It’s April, the hottest month of the year in Thailand – supposedly anyways. Instead, we get weather that changes faster than a PMS-ing woman’s mood swings. These April showers like to strike in the evenings and when they strike, they strike hard. With weather like this, it’s best to stay indoors and cook up a storm, so that when an actual storm comes, you’re safely snuggled inside your house.

What I made today doesn’t require a lot of effort to make but it’s a great way to use fresh summer vegetables that comes with the season. The recipe I used is an adaptation from Keiko’s Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad with Anglaise Sauce and I love that it’s so versatile – it can be served cold or hot depending on the weather, and you can use whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand.

Summertime Spaghetti with Cream Sauce
(Makes 5-6 servings)

• 400 g. spaghetti
• 1 medium head broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small pack of asparagus, cut at an angle
• 1 handful of fresh shitake mushrooms, cut into slivers
• 100 g. bacon
• 1 tsp. olive oil

For the cream sauce:

• 4 egg yolks
• 250 ml. milk
• 150 ml. cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 Cut the bacon into slivers and fry until crispy. Set aside.

 Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain and plunge into ice-cold water. Drain again and drizzle with the olive oil so the pasta doesn’t stick together. Set aside.

 Parboil the vegetables for a few minutes and blanch them in ice-cold water. Set aside.

 For the sauce, put the egg yolks in a bowl. Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan and slowly pour over the egg yolks, stirring constantly.

 Return the mixture to the saucepan over very low heat and stir until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to cool and chill if serving cold.

 Serve the pasta with vegetables and cream, and sprinkle with bacon bits. Give the dish a final touch with some sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. 

Just a little note – when you return the egg mixture to the flame, it is crucial that you keep stirring the sauce at all times to prevent the eggs from curdling and turning into watery scrambled eggs!

Categories: Recipes
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Once in a while on a lazy Saturday afternoon, Bird and I would take the one and a half hour drive to Ayutthaya to indulge in giant river prawns. In all honesty, you don’t have to make the trip to Ayutthaya to get a taste of these fresh water crustaceans but it’s the atmosphere that we go for and the originality of the place.

Besides Buddhist temples and ruins of the old city, Thailand’s former capital is famous for giant river prawns (and now, the industrial zones for Japanese companies as well!).  There are many restaurants in the area that serve these delectable prawns but only a few which are situated along the river. Among these, the restaurant that my family has been going to for years is Phae Krung Kao (แพกรุงเก่า), which has been featured in numerous magazines and TV shows. The eatery offers plenty of seating with a choice of air conditioned room, an open-air area, or even on a raft built over the river for those who are more adventurous. Of course, I always opt to dine on the raft, mainly because I get a clearer view of the boats passing by and the families of fish down below.

The grilled prawns are charged by their weight, and it usually comes down to around 400 baht per piece. It’s rather expensive for something with so little meat but I didn’t come all the way to Ayutthaya to scrimp now, so we ordered one each. As soon as the waiter set the plates of fresh-off-the-grill delicacies on the table, the intense aroma wafted all over the place, making us salivate. The vibrant colors of the succulent head was a stark contrast against the  scrumptiously plump flesh, reminding me of a sunset in snowy landscapes. We dug into our meal, starting with the tail before moving our way up.

It may not look it, but the best part is the head and if you shun shrimp heads, I am telling you right now that you are REALLY missing out. Some people will just scoop the bright orange gooey mess directly into their mouths with some seafood sauce but I find that a little too rich (and it makes me feel like I’m overdosing on cholesterol). An alternative is to mix the goo with some rice and seafood sauce, then have it with a morsel of the prawn. It’s making my mouth water just to write about the experience.

Other dishes worth ordering are tom klong pla salid(ต้มโคล้งปลาสลิด; 100 baht), gouramy in a sour and spicy soup with vegetables. The tangy soup is addictive and will have you slurping spoonfuls after spoonfuls. The only thing I have to complain about this dish is that the fish has lots of bones so you have to pick the meat out carefully.

If you’re tired of all the spicy dishes, try the Thai-styled crab omelet (70 baht), which complements the tom klong really nicely. The fluffy golden eggs were so irresistible that I didn’t have time to snap a photo of it before it was gone. Another option is the eringi sautéed in oyster sauce (100 baht). The mushrooms had a nice chewy texture and the oyster sauce, with a hint of ginger, went wonderfully with the rice.

Whenever we visit this restaurant, we would always encounter two old ladies. The first would be paddling her canoe in the river, collecting garbage. She usually stops next to the raft to have a quick chat with the customers before moving on to pick up plastic bottles floating along the river. The second is a sweet old lady who comes bearing traditional Thai sweets (and on one occasion, fruits) on a carrying pole. She has amazing agility and strength for a woman her age and Bird can never resist buying her goodies.

If you would rather have the restaurant’s desserts, they have a variety of choices to choose from. We tried the nata de coco in syrup and shaved ice (วุ้นมะพร้าว; 20 baht) and found it quite refreshing, albeit a bit artificial.

Once you fill up, you can buy some bread (20 baht) and feed the fish or walk around and take in the view of surrounding areas at this family friendly establishment.

Phae Krung Kao
4-4/1 Moo 2 U-Thong Road
Hor Rattanachai, Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya, Thailand
Tel: 035-241-555
Open: daily 9:00am-9:00pm

Categories: Restaurant Review
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“Where are you from?” asked the taxi driver who was taking us to our hotel in Bali from Ngurah Rai Airport. Happy to arrive in Bali after an uncomfortable flight, we replied enthusiastically that we were from Thailand. Little did we know that in the days to come, whoever we encountered and had a conversation with (from waitresses to boatmen) would be asking us the exact same question. This just goes to show how friendly (or curious, or both) Balinese people are. Or maybe we just looked Indonesian but didn’t speak the language, hence the inquiry. Either way, I have never repeated the word “Thailand” so often in the spam of a few days.

