We always had Thai food at home when we were living in Japan. Saturdays and Sundays were Noodle Days, which meant we would either have beef noodles, pork noodles or pad thai. I hated Thai food except for pad thai, and every now and then when Mom made a foreign dish, I would dance in delight. All of us kids were born in Japan and Mom made sure to instill the Thai in us by doing every Thai, including cooking.

Even then, ingredients weren’t always readily available and I recall having som tam made from carrots instead of papaya. We always had nam pla (fish sauce) though, a staple in every Thai household. One dish Dad used to make all the time with the nam pla was yum hed (spicy mushroom salad). Hell, he even got featured in some Japanese magazine for it.

I haven’t had this dish in years and I only remembered it when I dug up the article from somewhere in my room and saw the recipe. Yeah, now you know I have stuff from the 80’s in my room.

Dad’s Yum Hed (with few modifications from Jup)
(Makes 4 servings)

• 200 g. chicken fillets
• 1 pack shimeji mushrooms
• 1 pack enoki mushrooms (golden needle mushrooms)
• 1 large cucumber
• 1/2 onion
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2-3 chili
• a few lettuce leaves for garnish
• a few sprigs of coriander for garnish

Cook the chicken fillets in boiling water. Shred into thin slivers once cooked.

Peel the cucumbers and deseed. Cut into thin slivers.

Cut the onions into thin slices. Chop the chili finely.

Cut the stems off the mushrooms and clean thoroughly. Parboil the mushrooms quickly and leave to cool.

Mix the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar in a bowl. Adjust according to your taste. Add the chicken, mushrooms, cucumber, onions and chili into the bowl and toss well.

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a plate so it forms a bed. Scoop the yum along with the juices onto the bed of lettuce. Garnish with snipped coriander leaves.

Thai salads are very casual – there are no rules about what ingredients to put in there and you can expect the same dish to contain different ingredients at different restaurants. Have fun experimenting!

Categories: Recipes
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The lushly decorated hallway opened up to reveal the grand lobby and it took a moment to register that we had to go down another flight of stairs to reach our destination. Locating Next2 Café & Terrace was as complicated as finding the way out of a complex maze.

It was the day after Mother’s Day (in Thailand) and we were celebrating the occasion one day late to avoid the crowd. Even then, the place was almost full when we finally managed to find it.

Situated next to the famous Chao Praya River, Next2 Café & Terrace serves up international buffets (1,450++ baht/person) on the ground floor of Shangri-La Hotel. The huge indoor dining room is packed with tables that are too close to each other (you can easily hear your neighbors’ conversations without bothering to eavesdrop) and black-and-white pictures adorn one side of the wall while a tower of brightly colored plastic fruits submerged in glass jars stand near the entrance. On the opposite side, panoramic glass windows overlook the sparkling (at night) river and The Peninsula Hotel across the river. Every so often, boats strung with fairy-lights would sail by, giving a magical and magnificent atmosphere to diners.

There are two buffet lines inside the room and the first line (actually, more of an area) showcases dainty little cups of desserts and an ice cream bar where the lady behind the counter eagerly mixes up your choice of ice cream with an array of toppings on a block of frozen board. The second line starts off with a small sashimi corner and winds its way down the room, gradually moving on to heavier dishes with live food stations such as a noodle station, foie gras station, carving station and other cuts of meats kept warm in the stainless steel round chafers. There is also an al fresco dining area on the terrace for a closer view of the river and not far off is a third buffet line. This secluded area features Indian food, Mongolian stir-fry station and a massive barbeque offering freshly grilled meats and seafood.

I always start with the sashimi corner and the cold cuts at buffets. Sadly, the so-called sashimi corner at Next2 should really be called the salmon plate, as only salmon was offered. I also had some forgettable beef carpaccio and a couple of plump oysters with Thai seafood sauce and a squeeze of lemon. Oh, how I yearned to have oysters the Thai way, with crispy fried shallots and kratin (I don’t know the exact English name for this plant; I believe the scientific name is Leucaena leucocephala) but I had to make do with the condiments available. Glistening slices of cinnamon-rubbed smoked salmon and black pepper crusted smoke salmon were also sampled, and the former had a gentler flavor; cinnamon-y aroma filled my mouth and reminded me of sweet pastries.

It was time to tackle one of the cooking stations and I walked with determination to my destination. Pale butterscotch lobes of fresh goose livers waited patiently for their turn in the frying pan as their seared companions were dished out to impatient diners. The thin pieces of foie gras drizzled with thick sweet balsamico didn’t look appetizing but it was crispy on the outside and velvety on the inside, which made it incredibly delicious. The sharp flavor of the peppery arugula tossed in balsamic dressing served as a nice contrast to the richness of the foie gras.

