All posts filed under: Culinary Adventures

Eating in Haad Rin, Koh Phangan

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KOH PHANGAN, THAILAND. Haad Rin is the Full Moon Party beach and it’s known for it’s party atmosphere. It can be a bit crazy at times but if you’re here to party, you might as well be right in the thick of it. The Koala celebrated his birthday here and what a way to end our 65 day South East Asian adventure than with a birthday and a Full Moon Party. The food is generally on the expensive side but there are a few bargains to be had. There is a lot of variety with cuisine from most parts of the world represented. We stayed right on Haad Rin beach on Koh Phangan and it is not a mecca for foodies. Not even close. But there’s food and you do what you can to get by. Buckets, booze and beach. Yes, this is a food post, but you can’t do a post about Haad Rin without first mentioning the drink. The drink of choice on the islands are buckets. Buckets are actual plastic pails that hold about …

Eating in Koh Tao

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Epic mealtimes at Chalok Bay, Koh Tao, Thailand. Almost every restaurant served Thai, American, Italian and Mexican cuisine. Specialisation in tourist destinations is for fools. In Asia, it’s only at places that locals frequent that you get 1 chef, 1 dish specialities. Seaview Restaurant at Chalok Bay Our favourite place to eat was Seaview Restaurant which had a nice dining deck on the beach overlooking the bay. Right in the centre of Chalok Bay, you could swim from this area at high tide. Shoes off, low tables and triangle cushions give this place a super laid back vibe. We never dined inside, but it had a really modern, comfortable interior. Kind of a like a super modern beach bach. Beach burgers. We had these a couple times actually. Niçoise salad. Pineapple Shrimp. The shrimp were great. They had a fluffy almost fish like texture. A little chili made this a perfectly tropical meal. Of course, I had mango shake to go with this. Mango shakes are basically fresh mango blended with ice. Creamy Carbonara. Pad Thai …

Eating in Koh Samui

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To save time, we flew from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui rather than train and bussing it through Thailand. We had been landlocked for long enough (over a month since we had seen the sea) and all we wanted was to be at the beach. Our flights weren’t cheap at 7000 baht / $280NZ / $230US each but if you don’t fancy wasting days on trains or money on accommodation while traveling through a country, it’s a reasonable option. We were explicitly told by friends not to visit Koh Samui. But there’s nothing quite like disliking a place because you’ve been there. So we spent 2 nights in Koh Samui before heading to Koh Tao. Koh Samui is the more built up of the islands on the east coast of Thailand. Koh means island so the locals refer to it simply as Samui. Back in Chiang Mai and in Laos, beers generally cost 40 to 60 baht. The very first beer we had on Koh Samui was a small Singha for a whopping 120 baht …

7 Cheeseburgers in Chiang Mai

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“I don’t like dealing with money transactions in poor countries. I get confused between the feeling that I shouldn’t haggle with poverty and hating getting ripped off.” – The Beach by Alex Garland We found we didn’t haggle or bargain much in our travels. We shopped around, but once we decided on something, we paid it. I suppose since we weren’t supposed to give money to beggers, the next best thing is to help hardworking people to earn a decent living. While we bargained in the marketplace (just because it is expected), everything else was so cheap we simply paid the asking price.  We negotiated prices before we got into tuk tuks but always ended up paying more in tips. In a country like Thailand, what you want to give to beggers, tip it to the next hardworking person who gives you great service. I read The Beach by Alex Garland while in Chiang Mai (though I wish I’d saved it for the islands). It was really cool getting into the story (which is darker than the movie) and struggling …

Eating Thai and Vietnamese at The Kad

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The Kad Klang Wiang area is in the middle of Old City in Chiang Mai. An open air courtyard with shops and restaurants all around. There is a good mixture of classy and cheap places to eat here and while many are for tourists only, there are a couple of places that are frequented by the locals. Tourists spend a lot of time on their feet so it was nice to have a place that you could just have a sit at. Trees provide some good shade. Sate Salad & Spice Papaya Salad was on my list of dishes to try while in Thailand. In this dish, green papaya is mixed with fresh chili, garlic, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. I asked for not too spicy, but this was really spicy. The flavours were intense – salty, spicy and sour. It was like eating a whole bowl of condiments. I crossed it off my “To Eat” list but I’m afraid I’m not a fan. I have a feeling that this dish is usually eaten with other …