Back tracking a bit, you’ll notice that I’ve been gone for quite a while again since my last post. That was because I had been swamped with work and barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. After those hellish months, all I could look forward to was a 5-day holiday in Bali.

Anyway, back to our trip. We were staying at Villa Seminyak Estate and Spa and although the interior was a bit run-down and not as impressive as the pictures we saw in the website, it was comfortable enough. What I really loved were the doors that opened out into the main pool. From the lobby, the eggy-yellow villas contrasted nicely with the aqua pool.

We planned to spend some days relaxing at the villa but since it was our first time in Bali, we also wanted to make sure we covered all the tourist spots. After browsing through endless brochures that we picked up at the airport, we finally decided on a full-day tour to sight-see the famous landmarks of Bali and a seafood dinner at Jimbaran.

The next morning, the van picked us up at the hotel and we headed to Tohpati, where we saw the process of Balinese hand weaving and handmade Batik. About a 5-minute ride away, we went to see the famous Barong and Kris dance at Batubulan, where they performed Mahabharata. From there, we went straight to Ubud district, where there were many villages, each with a different expertise in some sort of crafts. At Celukvillage, we visited the gold and silver smith and they explained the process of their work. Wood carving is famous at Mas village, and we saw crocodile wood, which is native to Indonesia. These wood pieces are covered with big spiky thorns like those on a crocodile, hence the name.  The next village, Batuan, is known for their paintings and house compounds. The whole family lives in one compound, with a large area for family temples. Finally, we stopped at Tegenungan waterfall, said to be the prettiest waterfall in Bali (according to our tour guide).

The highlight of the trip (for me) must have been at  Sribatu village, where we went to visit the coffee plantation. It wasn’t exactly a plantation as you would imagine, with endless rows of coffee plants. Instead, it was more like a garden, with lots of other fruits and plants. We got to see a cinnamon tree, mangosteen tree and cacaos, which I initially thought were papayas. We got a sampler of rich cocoa, ginger tea, ginseng coffee (not as bad as I thought) and Balinese coffee. The specialty however, was Kopi Luwak, or civet coffee. Want to know how the coffee got its name? Read on:

While coffee connoisseurs might rave about this expensive coffee, I wasn’t particularly fond of it. I thought it had a slight sourness and wasn’t as aromatic as the Balinese coffee but hey, what did I know about coffee. We probably spent the most time at this village, and we certainly bought the most from here (and no, none of our purchases included Kopi Luwak).  I’m already dreaming up ways to use the vanilla beans.

Our next stop was at Kintamani village, home of Mount Batur and its crater lake. Mount Batur is an active volcano with frequent eruptions. We wanted to climb the volcano but unfortunately, I didn’t bring any climbing shoes so that will have to be reserved for the next trip, if we ever come back. We had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the volcano and I bet everyone who comes on the tour to see Mount Batur stops here to have lunch.

With renewed energy, we were ready to take on Gunung Kawi Temple, or holy spring water temple, in Sebatu village. It was very peaceful there and I would have liked to wander around and take more pictures of animals but we were pressed for time so we had to get a move on. I thought we wouldn’t be able to see the rice terraces, since the Fire dance started at 6 PM sharp and it was quite a drive from Sebatu. Luckily, we did manage to stop at Tegallalang village for about 5 minutes for some pictures. The terraces were spectacular, zigzagging up and down the hill side like mazes.

After a two hour drive, we arrived in Uluwatu temple, which was built in the 16th century and hangs on a cliff 825 ft. high, overlooking the Indian Ocean.  The temple is infested with monkeys and our tour guide warned us that we had to be careful of our belongings, since the monkeys are skilled thieves. At exactly 6 PM, the famous Kecak and Fire dance started with the setting sun as the scene behind them. We ended the day with dinner at Jimbaran, where the seafood was fresh but the sauce definitely couldn’t beat Thailand.

To be honest, I didn’t take that much of a liking to Indonesian food. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t been to the right place (although we did go to a local restaurant recommended by the concierge on the first night) or if I just have a case of Thai tongue.

Having said that, we did have a spectacular dinner one night at an Italian restaurant called Ultimo. This place filled up really quickly (and by that, I mean people were sent away because there was literally no space to wait for seating) and we were fortunate enough to get a table without a reservation. It was easy to see why this restaurant is so popular – the service is attentive without being too intrusive and it serves good food at affordable prices. There are outdoor as well as indoor seating, the latter having access to the view of the open kitchen.

We started the course with 4 pieces of fresh oysters (22,000 IDR/pc) served with red wine vinaigrette sauce, which enhanced the sweetness of the oysters. Next, we had the lobster and avocado salad (30,000 IDR), with plump morsels of lobster meat mixed in creamy dressing and chunks of avocado – another satisfying dish. The highlight of the meal was the grilled Australian tenderloin with rosemary and red wine gravy (75,000 IDR). The 250 grams of beef was cooked to perfection with a caramelized sweet crust. The mashed potatoes that came with the dish had cheese mixed in it, and the sautéed vegetables were just as divine. Impressed with the food so far, I couldn’t wait to dig into the seafood spaghetti (45,500 IDR). It was a bit of a disappointment when the plate came heaping with the pasta and tiny shrimps and squid scattered around, but only one mussel and clam. We had tiramisu (32,000 IDR) for dessert, which was heavy on the rum but creamy and delicious nonetheless.

There were more things we wanted to do and more places we wanted to eat at, but a 5-day holiday was just too short. Looks like we’ll have to come back again someday.

Categories: Travels
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