@ Talaad Or-Tor-Kor

We set out early this morning to the farmers' market, Or-Tor-Kor.  Or-Tor-Kor, which is always an interesting place to visit, is known in Thai by the high-falutin' "Marketing Organization for Farmers" or MOF. Everyone calls it Talaad (Market) Or-Tor-Kor, the Thai initials for MOF. Here, good quality fresh produce, meat, and prepared foods like desserts, are available. It's the place to go-to for my favorite Thai dessert, saku or tapioca pearls topped with coconut cream.

Each cup of tapioca pearls gets a dollop of coconut cream

And here's the close-up! It's amazing that they still use traditional banana leaf cups rather than foil. Think of the hours it takes to make hundreds of the little cups, all by hand.

Saku in the package

Ambrosia in a banana leaf cup

A spoonful of saku, gone in two bites!

Bless

 Have a Very Merry
and Walk Good in the New Year!

Fet Mot, Yes, Datesamolay, No

The pop song title "That's Amore" is pronounced datesamolay in Thai and it means "you're dead."  To the Thai it's just a riff on their pronunciation of "that" which sounds like "dead." It's a stretch, I know.  People love to borrow things and make it their own, but only the foolhardy will try Thai style spaghetti sauce made with ketchup, which, incidentally, was originally Southeast Asian by way of Pittsburgh, thanks to Mr. Heinz. In any case, I totally agree with the Thai that real Italian food is beguiling and that "fresh mozzarella" deserves to enter the lexicon. But let's face it; fresh mozzarella is a mouthful and needs to be shortened so we can order it quicker. Because the median and final /sh/ sound is pronounced /t/ in Thai, fresh mozzarella morphs into fet mot.

So to celebrate an anniversary, specifically, one's 35th wedding anniversary, it should be with good Italian food and impeccable service. La Villa in Soi 53 meets expectations but I can't speak for the wine (it's a wine bar too) since I don't imbibe. We started with complimentary  house appetizers  that included the usual warm bread and chopped tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and some lightly pickled mystery vegetables dolloped into tasting spoons. They look like Chinese soup spoons to me and they might have been cheerfully appropriated too, like datesamolay. However, here's dinner.

Reading left to right: Salsiccia e Ruchetta  and Caprese 

We ate Thai style. It's customary at Western restaurants in Bangkok to share food, family style, so that everybody gets to try a bit. That Salsiccia is rocket salad with grilled sausage, shaved Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. And there's that famous  fet mot in the Caprese with a dribble of balsamic vinegar.

Prosciutto e Melone

The artistic schmear of balsamic vinegar on the plate has become just another visual trope at these upscale restaurants to justify charging Baht 420.

Spaghetti allo Scoglio (Spaghetti with Clams)

We went solo with the entrees.  That 's Andy's...

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

This is AJ's...

Suprema di Pollo (Chicken Supreme)

And that one's mine. This grandiose title is grilled chicken breast on a bed of whipped mashed potatoes and "vegetable timbale"  with rosemary sauce arranged abstract-fully on the plate.  The chicken was done to crisp perfection though on the salty side. Unfortunately, dessert didn't last long enough to be photographed, paying the ultimate sacrifice to be gobbled up faster than it could stay on the plate. It was a chocolate lava cake and a caramelized mango dessert.

What Should We Eat Today?

The best meal is always what you know. Here at Anytime restaurant at Piyarom I'm having the special pad thai with cafe yen (Thai iced coffee with lots of milk!) all for Baht 99. In the background is kway teo kua gai, rice noodles with chicken on a bed of fresh lettuce garnished with fried won-ton noodles. Behind the iced coffee is the engine (krueng): sugar, powdered chilies, chilies in vinegar, and fish sauce. To spice up your palate and get you going. Yes.

Sunday in Suan Luang

There are so few green spaces in the city that those that are available are invariably crowded. We drove to Suan Luang (Royal Park in English) otherwise known as Rama IX Park early this morning. It was crowded even at that early hour. We drove through the gauntlet of vendors at the entrance, parked the car, and got out. 

The park has many ponds and lakes. Pathways meander around them. We decided to eat breakfast in a restaurant by a lake.

There were swan-boats for rent outside the restaurant. We sat on the patio and ordered breakfast. It was cool and overcast though the sun shone fitfully. In one of the brief periods of sunshine, the party at the table behind us got up abruptly. "The sun!" one of them said. "Let's go inside!" Andy shrugged: "Vampires."

