Best restaurant in Bangkok and scary birthday party...

Went to a private buffet at what is one of my favourite eateries in Bangkok, Tamarind Cafe. Situated a few hundred yards into Sukhumvit soi 20 Tamarind Cafe is, in my opinion, one of the best restaurants in Bangkok and without doubt the best vegetarian restaurant.

A contemporary restaurant with an industrial flavour it is set on three floors including a roof-top terrace, the setting for last night's buffet, and offers an extensive menu of vegetarian cuisine that is anything from bland.

The restaurant is owned by two girls, one French and the other Taiwanese, who opened the first branch of Tamarind Cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam, some years ago. The food is a fusion of east and west combining the best of both, and seems popular with both vegetarians and carnivores alike. I've eaten in the Hanoi branch and can strongly recommend that one too if you happen to be in the area.

If you're looking for somewhere a bit special give it a try. I recommend their vegetarian lap gai (one of my favourite Thai dishes from my meat eating days) or their pineapple stuffed with curried rice. Their website is here.

Took the daughter to a birthday party yesterday afternoon. One of the entertainments provided was a puppet show, in Thai. All was going well and every kid was captivated by the show. Then, without warning, a guy dressed as a monster leapt from behind the screen, a bit too enthusiastically. It was like watching dominoes fall. First one kid burst into fits of hysterics then most of the rest followed, flooding out of that particular room in droves. What looked like being a huge success turned to disaster.

Best restaurant in Bangkok and scary birthday party...

Eating in Thailand...

Anyone living in Thailand or who knows anything about current events in Thailand will have heard of the "Epicurean Masters of the World" dining extravaganza that will take place this weekend. Basically it's lots of filthy rich people paying 1 million baht (about (US$29,000 or GBP£15,000) for a meal cooked by six three-star Michelin chefs.

Flying in from various parts of the world they will be entertained at the Dome Restaurant on the 65th floor of State Tower by the chefs, also flown in, and a wide range of "delicacies", also flown in for the occasion.

The eleven course dinner includes such revolting dishes as creme brulee of foie gras and veal cheeks. Incidentally foie gras is being banned in more and more places around the world, and for good reason.

As an event that is designed to promote Thailand as a hot destination with cuisine to match, the menu is, strangely enough, exclusively European.

Deepak Ohri, organiser and MD of Dome Restaurant, laughed off comments about the environmental effects of flying in not only the guests but also the food and the chefs. Apparently he thinks that fewer tourists but spending more money is better than lots of tourists. Hmmm.

Apparently there's only one Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in the world. It's in London, is Singaporean owned and the head chef is an Aussie.

Seats are still available if you wish to join the "great and the good" for this unique dining experience.

Eating in Thailand...

Thai street food and Lonely Planet recommendations....

At last the weather is starting to feel more wintry. The wife has dug out her woolly jumpers and I'm working on the computer and not sweating profusely. Happy days!

I mentioned in yesterday's post that the place we stayed at in Ayuthaya offered a very sanitised version of Thai food, adapted to what they think westerners want. This is something that has long annoyed me in Thailand and I've heard it mentioned by others too, so not just a personal gripe.

Looks nice but didn't taste quite so good, prawn fried rice (for the wife) and veggie spring rolls.

I've thought for a long time the best place to get Thai food is on the street or in cheap street restaurants. Hotels and expensive restaurants in Thailand charge over the odds for lesser quality fare. Sure it's cleaner but the taste is not nearly as good as the good old street nosh.

Veggie boat noodle from a street stall - delicious!

Fried rice on the street, with a good dollop of fish sauce (I'm not vegan yet), is about 25 baht and delicious whereas in a good restaurant you'll be paying at least 60 baht and often over a 100 baht and for something that lacks the soul of its street-side counterpart. Pad Thai is another example. The taste of Pad Thai from a street stall can't be touched by the more costly offerings of hotels and expensive restaurants. I've eaten some of these simple Thai dishes at some of the best restaurants in Bangkok and compared to what you get on the street they are bland and set you back a silly amount of money.

The exception to the rule is when you want western food or when you're at a beach. I've found a good restaurant or hotel is the best place for foreign food and street vendors on beaches are a good way to get ill. Just personal experience.

