03.16.06
The Best Food in Thailand
3/13/06, Chang Mai
Today we had our second day of cooking classes. The morning began with a trip to the market where our cooking guides. They walked us through different stands and showed us what all the local fruits, vegetables and noodles were. I found out that only through smell could I tell between the different basils. The class itself was at ‘The Wok’, the local restaurant owned by Sompon Nabnian. We cooked Tom Kha Gai (Chicken in coconut milk soup), Gaeng Phad Plaa (Red Curry with fish), Phad Hed Ruam Khao Pod Om (Stirfry of mixed mushrooms with baby corn), Raad Nah Muu (Fried noodles with pork), Som Tam (Papaya Salad) and finished it out with a delicious Khanom Kluay (Steamed Banana Cake).
The Wok was close enough to the city wall that we walked back to the Top North hotel with a quick stop over at the Internet Café. I tried again to change my return flight to skip Tokyo and go directly from Bangkok home but did not get anywhere. It is rather amazing how impossible it is to dial a 1-800 number from overseas.
We hailed down a tuk-tuk driver and asked him to take us to Huen Phen, which was recommended by someone who lived in Chang Mai for a while. The restaurant is set off the street with a nice long walkway to the entrance flanked by sweet smelling flowering trees. The restaurant itself is very beautiful with a very friendly (and non-English speaking staff) that is happy to work with you. The clientele was mostly local with a few Farang thrown in for good measure. The portions are small (locals will order multiple small dishes and share them) but delicious. We started with a superb young jackfruit salad that was both tangy and sweet then an order of Gaeng Hung Lo that had a delicious Indian curry flavor, a Banana Flower curry that was too soupy and Nam Top (sausage balls covered with rice and deep fried). For dessert we had cooked bananas in coconut milk. Huen Phen has definitely been my favorite fooderie of the trip, with top rank in both atmosphere and food. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Chang Mai.
After dinner (or as close as you get to dinner when you spend all your time eating in a country where people eat all day long. We went out to Wararoo Night Market for more junk and, yes you guessed it, more food. I can’t remember what else we ate but we did make the most of it as it was our last night in Chang Mai. After walking around for a while we went back to Heaven Hut for a half hour foot massage. Heaven Hut not only has a nice environment but they server you tea before and after the massage as well as slices of Papaya. We tried to sit outside by the water fountain but were herded inside because of the mosquitoes. The masseuse was absolutely amazed at the size of our legs, at first we thought it was my hairy legs that had her laughing but the phrase book allowed us to understand ‘incredibly big’. She also complimented me on my beard, that is the second time I have a local say my facial hair makes me beautiful. I wonder if that might be an affect of the local men not having facial hair.
