Food Delights 1

A quick note to readers of this food section. On many of the pictures and captions I include prices. To me, it’s a part of the magic of Thailand. But this magic is further empowered when you realize that if a dinner for the two of us costs $12.24 that is what it costs. There is no adding of 10% for tax and then another 15 or 20% for tip. You hear me? Yes, tipping here is not expected nor a part of the culture. My goodwill or guilt sometimes causes me to leave something small but nothing like leaving a $20 tip back in the states. I do remember decades ago when I was in a clothing shop in Australia. I found a jacket with a price tag of $40. I brought it to the cashier and asked how much? She pointed to the price tag and said “$40”. She must think Americans are not very good at math or not too smart. Don’t get me started on why gallons of gas in the US are always priced with .9 cents.

Sushi at Osaka

Osaka Nimman is quickly becoming one of our go-to places. The sushi is excellent and is the perfect size for me. It is called ‘bite-size’. I wish this would catch on in the US, where I pop a whole sushi in my mouth, then I hope and pray that no one asks me a question in the next 90 seconds as I do mouth-battle with that giant American sushi. I would tend to bite it in half which brings up a whole new battle. The batter on the tempura was light and crispy. Included were onion, sweet potato, enoki mushrooms and something we never figured out. We both, many times, will make a small bowl of soy sauce and mix in a bit of wasabi I call this ‘woooo’ because of the noise one makes when you use too much. We both did this a couple of times. First, the woooo sound as your sinuses explodes followed by joint laughter. The salmon melted in your mouth with a nice light soy glaze. This was a really good night.

Lunch at Lanna

Chicken of the Gods at Whichian Buri Chicken

Fortunately, or unfortunately, this chicken place is right around the corner from us. They are only open for lunch. When one turns on ‘said corner’ you look for their smoke stack. Where there is smoke there is chicken. Much like when the Catholics choose a pope, it’s about the same excitement level. It’s pretty ‘primitive’ for a restaurant. One square room with wooden tables and plastic chairs. The place is ‘open-air’, no walls. This helps the smoke from the grill, in the corner, have a shot at leaving the place. Water and the ice chest are self-serve. The staff is helpful and walk up to as soon as you sit down. They assume you know what you are doing. The only decision is do you want a half or a whole chicken and what salad do you want. The chicken is super meaty and tender as the dickens. It’s served with a bowl of ‘pretty much’ barbeque sauce. The corn salad has a volume control. They ask “how spicy.” I answer “medium” which will make your nose run, your tongue and lips go slightly numb, and only a little perspiration on one’s forehead. Yep, super spicy for most westerners but right in my wheelhouse. Avoid at peak lunch hour. Twice we walked away because they had no open tables.

Real Pizza

Pizza My Heart is the second pizza place we’ve been to in the last two days. 🙂 I did learn one thing for sure. They know how to do pizza in Thailand. They have real ovens, fresh ingredients and pride in pizza. I slightly like the first pizza place we went to yesterday better because of the intimacy of the room therefore the staff seemed friendlier. An excellent pizza for $8 but wine is really expensive here when compared to other options. A glass of good wine was $5.17. Yes, I know. That same glass in Seattle would be about $12. Ok, I had to look it up. At Tutta Bella in Seattle our meal would have been $75. Plus $12 for a tip. Tipping in Thailand is not expected or the rule. Here we dropped $24, wine included. Sure, we had 2 glasses of wine each. Which might cause me to think a $40 Uber ride. But here…. we mostly walk or an Uber would be at most $4

Out in front of the restaurant there is a trip adviser sign for ‘Best Pizza and Pasta 2023’. The food is very photogenic, and they do a brisk business because of it.

Not photogenic but our favorite... 'Khao Tom Baht Diao'

The restaurant we frequent the most is this one. This is where the real food is at. This is the kinda place you treat the beer ‘fridge as a serve-your-self station and tell them as you pay the bill how many you drank. It is located 7 steps from our front gate. Sometimes I avoid Pad Thai because it has become the ‘Louie Louie’ of Thai dishes in the United States and I tried to promote eating something else. Diane took one bite and said, ‘try this’. I noticed she was just staring at me and waiting for my facial expression when I tasted it. Ok, I’ll bite. I twirled a bit on my fork and popped in my mouth. It was like heaven open its gates and said ‘y’all come on in’. I didn’t not expect this. Diane and I just started laughing because it was so good. They somehow married some distant magical smokiness with complex and deep flavors which I’ll have to grab a thesaurus to completely describe.

Be careful of the cucumber salad. This is not what one would find at a family picnic. It usually comes at my breaking point of spice. Small bites and don’t breathe is the best advice until you get used to it. It packs a punch. We usually order some crispy pork belly to round out this meal.

I tend to walk in and as Diane grabs a table I head to the ‘fridge and get us a Singha to share. If our favorite waiter is there, Mit, I’ll give him a nod and he will go in the back and get us some of the nice beer glasses filled with ice which is how we like it (Thai style). It’s sometimes the only way to get through the cucumber salad.

I would call this place blue collar. It even comes with a waste basket at the end of each table. I use this for napkins while eating.

Are there white tablecloths, no. Did a cat jump on our table to get from his perch to a possible food source, yes. Does it have walls? not really. Is it located on a very busy street where you can watch people endlessly walk, scooter, or drive by? Yes. Do we eat here 2 or 3 times a week? Wadda ya tink?

Do not worry I’ll post more food pictures in a future blog….