Bangkok food trip: Savoring the delights of Thai cuisine

As a new resident of Bangkok on a consultancy posting 14 years ago, I was totally mystified by what foreigners called "the spicy Thai food" of the 2,000 year-old Kingdom of the East. On my first mouthful of pad pa khaew khai (stir-fried chicken with basil leaves), I started coughing and hurriedly asked for iced water, to the curious looks of the affluent Thai diners at a posh restaurant. My tongue burned and I thought I would die! Over the years since that rather unorthodox introduction to Thai food, I'm still gorging on the culinary offerings of this fascinating country but much, much wiser to its nature. As a colleague quipped, "You're still quite young my dear. You still have lots of smorgasbords to eat!" How to enjoy Thai Food The trick is to go past that first impression of Thai food as being "too spicy and hot to eat!" The reality is there is a vast array of Thai food dishes -- from the sweet to the sour, from the spicy to the salty. Every Thai food connoisseur knows the country’s concept of "juxtaposition of tastes." This means the best Thai food is judged by the harmonious balancing of the four primary tastes in a dish – sweet, sour, spicy, and salty. Thus, your sugar granules dip for polamai (fruit) will be mixed with ground dry red chili. A fried fish dish which is normally salty will have a sweet-sour sauce mixed with chilies generously sprinkled over the fish. Those who have been living in the Kingdom for some time will also know that Northeastern Thai dishes (popularly called Isaan food) will normally be hotter than Thai food from the central or tropical south of Thailand. Isaan dishes usually consist of chicken, pork, and beef cured and flavored with raw or dried red and green chilies, toddy palm, garlic, lime and onions. How to order Thai food Most of the time, you won't know or have the exact Thai word for this or that dish. A rule of thumb: look at what other diners have ordered and just point at a dish you like. Most of the time, these dishes will be displayed in a glass case, much like a turo-turo counter in the Philippines. Also, learn to say "mai pet" which means "not spicy." However, what’s mai pet to the Thai may be still be pet to most of us Filipinos, so just try to see how many chilies they put on your dish. Or you can just say, "sai prik nung chin" (with only one piece of chili). Works all the time for me! And if you don't want any chili at all, just say "mai mi prik" (no chili!). The List Here goes my list of personal favorites for great Thai food in Bangkok that will not empty your wallet and may not necessarily be on the usual tourist track. Hai Soi Convent (popularly known as "Somtam Convent") A great introduction to Thai food, Somtam Convent on Soi Convent (so called because of the Catholic Convent located in the middle of this soi or "small road") is conveniently located along the business and tourism sector of Silom Road and is already an institution.

Popularly known among the lunchtime crowd of office-goers, Somtam Convent is famous for its gayang (grilled chicken), served with a special sweet-spicy sauce on the side, and somtam (young papaya salad mixed with spices, nuts and lime). You can also order the ever popular larb moo (ground pork flavored with spices and lime) or larb khai (stripped chicken flavored with spices and lime) served with a side dish of raw string beans and cabbage. Of course, there’s also the national dish of tom yum (spicy soup with lemongrass and lime) with either kung (shrimp) or talay (mixed seafood). You can always ask the cook to make your favorite dishes "mai pet." So far, the grilled chicken and somtam I have tasted here are the best in this part of Bangkok. Grilled chicken (small) is priced around Baht 55 and the somtam around Baht 30. 2/4-5 Convent Road, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10 am - 8:30 pm, Mondays to Sundays Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Saladaeng Khao Ka Moo Bangrak This hole-in-the-wall shophouse is located in the famed Thai-Chinese quarter of Bangrak, just beside the Chao Phraya River. The district is famous for a whole lot of good, almost home cooking, eateries and cheap flea market shopping. Khao Ka Moo Bangrak is popular with locals and tourists alike; Japanese guidebooks even list this famous eatery for its khao ka moo (stewed pork shank or knuckle) on rice served with pickled cabbage and optional boiled egg. Although there are a lot of eateries offering khao ka moo in the city, this one is famed for its tender and flavorful meat. Locals say the secret behind good khao ka moo is to steep the meat in its juices in a vat for three to five days. No wonder this place has been so popular for the last 30 