Time for a change........

Dear all, I have decided to shift this blog to Wordpress. Please continue to support me at http://afoodieadventure.wordpress.com

Thanks all!

~HL

Rainy Bangkok - Day 3: Heavy rain and more elephants

That's Bear in my new cowboy hat which I bought from Chatuchak Weekend Markets. As I have mentioned before, I never really liked walking in that hot and miserable place. However, this time, we walked for nearly 5 hours in that area. What a record eh? Reason being, the weather was really cool and it rained (very heavily). We also went to the new JJ mall complex next door, which housed some of the stalls formerly in the market. The first thing I ate was ice cream, sitting on a bed of fresh coconut and served in a coconut husk. Very novel and environmental friendly indeed. The ice cream was light on the palate and refreshing. It was also studded with bits of peanuts. Next up was my absolute favourite - quail eggs! Mom tried one and I ate the rest. Cholestrol ridden but loving it.

We ate at Toh Plue for lunch as I wanted my parents to sample some authentic thai food at reasonable prices. This time, we managed to get a seat in the air conditioned area. We ordered pineapple rice, duck curry with glass noodles, asparagus with shrimp, tom yum goong and crispy fish with spicy mango salad. I think that the pineapple rice is much better this time as compared to the one I had with Blubber before. The duck curry, supposedly a star dish here, was disappointingly cold. There were more pineapple than duck inside. The asparagus was nothing to shout about as well, not bad, but not fantastic either. The seafood in the soup was very fresh and the sour soup had a spicy kick. Surprisingly, the crispy fish outshone every other dishes. I love the ultra crunchy exterior, and the fresh and flaky fish, even though I am not a big fan of fish in general. Not sure what fish that was though. The shredded mango salad was tart and went really well with the fish. Will definitely order it again the next time. Dad opted to go home after lunch as he was quite tired. Despite the heavy rain pounding relentlessly, Mom and I happily weaved through the different sections in the market on our own.

At the JJ mall, we had one of those crispy pancakes each. Mom had the one with coconut flakes while I opted for the coconut cream one. I always wondered how they managed to whip it until it become so light and fluffy, very similar to melted marshmallows. The yellow bits are shreds of egg. They are very generous with coconut cream (hurrah!) and it was very sweet (hurrah again!). Not for the faint hearted. We also explored the wet market opposite Chatuchak. They sell a variety of fresh and cooked food. That was also where we bought tubes of durian cakes and fruits. We couldn't resist buying some roasted pork as well. We bought 2 types, roasted pork belly and the leaner roasted pork shoulder. I prefer the roasted pork shoulder. Eat it together with the bits of fat surrounding the meat and it is pure bliss. (Blubber is ultra jealous upon hearing this part.) Nearly forgot to mention, I also bought a mini curry puff (think A1 curry puff but 50% smaller). It was lousy!!!!!!!!!!!!! So lousy that I refuse to waste space posting a picture. The filling is some kind of sweet bean paste. It was already cold and I took one bite, spit it out and threw the whole thing away. Yucks.

Dad wanted to see the elephants along Sukhumvit so we spent the evening strolling along the streets near our hotel. I saw another prata seller along the streets and bought a plain one this time round. Buttery, fluffy and sweet, it was really like eating an asian version of a croissant. We bumped into not one, but two baby elephants. Led by the owners who will sell sugar canes to people who want to feed the elephant. Dad bought ALOT of sugar cane, much to the owner's (and the elephants') delight. We took pictures with the elephants (who kept whacking me with their flapping ears). I solemnly shook an elephant's trunk too. As we were still rather full from the roasted meats, we opted for a light dinner of soup glass noodles and pork balls. These so called pork balls looked and tasted like fish balls, very dubious indeed. I ate one and steered clear of the rest of them. The glass noodles and soup was delicious though. I added some chili flakes to add heat. At 25 baht per bowl, it can't possibly get any cheaper really. I had a chocolate cake from Piece of Cake for supper. Blub will thank me for this late night sugary treat.

