wolf5370

Ah Thailand,

just spent a nice evening in the outdoor restaurant across the road from me.
Whole Talipa, deep fried and served sizzling on the table in vegetable orange curry (with a large bowl of same on the side) and fragrant rice (chicken wings and sticky rice for the kids) - two 640ml Changs (beer) and a few glasses from a new bottle of Sang Som with Pepsi (brought the bottle home for next time).
Watched Thailand beat Malaysia 2 - 0 in the Suzuki Cup (soccer) on the large screen TV while sipping my whisy (rum) n coke. Go Reds

All for under a tenner.

5am now - Decemeber 14th - I have my balcony door 2 metres in front of me wide open and a fan blowing at me, wearing just my shorts.

...and people ask me if I miss old Blighty [snigger snigger]

Catchafire

Sounds awesome Mr Wolf.

Spent Christmas on the beach in Koh Phangnan a couple of times in my youth!

wolf5370

Christmas is a bit of a non event here really - it being a Budhist country and all - it's probably the one time of the year I actually do miss Old Blighty (or at least the family xmass with my folks back home).

Only been back to the UK for 6 days in the last four years or so - don't miss that white stuff though! Might be back for a week after new year (see my parents and siblings) - be like going on holiday (wonder if it will be a culture shock)

Alan2005

There was always plenty of christmas stuff going on in bangkok. For christmas dinner we always went hi-so, in either the dusit thani or the sukhothai. It was great - if a little filling.

wolf5370

Never done Xmas in Bangers, its much more cosmopolitan down there, so don't doubt they cater more. There are places to eat various xmas dinners here in CM, but that was never really the draw for me at xmas anyway - its more tree/pressies/family/Queen's speech/crackers/egg-nog.etc - I'm a piscatarian, so I don't eat the traditional fair anyway.

I made eggnog last year (full alco version of course) - gave it away free to the cafe customers nice n hot - most took a polite sip and left it though - still plenty left for me Interestingly, of the Thais (westerners drank it of course) mostly young women drank it and men stayed with beer or water - older women sipped/tasted it and then left it. Don't think Singha has much to worry about.

bakedbean

I've had a red curry. I've had a yellow curry. Never an orange curry Is that like a mixture of the two?

wolf5370

No - its is sometimes called "jungle curry" - it watery (no coconut milk) and very spicey. It is orange though (watery orange rather than carot orange).
Gaeng Som แกงส้ม Sometimes served with cold veraceli noodles and lettice (with fish added usually)

bakedbean

Ah I've seen jungle curry but never knew what it was.

wolf5370

It's one of those "You know you have been in Thailand too long when..." things - i.e. When you can eat Som-tam (pok pok) and Orange Curry without smoke pouring from your ears or your eyes popping out!

My favourite is Penang curry - originally from your locale (but Thais added coconut milk instead of the Indian Ghee) - Masaman is potato curry (originally from Indonesia) - it is known here as Muslim Curry (although they have it with pork here! - beef or chicken is the most common though) - I like that too, but can't have it here in Thailand unless the Mrs makes it, as they always add meat even when you say not to.

Alan2005

Curries were never my favourite. I tended to prefer the thin soups, a nice seap tom het worked wonders for a hang over. Generally (in my opinion obviously) North east food is the best Thai food (excluding the things with insects in).

bakedbean

I love the Massaman curry and the Penang Curry..... mmm like the Green curry too actually I don't know how Penang Curry came to be associated with Penang... doesn't taste anything much like Penang food to me. Wonder if it came from Pattani?

What surprised me when I moved to Penang, was that some of the local foods that you get in foodcourts here are spicier than Thai food. It was a very pleasant surprise as we thought we would miss the Thai curries... well we do a little bit.

nonthaburi

bit sour for me .

nonthaburi

Very healthy for you too the Isaan food with all of the veg and herbs etc . No fatty food there . Did try laab rat once though and that didn't agree with me.

bakedbean

Sherlock Holmes

Lab Rat? Had they finished experimenting on it?