Whilst in Ayuthaya we tried a few Lonely Planet Thailand recommendations. The LP highly recommended a restaurant on Rotchana Road called Moradok-Thai. The place was empty, the service not so good and when the food arrived we found maggots in one of the dishes. I kid you not - maggots! They were in a plate of fried vegetables which all three of us had eaten from and worryingly we also found half a maggot. This is true, not copying any myth or joke. We called the senior waitress who examined the maggots and toddled off. That was it. No apology or explanation - nothing. I wouldn't even mention it if this was a street stall but it was a pricey, by Thai standards, restaurant with a good selection of wines on the menu and dishes starting at 150 baht. Not a good experience.

Our other Lonely Planet Thailand recommendation turned out equally disastrous. LP is a great guide but I've often found their food suggestions lacking. But then they can't be expected to traipse around all the restaurants in the kingdom and get everything right. Still the best guide book on offer.

Anyone for insects? Not everything on the street is good.

The Bangkok Post reports that Taksin's wife, if found guilty of corruption and insider dealing charges, could face a fine of 60,000 baht. Well gee-wizz, that's going to hurt her. Just over US$1000 for the wife of a billionaire. They must be terrified of the outcome! Maybe they'll have to make some cut backs and sell the holiday pad in London.


Thai street food and Lonely Planet recommendations....

Vegetarian food in Bangkok and feeling low about schools....

I've come to the conclusion that, despite what you'll read elsewhere, Thailand is not the best place for a vegetarian. Thai food is nice but it is mostly meat-based.

I've somehow got out of the habit of cooking for myself during the day so potato is almost completely out of my diet too. For the first time today I actually felt like something is missing from my diet. Giving up meat was easy, no problem. Never really liked meat that much anyway and never felt comfortable with the way animals are kept prior to being slaughtered for meat so giving up meat was easy. However it left a gap in my diet and today is the first time I've ever really felt that.

I eat a lot of salad and fried rice, once I've explained how to make it without meat. Pasta is readily available and tofu is in a lot of dishes, but usually alongside meat. Fortunately I can still eat noodle soup, minus the meat balls. Ordering noodle soup with no meat is considered very strange behaviour. One seller eventually agreed but gave me a look of disgust for some reason. Anyway, Thailand isn't the greatest place for us veggies.

Downtown there are a few good vegetarian restaurants and there are Indian restaurants that always have a good selection of vegetarian food but away from Bangkok's epicentre and options are thin on the ground.

Last day of school tomorrow for the daughter and I officially announced to the head that she won't be coming back after the school hols. Oddly enough this has left me feeling like shit. I hope we're doing the right thing. She loves the school and talks incessantly about her mates. I think the move is for the right reasons but I just hope we make the right choice of school. As much as she seems to like her school she is completely happy about moving and hasn't once protested. If she had I would consider leaving her where she is until she has to leave but not a word against it so far.

Vegetarian food in Bangkok and feeling low about schools....

Eating dogs in Thailand

Sadly it seems that the once frowned upon practice of eating dogs in Thailand is on the rise again. Chiang Mai is leading the way in the dog eating department with sales apparently soaring; black dogs and foreign breeds being the most popular. Maybe it is no coincidence that Chiang Mai is also a popular destination for Chinese tourists. A simple case of supply and demand. Street sellers have even admitted that they lie to customers who don't want dog, saying that the meat is either lamb or beef. Be warned, when eating in Chaing Mai you might not be getting what you ordered. What you think is lamb or beef could in fact be man's best friend.

Eating dogs in Thailand is not new. It has always been around, but generally in rural pockets in the north and the east. A general revulsion towards this archaic practice and growing acceptance that man's best friend is in fact man's best friend and not for the dinner plate led to it almost being wiped out. The traditional way to kill a dog for the plate in Thailand was to drop it in a bag, hang the bag from a tree and then beat the dog to death with sticks. The belief being that this would make for better tasting meat. Personally I think that is ridiculous and anyone who would do such a thing is seriously sick in the head. But that's just me.

About ten years ago there was a scare as it was discovered that some roadside noodle vendors were substituting dead street dog for more expensive meat in the meat balls (look-chin). The general revulsion towards dog eating aside this presented a health risk. Have you seen the average street dog? Scabby and mangy and riddled with god only knows what.

