In Jake Warga’s recent radio piece on “PRI’s The World,” Austin Bush discusses Thai street food. Worth a listen.
(Image: Jake Warga/”PRI’s The World.“)
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thai_food
That’s the provocative title of an upcoming event at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) that I look forward to attending. It’s on Mon., Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. here in Bangkok.
The announcement on the FCCT site helps put the issues — which I’ve mentioned before — into perspective:
You have only to ask a Frenchman for his thoughts on English cooking to realize that all over the world matters culinary provide an outstanding excuse for chauvinistic excess. Hotels and restaurants in Thailand are full of Thai chefs and cooks who produce wonderful and completely authentic Western fare every day — and nobody gives the matter a second thought. Local newspapers, magazines and books feature recipes and cooking tips for Thais who might want to roast the perfect leg of lamb, bake a black forest gateau, turn out a pizza or simmer a bouillabaisse. Yet when the occasional daring farang turns his or her ladle to a tom yam kung, or does something different with a green curry, a surprising number of Thais are left in slack- jawed astonishment. Their horror only deepens when more broadminded compatriots praise the results and laud some of the innovations. This culinary cross-pollination is more than a debate about carrots in the som tam or dairy milk in the soup. To read some recent comments about mischievous farangs in the Thai kitchen, a heresy is being uncovered that could threaten the end of Thai civilization as we know it. Could a plot be afoot here that is even more threatening than a nuclear-empowered Myanmar? Fortunately, the FCCT is no stranger to controversy, and only too pleased to release some steam from the kitchen. The club welcomes without reservation all great cooks and gourmets, including for this special programme.
(Cartoon via.)
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Visitors who are new to Thailand and have culinary questions about the Thai capital should check out “Where to eat in Bangkok 2010,” a new post by Austin Bush.
I can tell you from personal experience that Austin has a great deal of knowledge about Thai cuisine, and he has a good feel for what interests food-focused travelers. ((Readers may recall a recent eating expedition I undertook with Austin, in which we sampled Cameroonian food in Bangkok.))
Austin recommends that visitors first try Thai cuisine in shopping mall food courts (don’t knock ‘em until you’ve tried ‘em), then move on to an upscale Thai restaurant. Then he recommends visiting some Thai food neighborhoods before finally graduating to street food.
The post includes annotated Google Maps for more info on individual restaurants and neighborhoods.
(Image credit: a pic of yours truly, snapped by Austin himself.)
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Pok Pok, the Thai restaurant in Portland, Oregon that I’ve mentioned before, was featured on the Travel Channel program “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”
The segment is embedded below, and you can find it on YouTube here.
(Via Oregonian and Thai food expert Austin Bush, who points out that the show was filmed during characteristically rainy weather.)
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You may recall my recent post about attending David Thompson’s Thai cooking demonstration here in Bangkok. I was there for CNNGo, a recently launched travel and lifestyle site that focuses on six Asian cities. ((In addition to the Thai capital, the site covers Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.))
I put together an audio slide show about the David Thompson event that you can find on the site here. And I’m embedding it below. Thompson talks about authenticity in cooking, what he finds appealing about Thai cuisine, and more.
If you have a look around CNNGo, you’ll also find a couple of my earlier contributions in the Bangkok section.
In one piece, I describe the best burgers in Bangkok. ((Newley.com readers will recall that I’ve written about this before.))
And another item is called “The Siam Sunray: Chasing down Thailand’s ‘signature’ cocktail.” ((Again, this item may be familiar to Newley.com readers.))
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From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Wake up, Sydney, and smell the lemongrass. Do you know what’s under your collective nose? Anyone who has lived away from this city for any time suffers withdrawal symptoms for Thai chicken curry, deep-fried snapper with sweet chilli sauce, pad thai noodles or Thai beef salad, whether from Longrain, Chat Thai, Spice I Am, Sailor’s Thai or (insert your favourite local Thai here). Even Sydneysiders who have moved to Thailand suffer post-Sydney-Thai-fabulousness syndrome.
That’s because there is nothing in the world like Sydney Thai food. Europe can’t do it and neither can America. London certainly can’t, with one honourable exception (David Thompson’s Nahm), and neither can Bangkok, because only Sydney has the mix of climate, produce, attitude and style – and those last two are as important as the first two.
(Emphasis mine.)
Link via this New Mandala post, where you’ll find some reactions to the story. And here’s more, um, hard-hitting feedback from Stomachs on Legs.
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Back in January, as you might recall, my little brother C penned a guest post here at newley.com called “Top five restaurants in Beaufort, South Carolina.”
C is a serious foodie, and unlike his older brother, he’s spent a lot of time in SC over the past several years.
Though it didn’t make his list, I wanted to point out that our sleepy seaside town (pop. in 2000: 12,950) now boasts…a Thai restaurant. ((Side note: The globalization of sushi is well documented. But what about the globalization of Thai food?))
The curiously named Yes! Thai Indeed restaurant has been earning some positive reviews of late. (Not only does the restaurant have a Web site, but they even have their menu (PDF link) and guest book online.)