Art Cafe, Chiang Mai

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Art Cafe is right by the Thapae Gate between McDonald’s and Starbucks. We ate there every second day so they must have been doing something right. The menu is huge and they are yet another restaurant that serves Italian, Mexican and Thai food. Good food at good prices. We may have been subliminally enticed by the name of the cafe, but there is no interesting art in here and while the interior is a bit dated, but it’s clean and light. Breakfast at Art Cafe With one of the most extensive breakfast menus around, I loved that they had lots of mexican inspired breakfast dishes. We don’t eat Mexican for breakfast in New Zealand but I love beans and rice first thing in the morning. The quesadilla were really good. 3 Buttermilk pancakes. Omelette with country fried potatoes and a croissant. Thai food They do offer Thai food, but it’s only ok. There are better and cheaper places around for Thai. After all, this is Thailand! If you want Thai, eat where locals eat. A …

Eating Italian and Mexican in Chiang Mai

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In Chiang Mai, many restaurants that we went to weren’t Italian or Mexican, they were Italian and Mexican. For reasons unknown to me, there are shit-tons of Italian and Mexican restaurants in Chiang Mai. There’s not a noticeable Italian or Mexican population there so it must have something rather to do with how both cuisines offer a range of dishes with just a few ingredients. With a little training any chef can do pizza, pasta, nachos and burritos. Whether they do it justice is another story. Pizza and a pasta ordered. Pizza and pasta eaten. I was pleased I got to try squid in pasta for the first time. There is some kind of play centre right next door and the noise of children yelling and screaming is cute for about 30 seconds. Pizzadilla 38 Loikroh Rd., Changklan, Muang, Chiang Mai Tel : +(66)53-449629 Mob : +(66) 81-838975 Open: Lunch/Dinner 10am-12pm

Familiar food at Phil’s and Top 10 foods to eat after dental surgery

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Even the most adventurous eater yearns for the food of home. Here are our experiences in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. At Phil’s Diner, we found a hearty breakfast, soft food for after dental surgery and recovery food for the days following. There is a nice outdoor area out the back though they were never busy when we visited. Dinner sized portions of mash and gravy aren’t on the menu anywhere, but when I saw that bangers and mash were at Phil’s Diner, I begged Phil to whip up some. Phil especially prepared a dinner-sized portion of mashed potatoes and gravy for the post-surgery Koala. Phil’s Diner is not gourmet, it’s decent, familiar food. We loved local food but sometimes exotic local food can get too much and you yearn for the food back home. Comfort food can be particularly important after surgery. Our first breakfast in Chiang Mai was eaten at Phil’s Diner. I loved the look of my Shakshouka eggs (quite similar to my beloved Bus-Stop Eggs) and The Koala was pretty chuffed about his breakfast grill. …

Good View

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Only a short work from Chiang Mai Thai House and over the bridge is a strip of bars and restaurants along the river. A nice place for pretty drinks, pretty food and a good view of the sun set over river. We met up again with Leanne and Kathy from Brisbane for a leisurely outing. Good View Bar and Restaurant is big and there is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. We sampled a range of different cocktails and also ordered lots of snack plates to share. What a fun way of eating. Just be careful of anything that looks like a pickle garnish. It may turn out to be a spicy chili. We arrived late afternoon and the place was fairly empty, but by the time we left the place was buzzing with diners and a live band and there wasn’t an empty seat in sight. We split the bill which ends up being 420 baht each / $17NZ / $14US. Not bad for a bunch of snacks and several cocktails. Yummy cocktails in …

