Amazing Thailand - Food Trip

I have been going to Bangkok almost every year since i think 5 years back. One of the most important reasons is FOOD. Authentic Thai food uses a lot of greens like fruits/herbs/leafs, which i think is very down to earth. Simple but hearty. But of cause, because the open minded of the people on the land of smile, there are too array of foods from other cultures being brought in which will also be highlighted in this post. 

First of, Thai's street foods. They are simply in EVERY CORNER of the streets. Below are few worthy to be highlighted here: 

Moo Ping, i once thought it is chicken because of the tenderness of
the cut :p

Moo Ping | หมูปิ้ง | Grilled Pork on Skewer 

The pork was so tender and grilled to perfection. I believe the main marinate is sweet soy sauce and when it caramelised under the grill, it just adds a distinctive flavour to the juicy pork. Definitely my #1 snack under street food category. I had mine in front of 7-11 right next to BTS Chong Nonsi. 3 sticks for THB 20. I didn't order the sticky rice because of the carb... :( but i think it will be a perfect companion with the pork. 

This is Bihun Tom Yum. You can request for "half spicy". My top in the list. 

Kuay Teow Tom Yum | ก๋วยเตี๋ยวต้มยำ | Sweet, Sour and Spicy Noodle

If you ask me to choose 1 food that can represent the Thai's street food. This is the definite answer! This delicacy first caught my eye because the flavour/colour of the soup is mixed separately upon order. That means, if you like to have "half spicy" - what local can understand, or more sour, you can go for it and they hawker can customise it for you before he add the broth. Also you can choose between flat rice noodle (Kuay Teow), vermicelli, glass noodle (Tang Hun)...etc.   As for the toppings, there are fish cake, minced pork, pork lean meat, fish ball and KangKong (veg). Upon serving, you can further add seasoning like dried chili, fish sauce, sugar and crushed nuts.  Im actually slobbering now !!!  :( 

THB 35 for half mango and 70 for full. Who cares !! I want double
of this !! :P

Khao Neow Ma Muang | ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง } | Mango Sticky Rice 

It is hard to choose between this one and the Tub Tim Grob | ทับทิมกรอบ | Rubies in Coconut Milk but finally i opt for the mango sticky rice combo. Im a bit reluctant when it comes to dessert because of high sugar high carb containt but if i need to all out for one, i need to make sure it is to the max! The chewy stick rice topped with slightly salted coconut milk and the refreshing, aromatic mango are born to be together !!!  Sweet and satl, chewy and fluffy.... OMG !!  :) 

One of my MUST BUY item in 7-11 Thailand.  THB 32.

My either supper or breakfast :P  Fat die me ... sob sob... lol 

Next is convenient shop. It makes travel so much easier because like Taipei, there are every where and i patron 7-11 everyday during my five nights stay there to buy 3 main things that i cant get it here in Penang: Meiji Milk, Pork Bowl Rice (frozen) and Lays chips (Hot Chili Squid flavour). Tried different flavours of the frozen rice and chips too but the mentioned are the best for me. But its worth to mention here the Minced Pork and Basil Rice (another famous street food) is actually good even after being frozen and heated. Can try if you prefer spicy and aromatic flavour. 

One of the top Irish Pub in town, famous with their "from the tap" beers !!

Another preferred activity during travel is to explore to beers and I prefer drink beer in Bangkok instead of Penang because in general they serve fresh draught. Also the drinking culture there is more towards drinking. Of all the places i've tried, i love the draught Chang from Molly Malone (click here for location). This irish pub is just 2 minute walk from Sala Daeng BTS (Bangkok's sky train). At THB 100-130 per pint (depending on which day you go), it is so much cheaper. Other draughts like Heineken and Guinness are equally outstanding here. I think this is something to do with they strategy, promo 1 type of draught per day, this will reduce the storage/idle time hence minimise the beers from stale.   

Clockwise from top left: (1) Traditional Royal Thai Cuisine in Ruen Mallika
(2) Mince Pork Ball  Porridge in Siam Paragon Food Court  (3) Grill
Chicken Ramen (4) Fried Oyster Terminal 21's Pier 21 

If you love street foods but worry about the hygiene issues, you can actually go to the food court in shopping malls like Siam Paragon or Central World. There sells street foods too !! And to my surprise, some of the price are actually SAME with those you can find on the street, i.e. THB 45 for a bowl of noodle with soup. Your choice actually ... :P 

Lastly, because of vast number of Japanese working in the city, you can expect a lot 日本料理 (Japanese Cuisine) available across the concrete jungle. Of them all, i pick two mid range restaurants: Ramen King @ A Square (relatively new lifestyle 'mall' that you can eat play relax in Shukumvit area) and Izakaya @ Kudeta Bangkok (lovely restaurant located in 39th floor - dining and overseeing Bangkok's skyline at once). There are other chain outlet like Fuji, Chabuton, MOS but again i think these 2 are more special and worth to try if you are there. 

