai mangoes seem to be.

first day in chiang mai 2013

We arrived in Bangkok at noon on 10 June 2013 and took the bus to Chiang Mai in the evening. In 2012, we took the train (read about it here) and although I wouldn't say that it was not enjoyable, I didn't feel like doing it again. The VIP bus cost the same as the train, 836 baht per person one-way, but unlike the train it was on time. Our bus pulled out of Mo Chit Bus Terminal at exactly 9PM and nine hours later, as promised, we were in Chiang Mai!

We couldn't check in at our guesthouse at 6AM yet, so we just dropped off our bags and had breakfast at Funky Dog Café. Afterwards, we went exploring on foot. Last year, we were in Chiang Mai for only two nights and spent most of the time outside the city, so I was pretty excited to finally see what was inside the old city walls.

Our starting point was Tha Phae Gate and while walking down the main thoroughfare, Rachadamnoen Road, we saw a beautiful old house which turned out to be the office of the Lanna Architecture Center. The building itself is called Khum Chao Burirat ("khum" means royal residence) and it is wonderfully preserved and restored. It reminds me of our Philippine "bahay na bato"-- concrete first floor, wooden second floor, high ceilings and a wrap-around veranda for whiling away warm tropical afternoons.

i love the (chiang mai) nightlife

Whenever I travel, I'm really not much of a shopper. I'm always too shy to haggle and I tend to treat foreign currency like Monopoly money. Before a trip, I do my research and prepare a short list, and then I try to buy everything all in one go to save time and energy, often with complete disregard for pricing. On 13 June 2013 in Chiang Mai, I felt like getting my shopping out of the way.

Since it was a weekday, we couldn't go to the Sunday Walking Market. We'd been to Warorot Market before, and the infamously overcrowded and kitschy Night Bazaar didn't sound too appealing. So I suggested Anusan (or Anusarn) Night Market instead. The stalls were still being set up when we arrived at 7PM, so we decided to grab a bite first.

I had a hankering for seafood-- incongruous, I know, since Chiang Mai is in the mountains and nowhere near the ocean-- but sometimes I just gotta eat what I wanna eat. The restaurants in the middle of the market all looked quite similar, so we employed the scientific method: When in doubt, choose the one with the most number of customers. Plus the sign that said "Anusarn Seafood Market Center: Good Food Good Taste Good Quality" seemed promising.

I hadn't eaten crab in what seemed like ages, so after a quick consultation with our highly efficient and effective waiter, I decided to get two male crabs, each weighing about half a kilo: One for steaming and the other, stir-fried with curry powder. They cost about 1,200 baht in total. They definitely weren't cheap, but when I inspected the crabs, they passed the standards that my father taught me-- lively, didn't smell like piss, and felt heavy for their size.

muay thai in chiang mai

When I was in Thailand last year, I planned to watch Muay Thai at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, but the tickets were just too danged expensive. We ended up at a pingpong show on Patpong Road instead. That was a very interesting experience and one that I don't regret, but this June I knew that I couldn't forgive myself if I skipped Muay Thai again.

The owners of our guesthouse, Funky Monkey, told me that the big Thai boxing matches were scheduled on weekends. The event that I was thinking of attending at Thaphae Boxing Stadium was fixed for betting and not "real" Muay Thai. We were leaving Chiang Mai on Friday, though, so this was my best chance.

I decided to visit the venue to get more information. The "stadium" was small, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least we were sure to be up close and personal with the action. The guy I talked to said, "Start nine o'clock, seven matches! Finish eleven, eleven thirty!" And then he reserved a table for us under the electric fan, very close to the ring. Sold!

nomming @ café de nimman

Earlier this month, Hot Tuna was feeling sentimental and asked me, "Why are we such good friends?" I replied, pretty sure that he was too inebriated to remember anyway, "Because you're crazy."

But really, as Ricky Gervais says, relationships stand the test of time because of "things in common, a sense of humor and mutual respect." And in our case, one of our common interests is food.

Case in point: On 12 June 2013, we were discussing where to have dinner and Hot Tuna suggested Café de Nimman in the posh section of Chiang Mai. I had never heard of it and I didn't even know know that there was a posh part of town, but since he'd been there a couple of times before and liked it, I knew that I would like it.

A quick look at the online reviews before we set off resulted in our ordering the liver, boiled eggs and squid.

Stir-fried pork liver with garlic and pepper, 120 baht.

Soft-boiled egg with mushroom fish sauce, 95 baht.

Stir-fried squid with salted egg, 140 baht.

where the locals eat

The internet is undoubtedly a great tool, but for extremely popular destinations like Chiang Mai, sometimes there's just too much information out there and it takes a lot of effort to sift through it all in order to find what's credible. Sometimes it's better to forget about research and planning, and just hit the ground running. If you keep your eyes, ears and nose open, eventually they will lead you to where the good eats are.

1. Right after we checked in at Funky Monkey Guesthouse, the owner Nuy gave us a map and pointed out The Moat Restaurant & Bar (82/2 Chaiyapoom Road), one of her favorite restaurants and just a stone's throw away. She said that it's usually full during peak hours and the service can get spotty when there are too many customers, so when we passed by on our first night in Chiang Mai and saw that it was empty, we figured that we might as well go in and sit down.

Chiang Mai sausage, 60 baht.

Spring rolls, 40 baht.

Tom yam with shrimp and seafood, 70 baht.