Rainy Bangkok - Day 2: A row of elephants

I saw a row of multicoloured elephants. I kid you not. I even took a picture to show you. Aren't they cute? ^___^ I couldn't resist and bought a lime green one. We saw them at the thai arts and craft section in Isetan. In the morning, I had my usual iced coffee and walked along the streets of Sukhumvit to source for a quick breakfast. I found a corn and coconut pancake and a red glutinous rice thingy with red beans. They filled me up good! Sukhumvit is a small treasure trove for street side stalls and elephants. I will touch on the elephant part later.

The day time street side hawkers are often different from those at night. This is to cater for the different types of food sold. In the morning, most of the hawkers are selling breakfast snacks such as mini pancakes and tapioca cakes. In the night, there will fast food such as skewers of meats and innards, papaya salad and pad thai. Anyway, my corn and coconut pancake was really nice and fresh. The red glutinous rice was something I have not tried before. It was sweet, with the addition of red beans, adding a little bit of texture. Both were enough to fill me up for a while. We went to the new Central World along Siam. It was HUGE! We had a really lousy lunch at a sushi place called Heiroku Sushi. This place is conveyor belt style (I hate that) and t he selections are real limited. Apparently, they have alot of branches in Japan. The rice was mushy and soft. What's more horrifying was the fact that they do not cover all the sushi placed on the conveyor belts. Some were covered, while others were left out in the air. Just one sneeze will cover the whole place with germs. Eeks!

Feeling absolutely dissatisfied after lunch, we strolled along the streets outside Central World and snacked on skewers of bbq squid, chicken livers, chicken hearts and pork. I also had my beloved banana prata (soaked in condensed milk of course) while waiting for my meat skewers. There was a stray dog eyeing my pork, so I bought him a skewer, and gave him my fattest piece of chicken liver as well. I reckoned that the level of trust amongst the thais must be very high. The customers are allowed to just take skewers of meat and innards and eat (with unlimited serving of raw veggies and chilli). They pay after they have finished their meal, declaring the number of sticks they eat. Mom and I followed suit, feeding the dog as we ate.

We went to Suan Lom Night Bazaar at night and spent half and hour doing a relaxing foot massage. Dinner was settled at the open air food centre there. As usual, I ordered my pad thai (this time from a different stall) and Tom Yum Goong. The crabmeat fried rice that mom ordered was pretty good. Dad couldn't resist the braised pork leg rice. We went home with a full tummy this time round. :)

Rainy Bangkok - Day 1: We shopped and shopped...

My second trip to Bangkok this year. This time, with my parents. To come Bangkok several times a year is a norm for me. I love this city, which has so much to offer, in terms of food and shopping (2 of the most important things to me when I travel). The people are so friendly too. Oh yes, I heart the Land of Smiles. We took the night flight and reached at around 10 plus (they are an hour behind us). By the time we got to the hotel and settle down it was nearly bed time.

The next day, I started of with a cup of iced coffee... in a hello kitty cup. The thick and cold coffee had a hint of chocolate and was absolutely refreshing. We headed down to Chinatown at Yaowarat via a cab. I brought my parents to my favourite kway chap haunt along Chinatown. As usual, the place was filled with locals. They looked at us curiously as we sat down and ordered a bowl each. Both mom and dad gave their stamp of approval after tasting the ultra peppery kway chap. Yeah! While strolling around Chinatown, we spotted a stall selling pig innards. You can mix and match any combination you like. We were so excited that we bought a whole lot. Chinatown never cease to amaze me with the dizzying array of things available, from food (both fresh and ready to eat) to shoes, bags, kitchenware and even toys. Due to the variety of items available, you can probably get almost everything you want here. Not to mention they also sell it alot cheaper if you buy in bulk as the shops here mostly do wholesale business.

