When we were planning this trip, we were a little concerned that we might not be able to find any good food in SE Asia (she deadpans.) So we did something different and booked an all-day food tour, focused on street food in Bangkok. More specifically, we booked the Old Bangkok Food & Culture Walk. It turned out to be pretty interesting – and delicious, to boot.
Coconuts!
My favorite part of the tour came early in the program. We were having coffee in a traditional coffee shop when the coconut man from next door came in with a bag of these little white (and tasty!) balls for us. My niece Lilian tells me they are called ‘uto’ in Manihiki, where she is from.
The balls are formed in the coconut as it starts to germinate. Here’s one in its natural state:
The ball is connected to the sprout coming out one of the eyes on the other side. As the sprout grows, the ball gets larger and spongier. While the larger balls can be used for cooking, the small ones are best for eating straight.
Our guide, Chin, thought the sprouting coconuts look like monkeys:
The coconut man is a hoot. He’s 83 and attributes his good health to riding his bicycle, whacking coconuts open and only working 6 hours a day. Here he demonstrates his coconut prowess in the shop he’s lived above all his life:
Street food
Okay, back to the official tour. 🙂
That paper-thin crispy yellow bit of heaven is what our guide, Chin, referred to as “Thai-style bánh xèo.” Filled with an other-worldly combination of ground shrimp, coconut, thai pepper, cucumbers and topped with a sweet vinagrette.
Tucked into an alley, alongside another soup cart, was our next bite:
A spicy soup with fried tofu, blood sausage, pork cracklings and a boiled egg.
We weren’t the only ones having a late breakfast:
From there, we went to the market.
I don’t think we actually ate any of these green onion pancakes, but I’m getting hungry looking at them right about now. I also think we ate a lot of things for which we don’t have pictures, so maybe I should be feeling bloated… 😉
This next dish starts with a crisp crêpe-like shell, cooked in a cast iron pan with tall walls. She pours the thin batter down the sides of the pan. When done, the sides of the shell are crisp and paper-thin, the bottom a bit thicker.
But first, she needs to put in some filling. In this case, it is coconut with a mixture of white and black sesame seeds.
… and yes, we did eat this one. It was pretty darned tasty, too. 🙂
Coconut is pretty common in Bangkok. And given a choice of bottled water or fresh coconut water, I’ll take a nice coconut any day.
Note that the first whack is with the dull side of the cleaver, and the final opening is more a cut than a whack. Not clear if that’s specific to shaved coconuts like these or if it’s personal style.
Tragedy strikes!
Did I tell you that this is supposed to be the most food-intensive tour that Chili Paste conducts? Did I also tell you that some of us have eyes bigger than our tummies??
Our next stop was what I’d been waiting for all day. Catfish Laarb. The ingredients are mashed in a giant mortar and pestle (also known as a pok-pok, for the sound it makes.) With plenty of thai peppers, roasted rice, lime juice & herbs, it engages every tastebud in your mouth.
And this was one of the most delicious catfish laarb I’ve ever eaten. I mean, truly stunning. Unfortunately, we had been eating non-stop for about two hours and we just couldn’t eat it all. Or more than a couple of bites.
Luckily, our tour guide packed it up to go and it was soon being enjoyed by one happy youngster we passed in the alley.
More street food
After relaxing at Wat Suthat for a while (and availing ourselves of their clean toilets), we were rested and ready and set out for lunch.
Check out those pink gills!
A little amuse bouche of grilled coconut chive cakes:
And finally, lunch:
Chin thoughtfully sent us home with some mango and coconut sweet rice (made with the coconut man’s coconut milk, no less!) so that we wouldn’t go into withdrawal symptoms.