The Bug Man (feel free to click on any of these pictures to enlarge)
His tasty wares.
A nickel bag.
Serene boldly goes first.
I follow with a cute little cricket.
Khun Pote happily awaits the food
Curry Crab comes out first.
The Ladies dig in.
Fried fish in fish sauce. Sooooo good.
Really burn your tongue spicy squid and fired prawn cakes.
Pamela has a taste of the chilies.
Chinatown, Bangkok or make the Thainatown
Seat by the street.
The view.
Fish ball (no, not what you are thinking) soup, pig's blood soup, Pad Thai and more.
Serene eyes the pig soup.
Bird's Nest soup, a delicate bit of bird expectorant.
The dishwasher.
Some nice looking bbq prawns.
A spread of dishes at another stand.
Iron Chef - Thai Alley.
Porky eating his lunch.
The sign says "Pork Noodles - this way" (seriously, according to my Thai interpreter).Back in Bangkok yet again. this time for a site visit for an upcoming conference.
I was with the fabulous ladies of The Event Company - Serene, Anires and Pamela . http://www.stagingconnections.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=21616
They set up a busy agenda of looking at the hotel, restaurants and places along the river to visit as part of a team building exercise. We were joined on out journey by our Khun Pote, TEC's main man in Bangkok. During the non-working hours we had a culinary treat visiting a few really local places, with cheap, great food.
First foodie tidbit of the day came from the bug man. At one of the river stops there was a man with a pushcart offering a wide array of fried insects. Roaches, little crickets, big grasshoppers, worms and even quail eggs. As gross as the bugs looked to a Westerner, the guy must do more then just "Fear Factor" type business. I was willing to give it a try only if one of my companions was bold enough to try with me. Serene, an avowed foodie, was game. We bought a little bag of small crickets and worms. The small crickets we less intimidating looking then the grasshoppers or the cockroaches. The worms seemed ok because they looked like the same kind I have swallowed with the last shot of mescal on a few occasions. The bugs come fried, seasoned and mixed with some chile's. Serene popped one in and didn't die or throw up so I followed suit. Had I not known what I was eating I could have eaten the whole bag. The bugs tasted like wasabi peas without the wasabi or like Cheetos without the cheese. Good and crispy with not gooey or slimy innards to worry about. Check that one off my list!
That night we dined at a very local seafood place called Chaeron Seafood. This hidden gem is located upstairs from a wet market, surrounded by hawker stands. It is air conditioned but very basic, with metal tables, cheap chairs and drinks carts on wheels. The place was bustling with students and other young people. Groups of 6 and 8 kids just eating, talking and laughing. Khun Pote (and At least on of the ladies) made the food selections - curry crab, spicy squid, raw prawns, prawn cakes, noodles, rice, whole fried fish - some cold Chang beer and more. An orgy of food. Total bill for the 5 of us - 2500 Baht (about $80 US).
After looking at hotel space and other boring things on Saturday we headed to out for a cheap, good, no happy ending Thai massage. The Let's Relax spa http://www.bloomingspa.com/ , oddly located on the 6th floor of a big Toyota showroom, was the perfect place. 2 hour traditional Thai massage, with an herbal scrub was 600 Baht ($20 US). The Auntie who handled me was a strong, pain inducing pro. It hurt as she kneaded, twisted, pulled and yanked on my arms, legs and neck, but the payoff after two hours was a totally loose, relaxed feeling.
After that we went to Chinatown. I'd never been there but did see it last trip from a Tuk Tuk. Serene knew exactly where to go and where to sit. we sat at a table on the sidewalk and she quickly went from stall to stall ordering the food. soon we had pig's blood soup, fish ball soup, pad thai, shark fin soup and another noodle dish. I was a little worried because this really was as close to street food as I've gotten in Bangkok. OK, it was street food. I was a litttle worried but threw caution to the wind. All the food was great. The pig soup tasted really good although I only had a tiny bite of the big clot of blood. Sharkfin, very sought after for it's various TCM attributes, was nice but not as tasty as the pig or fish soup. The pad thai was really really good. Afterwards we had bird's nest soup. Bird's nest is huge in Asia. It is said to be one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. It is said that regular consumption is good for making one's skin soft, clear and glowing. http://chinesefood.about.com/library/bltrivia33.htm
The delicacy is made from Swallow's nests which are made from swallow's spit. Mmmmmm Spit Soup at a very high price! For desert the mix it with water and sugar and heat it up. the ladies briefed me on it and of course I said I'd eat it. As I swallowed my first spoonful of swallow spit Anires yelled "Don't swallow it!". It was too late to spit it out. I was a little concerned that they had left out the most important part of the instructions and that I would soon be dead, or at least throwing up in an alley. Luckily, she only meant to tell me I should savor it by chewing on the gelatinous gobs in the soup. I was safe and indeed found the gobs of gob to be quite delectable. And if I might add, my skin is now silky smooth and aglow....
After dinner we hit the night market for an hour or so. Purchases were made and deals were cut on clothes, bags, jewelry and more.
Another great visit to Bangkok was in the books.