Once this trend gets a hold and increases in popularity, also fueled by "hardcore" travellers wanting to prove their no holds barred approach to travel (yawn), then surely another little abhorrent industry will spring up. Dog fur fashion. And then there'll be people selecting the prettiest pooch based on their fur and sittng comfortably whilst the fur is ripped from the back of said pooch and the meat prepared for the plate and fur cleaned for delivery to the customer. How civilised.

Eating dogs in Thailand

Indian Restaurants in Bangkok....

Had an Indian down in the Pratunam area of Bangkok this evening. Tandoori Hub, on the second floor of a cheap guest house/hotel tucked away down one of the scruffy backstreets near the Baiyoke Sky Hotel. If you're looking for a no thrills Indian Restaurant in Bangkok then that is certainly the area. We've been to a few of them now. Most are pretty good if a touch basic.

This particular Indian restaurant offers Indian, Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi food. Layout is basic at best, something like transport cafe with spice. From our table we could see equally well straight into both the lavatory and the kitchen which was a bit disconcerting. Whilst it is never going to win food hygiene of the year the food was ok and there haven't been any undue trips to the bathroom. Several dishes of curry, garlic naan, biryani and drinks and tea and all for 500baht (about GBP£8 or US$11).

Teacher's day tomorrow so it's daddy/daughter day all day. She is expecting a fun packed day of excitement so the pressure is now on.

Indian Restaurants in Bangkok....

Bangkok food and restaurants...

Having handed the daughter over to the wife early evening I managed to get away for some free time and an evening out. Nothing too exciting, no wild parties or hedonistic evenings of madness. I met a friend for a meal and to discuss business.

The good thing about Bangkok, and I guess most capital cities, is the abundance and variety of food available. Eating out in Bangkok is always a treat. There are restauarants in Bangkok catering to all tastes.

Both of us are vegetarians and that's the one thing that Bangkok lacks a lot of. There are vegetarian resaurants in Bangkok but they are few and far between. Luckily there is a vegetarian festival going on at the moment so options are vast for a short period and many Thais play at being vegetarians for a few weeks.

We ended up on Sukhumvit road in one of the many Arabic restaurants in that area of Bangkok. Around the Nana junction there are numerous Indian and Pakistani restaurants and, as we discovered, Arabic restaurants, complete with authentic middle eastern waiters.

The food was good, and the price wasn't too high. A big meal for two including thre or four nan breads and biryani rice came to 800baht, about £11 (US$20). I can't remember the name of the restaurant but you can miss it, it's got more chrome decor than a gypsies caravan and a strong smell of middle eastern incense.

As a side note one of my favourite restaurants in Bangkok remains Tamarind Cafe. This french/Taiwanese owned vegetarian resaurant is on Sukhumvit Road soi 20 and combines Gallery F-Stop's photo exhibitions. Pricey by Thai standards but excellent food and great freidnly service.

Bangkok food and restaurants...

Vegetarian Cooking

Being back in the UK alone I’m having to start cooking for myself again. Being a vegetarian in the UK is so much easier than in Thailand, it is generally geared up to veggies a lot more than Thailand. Oddly enough Thailand doesn't seem to be big in the whole vegetarian thing; either eating out or cooking at home. It’s a very meat centred diet over there.

Tonight's home cooked vegetarian invention was pasta with broccoli, onion, garlic, ginger and tomato, soaked in a tomato and basil sauce with vintage cheddar grated over the top, sprinkled with salt, pepper and marjoram and baked. It turned out very well and was washed down with an excellent red wine. Beats rice any day of the week!

I recently discovered soya milk. It's not bad. It's quite nice actually. I'd thought of stepping up the vegetarianism to veganism which is why I was trying soya milk. I don't mind the milk but not sure if I could be completely without all dairy products. No cream ever again!! No cheese!! Don't want to think about it.

I'm curious. By not eating any meat at all, including fish, I guess I'm missing lots of important oil (omega 3 to name but one). Anyone have any suggestions as to how I can naturally supplement the diet to compensate for this loss? Answers on a postcard please.

Vegetarian Cooking