Will Yes! Thai Indeed make C’s 2010 round-up of Top 5 Beaufort restaurants? Only time will tell.
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I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry.
The Thai waffle-coated hot dog, which you’ll remember that I consumed in Kanchanaburi in late 2007, has been featured on what is currently the Internerd’s most popular bad-food blog, This Is Why You’re Fat. TIWYF (tag line: “Where dreams become heart attacks”) mentions the creation here.
To have this Thai dish featured alongside the Carny Casserole, the Jabaconageburger With Cheese, and the Mega Double Stuff Oreo is an honor.
I think.
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Tyler Cowen ((Cowen is an economics professor at George Mason University and blogs at Marginal Revolution.)) has recently updated his amazingly comprehensive Washington, DC Ethnic Dining Guide, in which he lists the city’s best international restaurants.
A few Thai restaurants that Cowen lists under “Some Places You Must Try” — regardless of cuisine — caught my eye.
First, there’s a place called Thai X-ing, which is located a few blocks from where I used to live, in DC’s Ledroit Park neighborhood. I have a vivid memory of stumbling upon this tiny establishment in 2005. It’s excellent. Here’s what Cowen says:
Thai X-ing, 515 Florida Ave., 202-332-4322, no lunch,
All take-out, but this place is becoming legendary. One table, four chairs. One guy cooks for you. You need to call in your order in advance. The drunken noodles and the curries are superb. The salmon is awesome, the larb too. Quirky décor, mostly designed by the chef/owner. Here is one good review: http://www.intowner.com/fr/food/reviews/September2006.htm. Here is the menu: http://www.inshaw.com/blog/Thai%20X-ing.htm. Patrons are advised to call in advance to avoid long waits.
And second, there’s Ruan Thai. I haven’t eaten here, but coincidentally, I met a Thai family in DC when I was there in April and they told me it was their personal favorite Thai restaurant in the metro area. Here’s Cowen:
Ruan Thai, 11407 Amherst Ave., Wheaton, 301-942-0075, not so far from Rt.29 and University Blvd.
My Thai restaurant of choice in Maryland. Not just the usual stuff. Fresh ingredients, and truly spicy. When it comes to ordering, you can’t go wrong. This place is exactly what a Thai restaurant should aspire to be.
And finally, I am less enthusiastic about Duangrats. I know people who swear by it, but I find the somewhat upscale atmosphere at odds with what I consider to be the true nature of Thai food as it’s typically consumed here: that is, in an informal setting (often eaten in the street or purchased from food vendors and taken home):
Duangrat’s, 5878 Leesburg Pike, Bailey’s Crossroads, 820-5775, usually open.
Gourmet Thai at reasonable prices. The ruling mainstream Thai restaurant in this area. There is another branch of the same restaurant, with a slightly different menu, right next door, called Rabieng’s. Has more modern decor than Duangrat’s, but fewer offerings, although I am told you can still order off the Duangrat’s menu. It used to be that every dish here was great, then for a while it turned spottier. Now it has been reinvigorated. It remains not fully consistent but the best dishes are better than ever and the menu is more innovative than ever before. The weekend “Thai tapas” are especially fun. Go, and go often.
Bonus commentary: several years ago, upon suffering a hankering for Ecuadorian food, I ventured to La Choza Grill, Cowen’s only entry under Ecuadorian cuisine:
La Choza Grill, 8558 Lee Highway, Merrifield, 1/2 mile west of Gallows, 560-1192.
I like the Seco (lamb stew with rice and potatoes) as well. They’ve added some Mexican dishes to the menu since I have been here last, which is probably a step backwards. But it is still the same owner, and if you live in the immediate area, you will find yourself coming back here.
I found the food to be mediocre (insert joke about Ecuadorian cuisine here). And if memory serves, the restaurant didn’t have my favorite Ecuadorian beer ((Much less Zhumir, Ecuador’s local firewater.)), Pilsener)). So I had to settle for a Pacena, a brew from Bolivia. (Don’t tell my Ecuadorian friends.)
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If you’re in America’s Pacific Northwest and you like Southeast Asian food — specifically Thai cuisine — then you’ve got to make your way to Pok Pok Whiskey Soda Lounge. That’s the name of Andy Ricker’s restaurant in Portland, Oregon. I haven’t been there, but it sounds like my kind of place: simple, savory Thai food served in a casual atmosphere.
Pok Pok isn’t a conventional Thai restaurant like you’d usually find in the US. It’s a “food garden” with indoor and outdoor seating. And the menu doesn’t include Thai staples that are common in the West, like pad thai and green chicken curry, but rather regional food from Thailand’s north and northeast. Pok Pok was voted The Oregonian‘s 2007 restaurant of the year. (Click here for a YouTube video tour of Pok Pok compliments of the Oregonian.)
Owner Andy Ricker — who learned about Thai cuisine during his travels here — was recently interviewed by Lynne Rossetto Kasper for the excellent Splendid Table radio show. You can find the episode here, and here’s a direct link to the mp3.
The segment starts at 14 min., 40 sec. and goes to about 24 min.
(Thanks to Austin Bush — an Oregonian who knows a thing or two about Thai food himself — for the link.)
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