Verdict: Did not live up to the hype, sadly. The Moat's spring rolls and tom yam soup were perfectly edible, but nothing special. As for the sausage, I'd been dreaming about Chiang Mai sausage ever since I first ate it over a year ago, here. This was a far cry. Still, The Moat is a sufficiently nice place and the prices are reasonable. Plus they have AC.

to market, to market

I love markets. I especially love local markets which are untouched by tourism-- where nobody speaks English and I can barely tell what's going on. I think that they're the best way to get to know a people. What do they cook and eat everyday? What do the farmers grow around the area, what do the fishermen catch? How much does it cost to feed a family? A market can reveal all these things and more.

On 13 June 2013, we were trying to catch a songthaew (a sort of taxi) from Holiday Inn Chiang Mai to Anusan Night Market when we saw a nameless temporary market being set up in a vacant lot. Of course we had to investigate.

As with all of the Thai markets that I've visited, there were the usual suspects. Such as the skewer lady,

the braised pork leg lady,

the curry lady,

and the fried pork rind lady.

funky dog near somphet market

One of my favorite places to have breakfast in Chiang Mai is Funky Dog Café. The human owns it, but obviously, it's the dog who's the boss.

The local coffee was nice. Not as strong as Vietnamese coffee, but definitely better than Nescafé.

The Funky Dog Iced Coffee is a fresh coconut shake with honey and a shot of coffee. Great for cooling down on a sweltering day.

toys for little boys

The most important thing that I brought back from last week's trip to Thailand was this. Bought it at Anusan Night Market in Chiang Mai.

First, you soak it in hot water. Then a short dip in cold water.

accidental shopping

I can honestly say that I didn't go to Thailand to shop. I didn't really need anything, but there were a few things that I couldn't resist buying... such as assorted edibles.

Honey from Sompet Market in Chiang Mai.

Ready-to-cook spice packs from Aroon Rai in Chiang Mai. 

Munchies from Gourmet Market at Emporium in Bangkok.

what i'll remember: bangkok

These are just a few of the things that I'll remember. Actually, my most vivid memories of Bangkok have no photographic evidence.

1. The Sky Bar on the 63rd floor of the Lebua Hotel. (Everyone calls it Sirocco, but that's actually the name of the fine dining restaurant next to the bar.) The view will literally take your breath away. Words and photos will never do it justice. Two drinks cost us a little over 800 baht (about US$13 each). It's money well-spent, seriously.

Here's the dome again, after sunset.

thinking of thonkrueng

I would never have thought to check out Thonkrueng Thai Restaurant if not for my friends who've been living in Bangkok since mid-2011. It's in a relatively obscure neighborhood not frequented by tourists. From the BTS Skytrain Thong Lo station, you still have to take a cab. Their signboard is barely readable, and they don't have a strong online presence. Their website is woefully inadequate, but no matter-- the food is more than satisfactory.

Started with my favorite Thai dish, som tam. This time with breaded and fried slices of salted egg.

Super tender stir-fried beef with holy basil. Often imitated outside Thailand, but never equalled.

Crisp morning glory (kangkong) sautéed with garlic. Seemingly effortless and yet so perfect.

Deep-fried crab or fish cake, can't remember exactly. Must've been overshadowed by the other dishes.

other stuff we ate: bangkok

Not that I ever got tired of Thai food while I was in Thailand, but sometimes you have to "give chance to others" as my elementary school teachers used to say.

The best ramen place in Bangkok was just five minutes away from the condo. Bankara was full of Japanese customers when we were there for dinner on 6 May 2012-- a very good sign. In fact, we had to wait almost 15 minutes for a table, and it was worth it. I would gladly queue up for this ramen again.

Springy noodles, lovely fatty pork belly, melt-in-your-mouth chashu, the most AMAZING broth. 5/5

Rice topping with a generous slice of the same delicious pork belly under all that nori. 4/5

The gyoza was not bad, but I've had better right here at home. 3.75/5

food (court) porn in bangkok

Warning: This blog post will make you hungry.

Terminal 21 is now my favorite shopping mall in Bangkok not just for its over the top cuteness, but more importantly because of its food court on the fifth level, Pier 21. It's the only place I'm aware of where I can get this particular noodle soup with the incredibly addictive broth. There are a dozen other stalls where the selections are pretty exciting, too.

Lemony, spicy, good to the last drop. The first bowl I had was the fish ball and fish fillet one. The one in this photo with three different kinds of pork meatballs was equally ambrosial. I'd fly back to Bangkok in a heartbeat for this soup.

Fried chicken cutlets smothered in veggies with sweet chili sauce. The Thais do this type of thing so well: balancing heat with sweet and salty. Very nice with rice.

the whole world is here

Today Yahoo! featured the 15 largest shopping malls in the world. Bangkok's Terminal 21 is not one of them, but if there's a list of "Most Fun Shopping Malls", it would be right up there.

From their brochure (unedited): Terminal21 brings you to the whole new experience of shopping with Market Street Style. We combine unique destinations from around the world such as Rome, Paris, Tokyo, London, Istanbul, San Francisco and Hollywood into one fully-furbished department store. Enjoy a perfect combination of fashion, food, and film, with more than 600 shops for urbanistas including the famous Urbanation. Fancy the 36 meter long escalator that connects together all the continents in our welcoming world. Easily reached by both BTS and MRT train service, we invite you to be the first to experience the brand new Terminal21 - The Whole World is Here.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

not just eating

Lest you think that I spent all that time in Bangkok just eating, here's proof of some sightseeing activity.

This was the third time I visited Wat Arun, but the first time I brought back photographs.