40 days and 40 nights

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40 days into our epic SE Asia adventure and we had eaten amazing things in 7 exotic countries. 40 nights into our epic SE Asia adventure and I missed cooking. I met up with Leanne and Kathy, the lovely Australian sisters from our tour, for a cooking class at Baan Thai Cookery School in Chiang Mai. At Baan Thai, I cooked and ate 4 dishes at one of their evening classes. Chicken pad thai (fried noodle dish), Seafood in coconut milk soup, Green curry with chicken and fish cakes. The green curry was the best green curry I have ever tasted. It was the last dish of the night so I had a pretty good idea of how much curry paste I liked by then. This was spot on. The instructors will encourage you to use plenty of chili and curry paste, but hopefully you know what you can handle and can be firm about how much you want to use in your dishes. You’re the one that has to eat it after all. My finished …

Eating at the Night Bazaar, Chiang Mai

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Back to sharing our epic SE Asia adventure…It’s already June and I’ve only chronicled about half of our time away… Sila-aat two times Our first night in Chiang Mai was our last night together with our tour group. For dinner, we visited the Night Bazaar which is also a shoppers paradise. Over the next 2 weeks, The Koala and I would come back many times to shop and to eat. Our last meal as a group was at seafood restaurant Sila-aat. They have a few live fish and the rest is displayed on ice at the counter. They have some a good selection of seafood platters that we wanted to try but the timing  was never quite right. I felt like something light so picked some light Chinese dishes. The Koala picked a heavy Chinese dish. Snow peas. I adore snow peas, but they are freakin expensive back home. My local supermarket sells snow peas for $26NZ per kilo. Does anyone know why snow peas are so damn expensive? Straw mushrooms and shrimp. I love …

How to have a posh high tea at home

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This afternoon, I hosted my first ever high tea. I have never really been to a high tea and to me it’s a bit posh. I invited friends and family and arranged for everyone to bring something to eat and a teacup and saucer. I also picked up a few teacups and saucers from the local Sallies. Mt Eden Bakers Delight kindly contributed their brand new Apple Strudel scones and their popular Date Scones for us to sample. We tried  both varieties voted for our favourite with a show of hands. At first Apple Strudel won only by 1 vote but after a late vote, it won by 2 votes. Apple Strudel wins. I thought I would prefer the Apple Strudel, because I thought I didn’t like dates. Turns out I was wrong. I love dates! We had teapots of Earl Grey and also some other teas like Rose and French Vanilla. A big pot of french press coffee also went down a treat. Bakers Delight Apple Strudel scones. The crowd favourite. Bakers Delight Date …

An edible giveaway and a thing or two about high teas

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High tea or dinner, was a heavier meal with eaten at the dinner table. It included meat or fish and vegetables and was a working class family meal. In New Zealand, casual as we are, abbreviated this high tea to tea. What we call high tea in NZ refers to a dainty, posh arrangement and is actually just afternoon tea. High tea or afternoon tea is the enjoying of tea served with tiny sandwiches and baked goods. To make matters more confusing, what I know as afternoon tea in isn’t a really a meal at all, but just a break from work. Although if you choose to eat scones and have tea during your break, that is ok too. More info on the history of afternoon and high tea can be found here. I’m planning a wee high tea at home this weekend. A little bit posh, but mostly just fun. Boys are welcome. I was deciding whether or not to invite boys but I’m glad I did because they were the first to RSVP. I suppose …

Heading to Thailand on the Mekong River – Day 2

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At 6am the next morning, we left our guesthouse in Pakbeng with our pre-ordered, packed breakfasts and bag-carrying local boys in tow. The morning is cold there are no windows to close. We wear our layers and shrink our necks and hands into our clothing to keep warm. By lunch we’ve shed the layers and are happy in our t-shirts. We draw more, play cards, draw more and give most of the drawings to the kids on the boat. Kelvin’s drawing of the girl and the boat. Monk Bunny. Hilltribes Bunny. Buddha Bunny. Mekong River Catfish. We didn’t see any, but these fish get crazy big. As in 3 metres long and weighing 300 kg. Mekong River doodle. Lunch on the boat is a delicious Laos style feast made by the family. At 40,000 Kip / $7NZ / $5US each, we certainly ate until we were full. The chicken curry was the crowd favourite. Immigration is painless and we get stamped in for a 2 month visa for Thailand. Too bad we only need 1 …

