a little bite of everything

A wet market

This is it, I thought. It can't get better than this. This IS the wonderland of good food I dream of and travel miles and miles for. Talad Nam Don Wai ie Don Wai wet market is a mesmerizing, chaotic and extensive food market parked on the banks of the Nakhon Chaisi River, located in Nakhon Pathom Province, 40mn from BKK by car -that is, if you leave very early in the morning. Like any food market, it is the local supply for the freshest veggies, spices and tropical fruits. But there are also loads of one-man stands where absolutely superb boiled ducks, spring rolls, deep-fried king prawns, grilled freshwater fishes (mostly carps and catfishes), egg-fried noodles, coconut pancakes, fried bananas, sticky rice with durian (my favorite) and so forth, are cooked, sold, and eaten. I bought as much food as I could carry. And when I got tired of watching, photographing and buying food, I stopped to eat at one of the many joints that lined the river. I had a traditional Thai meal composed of small portions of minced fish salad, green papaya salad, spicy pork sausages and these notably peculiar, salty, grilled crispy duck beaks, enjoying a very fine view on the river. Then I bought a living fish that I set free in the river, for it brings luck according to Thai beliefs (as if I could possibly get any luckier.).

 

Talad Nam Don Wai

Amphoe Sam Pran, Nakhon Pathom Province

Thailand

A roti

Most guidebooks would recommend avoiding hotel restaurants. We like things simple and nice, especially when we travel. Hotel restaurants, bad. Bottled water, good. I'm not saying that guidebooks aren't useful -as a matter of fact, Lonely P. is my most indispensable travel companion. My point is: guidebooks are to be used like recipe books, i.e. more like a source of information/ inspiration than a roadmap to be rigorously followed. Actually, I love hotel restaurants. In France I love grabbing the freshest bread and pastries before checking out. In Singapore, I love the chic and cosy St Regis Continental restaurant (especially the make-your-own miso soup cooking station). In Bangkok, I love Baiyoke Hotel Sky restaurant on 76th floor for breakfast. Ok, that's Thailand's tallest tower, if you're interested. And the view is spectacular. But the breakfast there is like a big multi-cultural party. You'd be served a large variety of top quality, fresh, made-to-order European, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai food. I had this glorious Indian roti, which was made from a small ball of wheat flour and water dough that was rolled out and then partially cooked on a hot griddle and then finished directly over high heat with astonishing agility from the cook. I had it with a tea spoon of honey. It surely tastes better in India but I haven't been there, so until I go there and have a better roti, this one will set the bar.

Baiyoke Sky Hotel

222 Rajprarop Road, Rajthevee

Bangkok, Thailand