Green leaf filigree
 A pewter-gray silver sky~
Close your eyes. Inhale

Dining alfresco. This couple sat on the lawn in front of the lake and ate their breakfast. Unlike the sun-fearing diners, they were dressed for the sun in long sleeved jackets. It really wasn't cold at all.

Our waiter was distracted. He brought me bacon instead of ham, coffee instead of tea, and then he short-changed Andy who was so disgusted he wouldn't leave a tip.

Swan-boat glides quietly
Across the silvery lake:
Rest, spirit, renew

Empty vessels these
Light receptacles of green: 
Giant water lilies 

Lily pads like stepping stones across the pond. I wonder if a single leaf could support the weight of a small animal, or an infant?

 Dangerous lanterns. Gourds climbing up and over the arbor.
You really don't want to get hit on the head with one of these ten pound babies!

Suan Luang is popular in the early morning and late afternoon because it is cooler than at mid-day. Like New York City's Central Park, this park is an area for tranquility and exercise. And perhaps, renewal.

The Milwaukee Connection Celebrates

Margie, Keiko, and I have known each other since our college days in Milwaukee in the 70s. We all married Thai men and came to Thailand to live. Our lives became busier with careers and children, and now, Keiko has a granddaughter. Margie and I have become bi-continental travelers as our children are now based in the US. Still, we manage to come together once a year. This year we went to Margie and Chart's new house in Nonthaburi. It's a two-story three bedroom house, the perfect size for empty nesters. Reposing underneath an end table in the living room was a tortoise made of carved and polished coconut shell. Margie's style always came with a touch of whimsy.

After lunch, Margie, Keiko, and I walked through the temple near their mooban (housing estate) and along the klong or canal.  It was like walking into another world; rural and quieter, where living by the water was a way of life. We ended up walking towards the Chao Phraya river where the river taxis make regular runs from the Bangkok side to Nonthaburi and back. Then we walked back along the highway towards Margie's house. It was a bit risky since there are no sidewalks so we decided to walk on the right facing the traffic.  A pick-up truck driver, impatient to be somewhere, drove up behind us on the wrong side of the road, giving us quite a fright. We got back safely nonetheless, hot and sweaty, so the mooban taxi driver gave us a lift back to Margie's house in his golf cart.

Afterwards, Keiko and I went back to town in her car and had another adventure. Or as Diana would say, we had a Senior Moment. Actually, I blame it on the poor signage. There wasn't a sign that said Bangkok though Keiko knew we simply had to find the Rama IV Bridge. We got turned around when we left the mooban and actually ended up going towards Suphanburi instead of Bangkok! After three turns around the u-turn bridges we managed to point ourselves in the right direction and get back to the city.

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Demon Station

© Andy Wang

A language is always transformed whenever the lexicon is borrowed by another. The popularity of English practically guarantees this. At the semi-annual motor show this month, these guys were manning the demonstration booth where potential buyers could go for a test drive. It is spelled exactly the way it is pronounced in Thai. Demons this way, please.

Big Yellow Taxi goes to Paradise Park

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot

With a pink hotel, a boutique

And a swinging hot spot

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got

Till it's gone

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot.

~Joni Mitchell

Bangkok loves shopping malls. Fortunately, I think, the city is running out of space for these monstrosities that can sprawl out over a city block or two. So instead of building a new mall, the old Seri Center got a make-over and a new name, the ritzy Paradise Park. The name doesn't call to mind a shopping center-- a housing development maybe--but it does reflect a belief here among property developers that English names bestow a cachet of internationalism and sophistication. To me, it's more sixties, rather hippie-like. "Big Yellow Taxi" in the Bangkok version.

The restaurants on three

It even has flowers on the ceiling. Each floor is themed: restaurants, IT, boutiques, food and more food, as in a food bazaar and a huge version of Villa Supermarket that caters to all foods farang. I like that; a foodie paradise. Here on the third floor are international restaurants. This is the view from Viet Cuisine.

The Viet Cuisine blended Japanese with Vietnamese and Thai. The bento set meal, that quintessential Japanese meal in a box,  came with a drink, iced Lemongrass tea, and a light consommé with shrimp.

T-Det means "Superb"

We ate dessert here. The restaurant specializes in kway teo (rice noodle soup) made with US beef. The husband and wife owners, Peng and Ouay, have another branch on Sukhumvit Road. Ouay is an excellent baker and all desserts are home-made. On Andy's recommendation we shared this Young Coconut Cake. A slice of sponge cake layered with slivers of fresh coconut meat and a light cream frosting. Andy and I give T-Det a thumbs-up for this delicious cake!

T-Det's Young Coconut Cake