We made our way to Siam Paragon after that. I love the huge supermarket at Siam Paragon. They have everything imaginable. Delicatessen? Check. Huge corner dedicated to pets? Check. Gelato counter? Check. They even have a counter selling rice from different parts of Thailand. You can buy them by weight. Mom bought 2 packs! Heh. Lunch was eaten at the food court in Siam Paragon. The pad thai that I had was surprisingly good, a mish mash of spicy, sour and sweet flavours. The innards we bought from Chinatown were not bad too, but they would have been much better if they were stewed slightly longer. The pig's throat was really interesting, slightly crunchy and similar to the texture of pig's ear. Looks abit strange but tastes alright really. I think the thais really like the concept of one stop shopping, as I notice that many of their shopping complexes sell nearly everything. Siam Paragon is definitely a good example, for they have shops selling clothes, books, electrical appliances, sports equipment, cars and furniture. Not to mention also spas, salons a huge cinema and bowling complex. Nearly forgot, they also house asia's biggest underwater aquarium. Needless to say, we shopped like mad. We had a little tea break and had some mango rice. Dad bought a fishball thingy, which has a century egg inside. Although I like fishcake and century eggs, I don't really like them together. The fishcake had a really strong lemongrass and basil taste. I stopped at one. I would say that it is an acquired taste. We shopped all the way till night, and I tabaoed dinner from DQ Grill and Chill. I wiki-ed DQ (aka Dairy Queen) and found out that it is an american chain, selling ice cream and fast food. Grill and Chill is a typical fast food restaurant, selling burgers and fries. They do have grilled sandwiches, which I opted for. I got a ham and swiss cheese sandwich with onion rings. I was prepared for a cold dinner but the sandwich was soggy by the time I got back to the hotel. This was due to the copious amount of honey mustard they smeared on the bread. There were three generous slices of honey baked ham but that wasn't much of a saving grace either. Some of the onion rings were not fully cooked, leaving some uncooked flour batter inside the onion rings. Not very impressed really. I left more than half of it untouched. I would have Carl's Junior over this anytime. That pretty much sums up my first day in Bangkok... Onwards to more good food and shopping ^_____^

The Omnivore's Hundred

Recently, there is a lot of talk in the blogging world about the Omnivore's Hundred list published at the british foodie site Very Good Taste. It is a really interesting site, full of quirky facts and pretty well written. The Omnivore's Hundred is basically a list of 100 things that blog owner Andrew feels every omnivore should try. The list consists of a mixture of fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some very bad food. Don't worry if you don't know what are some of the stuff listed. There is always Wikipedia. Andrew encourages all bloggers to copy and paste the list in their blog. Bold out everything you have eaten, and cross out those that you will never consider eating. Here's my list. I used red for those that I will never consider eating.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Done separately)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (I absolutely refuse)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (I ate churros, but would love to try the rest as well) [I heart fried dough!!!!!!!!!]
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (NO WAY!!)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

How many have you tried??

**Blubber, I think we have a brand new list here...

Honey, looks like I have a growing...........

Huge burger with side servings of fries and salad

...........ball of fat. Yep, its affirmative. I have confirmed that the ball of fat around my tummy has a life of its own. I have decided to name it Blub. On good days, it stays hidden under my clothes (I am an expert at layering). On bad days, it rears its ugly head and shows its presence by that very obvious bulge that threatens to poke out from under my fitting (now tight) shirts. I swear to do something about it soon. So watch out, Blub!!!

