Images of Thailand

IMG_1170, a photo by water_sss on Flickr.

Visited Thailand in June 2011. Was an quick visit - hope to go for a longer period in the future. The food was fantastic, the people were very helpful, and the place is beautiful. There is something for everyone - you want great food its there, you want nightlife its there, you want tranquility, history, - its all there!

I went in expecting something similar to India - and was blown away by how different and from an infrastructure perspective - how much better Thailand is. Thailand has made it easy for tourist - so don't hesitate, anyone can go see Thailand.

Here's few selected scenes: Flickr link to selected pictures

Food in Thailand

In our recent visit to Thailand I again realized how much fresh un-processed food is available to the rest of the world and isn't available to us at reasonable prices. A visit to the market in Thailand makes one drool, the variety of fruit, vegetables and even meats is awesome. 
And beyond the raw materials restaurants are very reasonable - one can eat a feast in $10US. 

Here's a link to a slideshow: Flickr link to slide show

With that said what were my favourites?
1) The barracuda with curry paste @ Jai's restaurant in Khao Lak
2) The massaman curry @ Jai's restaurant in Khao Lak
3) Mango and sticky rice - everywhere!
4) Fried fish cakes - at the Khao lak / Bang Nga market
5) Fried chicken at Chatuchak market in BKK

Many things I didn't get to try as it was a family vacation, and some things I did try were a let down.
The biggest letdown?  'Roti Mataba' recommended in Lonely Planet! Ripoff and not that tasty compared to all the other things available.

Review in a few words: would love to go to Thailand again.  Thank you Sister & B-in-Law for having us over.

Kathi Roll

Veggie Burger

Shaker Lemon Pie at "Scratch"

This week, we discovered "Scratch" - the famous bakery in Durham which seems to make everything from Scratch. They close at 6, thats what kept us from going there earlier. We made it finally!! And every bite was worth it. Salil took an afternoon off on Thursday, the day before I start my 4 year long Pathology residency program in UNC Hospitals.

We tried to pies at Scratch. The "Shaker Lemon Pie" had thin slices of lemons stacked in the pie and had that absolutely lemony punch packed in a sweet-tarty pie. The crust was the best I have ever eaten - flakey and light and worth a fight with Salil. The next pie we tried was "Buttermilk Sugar Pie" - not the prettiest of the pies but true to its name. Again not very sweet and had a good balance of sweet, tart and salty! They had several other pies on the menu and I am sure they are all worth every single penny.

Unfortunately, they were not serving lunch by the time we reached, will surely visit on a Saturday for that soon.

Highly recommended!!

Link to Scratch Bakery Website

Fennel-Apple Pasta Salad/ Summer pasta salad

We are off to a summer picnic with friends and decided to make a cool summery pasta salad. I have always loved the concept of a good pasta salad but never liked the mayonnaise-filled-mess which seems to be so prevalent. Developed this recipe (obviously after some search on the internet) around the juicy, delicate fennel which I picked up at the Farmer’s market in Carrboro. Fennel and apple are a classic combination. I have added some dried fennel seeds to kick up the fennel flavor and some red chilli flakes for the heat at the end of the bite. I wish I could add something more to make the sald more colorful but the flavor of the fennel is so delicate that I am always worried about overwhelming the mild sweet licorice flavor.

4 cups boiled bow-tie or any short cut pasta

Below ingredients finely chopped –
½ apple
1 medium sized cucumber
1 medium sized tomato (deseeded, seeds make it watery)
1 banana pepper
A handful of Fennel fronds for garnish

Thin slivers of ½ a bulb of fennel

Roughly chopped almonds, a handful (the more the better for me!)
1 ½ teaspoon fennel seeds – lightly crushed to release the flavours
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
½ teaspoon sugar
Salt

For the dressing –
1 ½ teaspoon mustard
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup good extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside. Let the boiled pasta cool to room temperature before you start building the salad. Mix all the veggies, almonds, fennel etc and toss in the salad dressing. Garnish with the fennel fronds.