1. Spice, Sauce and Soup
What can i say, Thais have perfect mastery over the spices they put in their food, the creation of sauces or gravy that really goes well with food, and the concoction of soup that are mind-boggling appetizing. I was never a fan of the “Thai sauce” that is commonly served in Singapore – it is usually too sweet and too thick. My trip to Bangkok has changed my perception of “Thai sauce”. The version served here has just the right balance of sweet, sour and spicy, at just the right thickness.
Thai sauce over popiah, which, by the way, was AWESOME. This was sold at a street side-walk stall along Yaowarat road.
A simple Asparagus in oyster sauce dish at Taling Pling. The sauce was surprisingly nice, without having a strong cooking-wine taste to it that is so common in typical Chinese Tze-Char dishes.
Steamed White Snapper in garlic lemon grass gravy (more like soup), a popular dish at T&K Seafood. The dish was actually served cold, which put me off initially, but as the dish warmed up through the heat from the burner underneath, it became spectacularly flavourful. You just want to keep drinking the soup.
2. Eggs
Omelette and scrambled eggs, Thais do it best. I think part of the secret is in using of a lot of oil to do the cooking, but ultimately it comes down to the skill and control over the timing that result in some of the best egg dishes i have eaten.
The scrambled eggs from Chu Chocolate Bar & Cafe was so silky and elastic.
Delicious omelette with crab meat from Krua Apsorn. I don’t think any starch or flour was added, and it was not wet nor too dry.
3. Minced Pork
This one really surprised me. I guess i have become too used to the fatty and overly fine texture of minced pork that we have in Singapore and Malaysia. I usually eat those half heartedly, not wanting to eat a lot of that fatty stuff but at the same time not wanting to be too wasteful. The minced pork in Thailand totally blew me away – it didn’t feel fatty at all, was bouncy and had just the right texture to entice me to chew away at it.
Sator beans with minced pork and prawns from Taling Pling.
4. Fresh Ingredients
I can taste the freshness in most of what i ate in Bangkok. Nothing beats eating fresh food.
5. Crushed Ice
It doesn’t matter where you buy your iced drink from, you get crushed ice to go with it. That is amazing! I am green with envy that Thais are so pampered. The other amazing thing is how, i noticed, they leave their cooler box cover open and the crushed ice remains crushed ice.
Cha Yen from Cha Tra Mue, served with crushed ice
6. Coffee
I cannot find fault in any of the coffee i had in Bangkok, save for the last cup of latte i had in the airport, which was a little too milky and had poor froth. They’re reasonably priced too, ranging from 40 Baht (S$1.60) to 110 Baht (S$4.40) for a regular sized cup. Makes me want to have coffee all day long.
Latte from After You
