Food

First experiences with real Asian food were quite different than what I was expecting. Possibly extremely different than what any of us expected. I figured lots of rice and hoped every restaurant served mandarin chicken. The reality is LOTS of rice and egg? There is definitely no mandarin chicken hah. Egg seems to be a staple item served in, fried on top of, or boiled beside most meals. There is even a pink egg that is sold that translates to “black preserved egg” that is served with some meals that looks quite different from the basic boiled egg. They are dark green, red, and black and are said to be more salty. My favorite meals are ki jeow (omelet with sausage), Pat Thai (noodle mix with small chopped shrimp), and cow pat gui (chicken fried rice)… real adventurous I know. I have tried most everything else with the exception of dog; yes, dog or cat. They eat pretty much any meat here. My favorite meat here is squid because it is the only meat that tastes the same as the other times I have had it. I also get these chicken strips at the small market that I wish I could eat for every meal. Spicy food is everywhere which is fine with me as long as I can determine what I am eating. I was surprised to learn that so many of their foods are deep fried. Almost every vendor has a deep fryer but things are drained so well that nothing seems to be “greasy.”

As for desserts, life is different this side of the world. Carnation canned milk is everywhere and put on or in everything thought to be desert. Many of the desserts contain shredded pork and even more of them, corn, odd at first but honestly very delicious. The best parts about Thai culture are the milk stands (or smoothies haha). They are frequent and delicious. Many flavors and mostly fresh fruit make this heat difficult to complain about.