Somkid - Prima Tanjung

My countless sojourns into Bangkok since I turned 30 , have shaped who I am today . I have to admit , that I am both impressed by the standards of beauty and influenced to a certain degree by the exposure . And having Chinese blood running through my veins , a good number of us believe that we are what we eat .

In a way that translates to the inexplicable success of Korean and Japanese establishments in the region .

I do both occasionally , but I am more a fan of Thai cuisine than those 2 above and after almost 20 years , to a certain extent , that laywoman's belief could almost be true .

On a domestic flight to NYC , the gorgeous feline , an Anggun lookalike seated next to me , started talking to me in Thai , and when I came into this shoplot , one of the waitresses assumed I was Thai . Of course I quickly replied back in English , so they know that I am not .

This is so funny because when I am in Thailand , the Thais there either think I am one of them , some of them will even mistake me for a Japanese or Korean !

Ponn Cafe

June in Bangkok is a really good time to go sampling their shrimps . Unlike the beginning of the year , where the weather can get pretty temperate these days , the sun was unbearably unforgiving . But that seemed to have brought out the best in the produce this region has to offer . Chillies are hotter , fruits are sweeter , shrimps are firmer and fresher ( really no idea why ) and if you are lucky , you can also get to sample some off season flowers in your omelette .

Hawker stalls around Tesco Lotus Sukhumvit 50 ( On Nut )

Note : If you don't fancy getting picked up in a hawker centre nor having some frog meat in your bowl of tomyam, then you should really pick your dining options carefully when you come to Sukhumvit 50 after dark. 

Frogs are so popular in this locale , one vendor even offers deep fried baby frogs as a snack ! 

New to the area, I thought nothing of sitting down to a meal here. Yeah the one below. 2nd last stall from the corner.  They had a picture menu. I took that and merely pointed to what I fancied

" Gimme this one, this one and that one "

Easy. Then I took one look at the counter and almost fainted ! Huge butchered bullfrogs were placed beside all the other meats , seafoods and vegies .

Too late to back out , I pointed to the 3 rows of  beasts peeping out from the bed of vegies and told the girl

" No, no, no ! "

She merely laughed at me. 

Stacked Cha Ohm omelette

Learnt how to eat this herb from a Southern Thai lady. 

Took a bit of trial and error before I knew the correct way.

There are tiny thorns on the small fern like stalk. Discard that. Use only the fronds.

At some point it smells like a toxic gas leak, but it's really beneficial to your health. Once you've learnt to appreciate this dish, you might just end up waiting for your next fix.

Back at Taste Thai Cuisine - Alma

Fans of clear tomyam , might not like this Southern version. In contrast this one is very oily , very sharp and sometimes very sour too.

But me, I wanted to have what everyone was having so there. After skimming through the gamut of ingredients, I still prefer clear tomyam over this ,anytime.

Still, in case you wanna know what was inside, we ordered a Seafood tomyam ( medium prawns, oyster mushroom, fish meat chunks , squid galangal slices, kafir lime leaves )what was unusual is that there were that marbled shellfish called lala which is abundant in supply in KL, but rarely sold in Penang wetmarkets .

Taste Thai Cuisine - 2nd visit

Two cute little maiden statues greet you at the door.

She must know, that for me return twice in 2 days must mean I kinda like this very Hakka-ish looking , minimalist but very sweet little restaurant already.

Taste Thai Cuisine - Alma

Though there are so many Chinese-Thai restaurants in Prai ,so far I have not been compelled enough to give them a try after a bad experience at a supposedly famous one near Bagan Ajam.

However, I simply could not pass up the chance to try out this place . Being fairly new yet managing to attract a hoard of diners ? Ok, I'm going in.

Aroi Thai- a page out of Bangkok ( NH )

Aroi Thai is a quaint little restaurant

that bears a ladies touch in almost every corner.
As long as you keep your eyes off their oh-s0-Thai handsome varieties of manly helpers.

Peonies dangle from wicker cases on the ceiling

Kerabu Tomyam Bee Hoon - forgotten by tourism brochures

This vermicelli dish is a living testament of the extent of Thai and Nyonya influence on Penang cuisine. 
Most will serve it plain, with some chopped mint leaves and tiny pieces of vegetarian fritters on top.
 

Offered at most hawker centres reknowned for cheap food, there is no fixed rule to finding the exact stall that hawks it, as it is normally sold alongside other dishes such as chinese pasembor.

2nd tongue burning experience at Mall's Cafe ( NH )

Earlier post : http://gostansikit.blogspot.com/2012/08/malls-cafe-prangin-mall.html

First mouthwatering bowl of the most mind blowing spicy, southern tomyam.

Selection of fishballs, 3 button mushrooms, tofu , 2 vegies, half a portion of instant noodles = $7

2nd bowl

Fishballs , 2 prawns, brown sotong , foochuk , instant noodle

$10

Mall's Cafe, Prangin Mall ( NH )

Originally operating from the popular corner kopitiam on the same floor, today,they have relocated to this new spot .

Like other regulars I was not fooled. Checked out that original shoplot ( two new boy chefs in their place) before heading back here

Alila, Red Garden Food Paradise ( NH )

When I want cheap,good and authentic Thai food cooked by real Thai people , this is where you will find me.

Walk all the way to the back and look for this counter.

( NH ) One night at Super Tanker - Lip Sin

Judging from my 'night' posts, you might think I am a 500 year old vampire's descendent by now.
Coincidentally, I am not alone as there are lots of Penangites roaming the streets from 11pm onwards for a drink or a bite. Or maybe I am just consoling myself over my tendency to want to wander around when the moon is up.

Khun Thai, Permatang Tengah ( PF )

I've been wanting to come here for a long time but never found the time to do so.

Naturally I was delighted to discover that it was operating from this very cute looking, very long thai barn.

Being such a hot day, we decided to share a bottle of sugar cane. There's a label stuck on it and we were surprised to see that it came in all the way from Kedah.

Priced at an unexpected $12 for one litre, um, I think I might pass this and settle for warm water next time.

Not exactly fresh, smells like sugarcane fibres that have started to break down.

Pinto Thai Corner - Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah ( NH )

Tucked away in the Maple Gold Recreation Centre on Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah is this cozy little restaurant.

The decor is lovely,charming,spanking clean and even though there's no air conditioning ,surprisingly it isn't too hot once you are seated inside.

A lovely place to chit chat over an ice cold drink.

It's our first time here and we're pretty hungry.