I forgot to bring out the camera for dinner, so you peeps just have to make do with these fuzzy and dark pictures. We knew of Smok'inn Frogz yonkers ago, just that we kind of put off visiting the place (for reasons unknown). What we did not know is, that it is actually sharing the same dining area as Bar Bar Black Sheep along Bukit Timah Road, which is coincidentally another place I long wanted to visit. Killing two birds with one stone. There are two other stalls selling food here, namely a thai stall and an indian stall. When we reached, the place was a total full house, full of foreigners in fact. Blubber and I found a table at a corner and proceeded to look at the simple menu from Smok'inn Frogz. We do not intend to order from other stalls today so that it will give us an excuse to come back another day, heh. I spied a basket of crunchy calamari from our neighbour table and decided that getting calamari and chips would be a good idea. We got a beef burger as well as a plate of escargots. After my not-so-good experience with this french delicacy at Spaggedies, I wrinkled my nose at the thought of eating it again. Me ain't one for eating food that taste of soil ya. Still, I felt that it was only fair to give it another chance before calling it quits. This time, I was not disappointed. The dish was served in a cute little plate with little holes which hold a snail in each. The snails were topped with cheese and baked till crispy. They taste like shellfish, with none of the soil after taste which I experienced the other time. You can also eat it with the little slices of toasted baguette provided. Le Chomp, le chomp, le yum~

The burger came shortly after. It was huge, with salad and hot crispy fries piled neatly at the side. I like the salad. It was made of fresh greens and lightly drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Just the way I like my salad. It was evident that they fry the fries upon order as they were oh so hot that they burn greedy Blubber's tongue. He was acting like a barbarian that day and eating everything by hand. I was most impressed with the burger bun, which was lightly toasted and very soft and fluffy. Kudos to them if they made it themselves (though very unlikely). The meat patty is hand formed, and crumbles when I pierced my fork into it. Combined with two slices of cheese and caramelised onions, it was really comfort food. When the calamari and chips arrived, both Blubber and I said wow simultaneously. It was probably the biggest basket of crunchy squid rings, fries and salad greens I have ever seen. I love the crunchy bread crumbs coating the squid. They were also dusted lightly with black pepper. Dipped into the tartar sauce provided and the combination of tangy salty goodness will surely have you hooked. The no frills western food here at Smok'inn Frogz is definitely a good bargain at such low prices ($12 each for burger and calamari). We will be back for more.

Instant noodle heaven

Fresh udon and a crispy piece of tempura studded with sakura prawns.

Is there really an instant noodle heaven? I think I unwittingly stumbled into it last night when I tried Nissin's No Gonbuto Tempura Udon. I found this treasure at NTUC Finest in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. Blubber and I were strolling along the aisles of NTUC when we saw this man walking his toddler (like walking a dog, except without a leash). The scene got me pretty heated up as I feel that if you want to teach your baby how to walk, then do it at home, not at such public areas where people are shopping for their groceries ya! He probably thought it was so cute to see the kid jamming up the whole walk way. Felt like grabbing the nearby pan and whacking his head. Seeing how worked up I was, Blubber wisely steered in away from that idiot parent.

I was immediately attaracted to the brightly colored bowls of instant noodles at the japanese products section. I oohed and ahhed over the different ramen and udon bowls. There was even cod roe spaghetti! I picked out a bowl of udon and felt that it was usually heavy. At $4.90 per bowl, it was even more expensive than an average bowl of hor fun at a zi char stall. As I always wanted to find out what is the big deal about these expensive instant noodles so I decided to get it anyway.

Last night, I opened it up and was pleasantly surprised to find a vacuum pack of fresh udon and a decent size piece of crispy tempura. It was also studded with many tiny sakura prawns. Wow. I was impressed. The way to cook this is varies slightly from the conventional method. Just soak the fresh udon in boiling water for a couple of minutes to soften them, pour the water away and add fresh hot water together with the seasonings provided. There were 3 packs of seasonings - liquid soy sauce, powdered seasoning with scallions and chilli powder. I added the tempura last. The udon was springy and chewy, which is so much better than the usual instant noodles we eat. The tiny sakura prawns packed a punch and were bursting with flavour. The soup had a light kelp flavour that is similar to soup bases found in restaurants. It was so good that I slurped up all the udon and almost all the soup as well. I never want to go back to my $1 Maggi mee......