Monday 13 April 2009

green & red curry fishball noodles

As to be expected, the second day in any new country is likely to be jam-packed, Bangkok was certainly no exception. Bangkok screams crowds, tuk-tuks, shops, markets, people and more people (especially when you're talking about the weekend and you're sharing the streets with the majority of the population). Our second day in Bangkok went by in a bit of a blur - it started off with a tour of the Grand Palace followed by the obligatory Gem Museum, our tour guide then recommended a massage place where we had a two hour Thai massage. Then it was lunch and after that Chatuchuk Markets - one of the more popular weekend markets in Bangkok.

After moving from place to place, we thought we'd just grab dinner at the markets before heading back to the hotel. Again, it's cheap food and well, if you're anything like me, you'll be pleased to find that there's a whole range of traditional and strange dishes to try. This is what caught our eye.

Green curry fish ball noodles with a fried egg. There's also the option of a boiled egg but as the menu was in Thai, we could only do our best and point at the pictures they had up on their sign. Unfortunately, whilst you bump into any number of tourists in Thailand, English is still the second language and most vendors have a very limited command of English words - usually limited to how much something costs and what they have on their menu.
Red curry fish ball noodles with a fried egg.
Quite common when you're eating on the street/markets, all your stalls will have an assortment of condiments and fresh greens sitting on the table for you to add to whatever you've ordered.
Coke became one of our staple drinks when we had street food - most places actually offer you free water but for some reason, the water made me nervous.

Not sure if you can see the sweat pouring down J's face but it was definitely pouring down mine and a chilled coke was definitely a life-saver (the heat is a big downside when you're eating out on the street). I can tell you know I am absolutely hopeless with heat but I suppose it was something I got used to over the three weeks that I was in Thailand. Well, when you've got to eat on the street in the boiling heat, you've got to eat on the street in the boiling heat! 

Our dinner at this stall in Chatuchuk markets was definitely one of the more unique and memorable meals.

2 comments:

char said...

nope, can't see any sweat on J's face hehe

is it hygienic to have those bowls of greens left on the table for each new patron to just add to their dish? were there any flies or other risks? otherwise, the choice is a great idea !

panda said...

trust me - he is sweaty!!

i probably asked the same question to myself when i was there but then my stomach is generally pretty good with street food. there are flies but come to think of it, there weren't that many buzzing around the vegies - i think flies know to go for the good stuff and i don't think they're too big on vegies. if anything, do what i did - dig to the middle of the bowl to grab the vegies there (at least it's covered and hasn't touched the side of the bowl too much)