Next, I tried the grilled lamb chops from the barbeque stations outside. The chops were handed over to me straight from the grill but they failed to impress me as the meat was too dry and tough. On the other hand, the mint jelly was superbly done and was such a great accompaniment to the lamb that I was able to scarf down both pieces without too much difficulty.

The previous dishes had whetted my appetite and I asked the chef adjacent to the foie gras station to carve me a thin slice of roast beef. Several types of gravies bubbled in copper pots over burners next to the massive beef. The portion laid on my plate had the appropriate rosy color and although I had to resort to my man-muscles to cut the beef, it was surprisingly tender in my mouth. (Either the knives at Next2 are dull or I have razor-sharp teeth.) The fat nestled snugly in the cut provided juiciness and flavor to the meat and it was gratifying to the last bite! Too bad the only thing the gravy did was to supply the extra calories.

I like to cap off my buffets with another round of my favorite things, so while I went to fetch another serving of foie gras, other people in my family were already moving on to desserts.

“It’s okay, I don’t care much for desserts anyway,” I said nonchalantly as I relished my foie gras.

After I finished my second helping of smoked salmon, I decided to tour a quick round of the dessert line to see what I was missing out on. Five minutes later, I felt like a hypocrite as I came back bearing this:

Clockwise from top: Vanilla Panna Cotta with Berries, Tiramisu, Star Anise Shooter, Passion Fruit Panna Cotta, Dark Chocolate Mousse.

“Wow, and I thought you said you didn’t care for desserts!” Mom exclaimed while other family members oohed and aahed. My face blushed furiously as I replied that I was only planning on tasting a bit of each and had no intentions of finishing off everything. Hey, was it my fault that everything looked mouthwatering??

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Berries: a slightly tangy sauce made from raspberries and blueberries topped the sweet and smooth panna cotta, with a bottom layer of thick fruit purée. Went down like silk.

Tiramisu: moist spongy cake submerged in coffee liquor beneath the light cream dusted with dark cocoa powder. Easy on the tongue; gone in a flash.

Star Anise Shooter: a star anise and a thin white chocolate slab were used to decorate the simple heavy pudding-like cream on top of raspberry coulis. Tarter than the berries panna cotta but scrumptious nonetheless.

Passion Fruit Panna Cotta: sour passion fruit pulp and seeds spread over the yogurt and vanilla flavored panna cotta. I could feel my jaws tingle with the anticipated sharpness of the yellow fruit just by inhaling its tropical fragrance.

Dark Chocolate Mousse: elegantly presented in four layers of luxurious dark chocolate sauce, light bitter chocolate mousse, fluffy chocolate sponge and creamy mousse, this is a haven for chocoholics. A single fresh raspberry and two twigs of white chocolate garnished this masterpiece.

Yes, I polished off everything and ended the meal with a cup of Earl Grey tea.

Next2 Café & Terrace
Shangri-La Hotel
89 Soi Wat Suan Plu, New Road
Bangrak, Bangkok
Thailand 10500
Tel: 02-236-7777
Open: 24 hours

Categories: Restaurant Review
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Normally, I would never ever invite myself over to anyone’s house (unless, of course, I’m very close to that person). Although I am gluttonous like that, I am not THAT rude, but with Aparna, it’s different.

Aparna was my first friend in fourth grade when I moved to Thailand (mainly because she was assigned to be my “buddy” and show me around the school, since I was a new kid), and we’ve been friends for…oh my gosh, almost 16 years! That’s more than half of my life! Her mom was my eighth grade Science teacher and I used to love going over to her house for sleepovers. Mmm, the delicious Indian food her mom used to make! *drools*

Aparna lives in India now (where I desperately hope to visit her one day) and every year, she comes back to Thailand to visit her parents. I adore her family and every time she’s in Bangkok, we make it a ritual to meet up at her house where her mom still makes the best kick-ass Indian food ever! Plus, her mom feeds us until we’re bursting at the seams!

Most Indian restaurants in Bangkok serve North Indian food, which consists of more meaty dishes and uses ghee (clarified butter) in a lot of their cooking. Since Aparna’s family is from South India, the food we have at her house are different from what you would typically get at an Indian restaurant, and it’s also healthier and lighter because they are mainly vegetable dishes.

This time, Aparna came back for a few days and naturally, dinner was at her house. I managed to nick a lassi recipe off of her mom, so enjoy them!

Mrs. R’s Sweet Lassi
(Makes three glasses)

• 1 tub (150 g.) natural unsweetened yogurt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups ice cubes
• a pinch of salt
• mint for garnish (optional)

Blend the all the ingredients except the mint in a food processor until frothy.

Pour into a glass and garnish with mint.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out, yet it’s so refreshing you wonder why you didn’t think of the recipe yourself! You can also add fresh fruits such as mangoes and strawberries to make fruit lassi, and adjust the sweetness to your taste by reducing the sugar. Or try adding spices to make salty lassi!

Categories: Recipes
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