Bangkok, apart from being a food heaven for me, is actually a great way to escape. Strong in culture but gentle towards tourist, i find myself very relax walking along the street. Worry free that kind of feeling. People are smiling always and i particully like the way the female way of greeting "Sawadee Kaaaaaaaa ~~~~" So soft and gentle, just like the smiling face... just melt and take my heart visit after visit !! Till then, i look forward for my next BKK trip :P 

Other Pictures:

Clockwise from Top Left: (1) variety of frozen rice from 7-11 (2) My fav
Pork Bowl Rice (3) Pork in Garlic Sauce Rice (4) Fried Pork and Basil Rice

Clockwise from Top Left: (1) Hawker Stall just in front of restaurant
(2) Fried squid with salted egg york (3) local Cu Char restaurant
 (4) Instant Tom Yum noodle mixed with assorted vegs and minced
pork in JJ Market. 

Creativity of Thai is limitless !!!!   Thats why i LUV BKK :P 

Penang Wantan Mee: My Recommendation Part 1

Follow up with the earlier post about the making of egg noodles for the all famous Wantan Mee (click here for the post). This time, let see how various hawker put them in use. Introducing here are 8 different stalls of Wantan mee across Penang Island. Lets see what makes some really good business and vice versa. 

If you can remember from the earlier post, we discussed about how ingredients can make a whole different of texture, colour and taste of mee (noodle) itself. As it is carries more than, well i'd say 70% of the entire ingredients, so the quality of the noodle will be one of the key factors to decide if the Wantan Mee is a good one or bad. 2 more general factors are the "other ingredients" like "the Wantan itself, the CharSiew (Barbecue Pork), some greens and also the gravy/soup. 

So lets see what i actually look for for my perfect bowl of Wantan Mee. Im a Cantonese, so under the influence of Hong Kong Wonton Noodle, my ideal type of Wantan Mee must has springy noodle but not to the extend like chewing rubber. An open secret for making springy noodle is simply knead it with attention and love. Kneading (squashing, stretching, pulling, reshaping) develops the gluten within the flour mixture and because each match of raw flour comes in different quality, so by hand and love, it will always be a consistent quality because of timing adjustment. Adding Borax (硼砂) into the dough can actually increase the springiness but again, we should be talking about all natural ingredients. Moreover, it has been identified this chemical, is harmful to our health, so why risk?

By the name, another very important ingredient is the Wantan (Chine Dumpling). Many often confuse the Wantan vs. Sui Jiao. In general, Wantan is in ball shape while the Sui Jiao is in half round shape. I believe Wantan is originated from Hong Kong style of Wonton Noodle while the Sui Jiao is from mainland China. Supposedly Wantan is be filled with ONLY fresh prawn while Sui Jiao is mainly minced pork. But due to pricing issue, i cant find (so far) any Wantan in Penang is using the original recipe but mostly using pork (lower cost). See how the good old original recipe is diminishing?   :( While because Sui Jiao always served as side, so it sometimes consist of prawn in the minced pork (charge higher price). 

Other common ingredients like Char Siew (BBQ Pork), boiled Choy Sam and pickled green chilli can also be found in typical Penang style Wantan Mee. Not only the filling of the wantan is no longer original but also in most of the cases, the Char Siew is seen as the main topping. To make it a beautiful word, i call it localisation. Some other examples include, but not limit to: Fried Wantan, sambal (blended chilli with other aromatic veg like garlic, onnion ..etc). As for this part, i have no specific requirement as long as Char Siew is good and the Choy Sam is cooked. Note: I think it is interesting to create another topic about Recipe: Originality vs. Localisation/Reinvented. 

As on the gravy side, very often in Penang, you will see Wantan Mee covered in thick black sauce that mixed from dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and other seasonings. I think it is the hokkean style (correct me if im wrong). The cantonese style is using the broth from shitake mushroom and it is often found watery and lighter in colour. I prefer the clearer gravy because the thick one will cover the flavour of the noodle, most of the time, cover the stench of nasty chemicals like: lye (for yellowish colour) and borax (for springiness of noodle) too. A clear gravy on the other hand, if formulated correctly, will binds all flavours of all ingredients, making every type to compliment each other. A key point to any cooking to make a good tasty dish. 

There are other factors too will affect the experience like bowl or plate, ceramic, paper or plastic. Let's dont talk further but to see the 3 Wantan Mee in Penang I recommend for this round:

(1) 高佬 (鸿记) 云吞面 in Yi Garden, Lorong Selamat.
Served in bowl and the wantans are hiding underneath the noodle:
a traditional Cantonese way of presentation. 

(2) 佳记巧手云吞面 in Kheng Pin Cafe, Jalan Penang. The shitake
mushroom broth taste really good and with the varieties of
toppings, I can finish it in no time. 

Name Unknown. Located in 铭园咖啡馆 within Sunway Tunas in Bayan
Lepas. Served in bowl (my fav), this Wantan Mee is packed with sesame
oil aroma and the proportion of each ingredients are just nice. 

Located within 77 Food Yard in Pulau Tikus, this Wantan Mee is
packed with Char Siew. 

Wantan Mee in Kuta Bali Farlim. A decent Wantan Mee

Another decent Wantan Mee in Goodal Cafe, Tg Tokong. 

In Kafe Sri Nibong, Bayan Lepas. Can you see the soft and flabby noodle?

In Sin Kim San Cafe, another bad example of Wantan Mee

That's it for this round. I think im gonna stop eating Wantan Mee for a while :P   Let me know what you want me to recommend and i will try to make it happen. Good night.