Slow Boat on the Mekong River – Day 1

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After watching and participating in the monks receiving alms, we returned to our guesthouse to pack and say goodbye to Luang Prabang. Our slow boat for the next 2 days on the Mekong (pronounced May-kong) River was one of these long wooden affairs. I would highly recommend a slow boat trip if you have 2 days to spare getting from Laos to Thailand. The boat had comfortable seating as well as tables and chairs, a toilet, beer and snacks. The open air also made the smokers happy. The smooth trip meant that I never felt sick (unlike windy bus trips). Run by the captain, his wife and 3 kids, it was a family affair and The Koala quickly impressed the kids with his drawing talents. We both did a lot of drawing while on the Mekong River. 20 hours of down time makes for good drawing time. Locals panning for gold at the edge of the Mekong River. The return isn’t very good, but during dry season, there isn’t a lot to do and panning …

Fresh Food Markets in Luang Prabang, Laos

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Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s worth a visit to the fresh food markets in Luang Prabang. There are no supermarkets here and locals buy fresh food daily from the markets. Markets in Auckland are a weekend activity and even then, only a small percentage of the population actually do their shopping at markets. I love seeing all the ingredients in their uncooked state. Ingredients look so fresh and lovely in daylight. When was the last time you bough vegetables that hadn’t seen fluorescent lights? The tourists here are just touristing, people don’t tend to cook while on holiday. We eat out a lot instead. There were plenty of familiar things at the market and also lots of unfamiliar  stuff to concern yourself with. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but where do you think the local restaurants get their fresh meat and produce from? Street Food There are plenty of snacks to be found at every corner. Fresh Meat This uncovered, tepid meat might horrify the NZ Food Safety Authority, but think about …

Hive Bar and Utopia, Luang Prabang, Laos

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Hive Bar and Utopia are two bars that we loved in Luang Prabang. It wasn’t suprising that while we were at Utopia with New Zealand friends O and M, we bumped into some lovely ladies from our Intrepid Travel group. Utopia is one of those venues that has many little areas and while it’s all technically outdoors, there’s plenty of covered and cushioned spots that feel very cosy indeed. The food is pretty good, they great cocktails, they have shisha and best of all, they were playing Fat Freddy’s Drop while we were there. If you don’t feel like relaxing, eating and drinking, there are plenty of other activities to do at Utopia such as foos ball and volleyball. Yup, the have their own volleyball area away from spillable cocktails. The Koala was very happy with his burger and chips but I didn’t feel like a proper meal so got a couple of dishes to graze on. Luang Prabang sausage and grilled tofu with pesto complimented my Bloody Mary perfectly. After that we head to Hive for …

BBQ dinner at Lao Lao Garden in Luang Prabang, Laos

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I’ve been so busy with cooking at home these days I realised I haven’t blogged about our epic South East Asia adventure in 2 weeks. So back to it. My last post was was on Vang Vieng so our next destination was a bus ride away in Luang Prabang. On our first night in Luang Prabang, after a quick tour (too quick) at the extensive night markets, we have a group dinner at Lao Lao Garden. Ranked #1 thing to do on the Lonely Planet for both Luang Prabang and Northen Laos, it probably doesn’t need much introduction if you have been in this area before. Lao Lao is the local whiskey and that’s probably all I need to say. With the fairy lights and glowing embers from the BBQ, Lao Lao Garden has a lovely ambience and a great range of both Eastern and Western foods. Bring a friend or a date because there’s a whole menu of 2 for 1 cocktails. I laugh now when I read back through my notes: “The Ombeyonce is off da …