bangkok: the food

// vegetable pad thai

if you know Husband + I in real life, you know we love food. and we love good food. we may or may not have turned into closet "foodies" while living on the east coast. sometimes that makes us hard to impress. but I can say without hesitation that the food we ate while in Bangkok was phenomenal. the pad thai above was from a street vendor, in a small market area near the water taxi stop across from Wat Arun. it cost $3 US. and was the second best pad thai I've ever had in my life. we ate it while sitting on tiny plastic stools, across from an Italian / Singaporian couple who taught us a few words of Thai.

// dried fish // more dried fish // street food

street food is a little risky for me. being sensitive to gluten and allergic to shellfish crosses a lot of things off the list of what I can eat. this stuff may look more interesting, but fresh fruit while in a tropical country is always a good choice. not pictured here is the cup of fresh strawberries lightly sprinkled in sugar I devoured shortly after our pad thai feast.

// lantern I wanted to steal // massaman + mai thai

one of our favorite Thai dishes [before ever being to Thailand] is massaman curry. moderately spicy stewed meat with potatoes and other veggies, in a coconut broth. I ordered this bowl at iPho in the Asiatique night market [more on that later] and it was listed on their menu as "CNN's best food in the world". that's a big title to live up to, but it was pretty darn delicious. I was a little thrown by the chicken... because I tend to forget that when in Asia you don't get boneless, skinless breast when you order chicken. [well, sometimes, but mostly it's a leg + wing chopped up with bones combo]

in the background you can see Luke + Sean attempting to assemble Vietnamese summer rolls, or something like it. the waiter, noticing we were 4 white people, asked if it was ok that we had to make the appetizer ourselves. our group was all for the extra adventure. the boys were mostly successful.

// chicken + kale demolition

this was actually the first thing I ate in Bangkok. we arrived at the airport around 3:30, and having eaten only a granola bar for lunch in Macau, I was pretty hungry. by the time we got to our hotel and settled in I was starving [and maybe a little cranky]. we went to the in-hotel restaurant which was blasting the a/c. all I wanted was a big bowl of warm comfort. oh, and did I get it. the menu said chicken + kale with crispy rice noodles. but it was more like the Thai version of chicken + dumplings... chicken, carrots, broccoli, mushroom, onion, kale, baby corn, and fat rice noodles fried in a pan to be crispy on the outside but still soft in the middle. all in the most divine, thick, savory broth you can imagine. I think I almost cried I was so happy. it was exactly what I wanted after a long day to travel and nothing but granola bars, fruit, and coffee in my stomach.

// thai iced coffee

ice. strong brewed tea or coffee. condensed milk. occasionally served with a syrup sweetener. it sounds so simple, but trust me when I tell you it's incredibly delicious. I didn't drink a whole one [due to my slight lactose intolerance... dang, what is it with me not being able to eat tasty food groups?] but I sampled a few sips out of plenty of different versions over the course of our trip. I still prefer both my coffee and tea black. but if you're looking for something with a sweeter, creamier, almost starbucks-frappachino-like taste... try a thai iced coffee. or tea. you're welcome.