to 40 years! A dish of khao ka moo is priced at Baht 35, with an extra large serving or with egg at Baht 40-45. Try it with their popular soup of boiled bitter gourd stuffed with ground pork, priced only at Baht 30. The place is open from 10 am to 6 pm, but sometimes it closes earlier when stocks run out. 106/5 Soi Charoenwiang, Charoenkrung Road, Bangrak Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Saphan Taksin Charoenwian Pochana (Good food at Charoenwian) Just 30 meters away on the same street is this eatery, my favorite grilled duck on rice place. It's another typical Thai-Chinese shophouse with wooden tables and steel chairs neatly placed side by side and an array of condiments to garnish your food. The owner's son informed me that the place has been there since World War II. It was started by his grandfather who was a migrant from mainland China. Pet lat khao (grilled duck on rice) is served on a steel plate (reminds me of those trays and cutlery in army mess halls and student dorms) and garnished with pickled ginger. It’s flavorful to the last bite. I usually pair it with a side dish of boiled soup of either bits of chicken or pork ribs flavored with Chinese herbs and spices. These are served in steel canisters on a round steel steamer on the side of the restaurant. You just point out which one you like to the attendant. Duck on rice dish and meat soups are priced at Baht 50 each. 211 Soi Charoenwiang, Charoenkrung Road, Bangrak Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Saphan Taksin Khao Lao and Kuay Chap Shophouse Just across the grilled duck eatery is another eating institution in Bangrak -- Khao Lao (not sure about the spelling). It is named after a dish of mixed pork innards in a vinegary, sweet sauce. As the old guy cuts up the pork intestines, liver or tripe (lining of a pig's stomach) on a chopping block in front of you, you have the option of eating it with rice or mixed with boiled wide rice vermicelli. Either way, it always tastes good! I usually eat my Kao Po Lo with bottled iced tea -- the tastes are quite complementary. 530 Soi Charoenwiang, Charoenkrung Road, Bangrak Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Saphan Taksin Krua Rakangthong (Thai Food & Good River View) In 1995, my Thai boss at the time introduced me to this gem of a seafood restaurant beside the Chao Phraya river, just diagonally opposite the Grand Palace. It offers a good combination of fresh Thai seafood straight from the market and cooked just right (the menu tells you whether the dish is spicy or not, or you can tell them your preference before cooking) and a fantastic view of the Chao Phraya River. The restaurant is built to look like one of those wooden Thai houses on stilts with the river running under it. Nothing can beat the scenery here when dining on your tom yum kung or yam plaa duk foo sai mamuang (crispy cat fish salad with julienned strips of mango in a sweet-sour sauce). I ordered a plate of cat fish heads in a sweet-sour-spicy sauce to go with rice – a lovely and yummy complement to the cat fish salad. Average price per dish is Baht 80 to 150, for bigger dishes Baht 260. Established by a guy named Joe almost 20 years ago, the restaurant' fare has garnered accolades from Thai seafood aficionados. It also boasts of the modestly-sized Romruay Café café in front that offers local coffees to melt all that seafood you ate. 306 Soi Watrakung, Arun Amarintara Road, Siriraj Go to Tha Thien Pier behind the Grand Palace and take a ferry across the river to the restaurant. Muslim Restaurant This has to be one of the oldest restaurants that I have visited in Bangkok -- and it still looks comfortable and neat! Located on the corner of two major roads -- Silom Road and Charoenkrung Road – this almost-ancient shophouse has steel tables and chairs, as well as wooden tables and benches lining its walls. The manager says the place was established about 70 years ago. On one wall is a photo of the founder, Mr. Hajee Maidin Pakayawong, and on another a huge photo of the Kasbah in Mecca beside a large photo bearing the royal symbol of the King of Thailand. There is an abundance of young teenagers wearing their school uniforms from the Catholic school nearby eating here, indicating that the food is as appetizing to non-Muslims as well. My favorite here is the Chicken Biryani, a hefty drumstick buried under orange-colored rice flavored with saffron and turmeric. Each order is accompanied by two side dishes: an eggplant boiled in a sour soup base that tastes like our very own pinakbet, and a dip of pickled cucumber in a slightly sweet sauce. Wash it all down with a glass of Coke, and you'll be fine for the whole afternoon! You can also order chicken liver in a massaman curry sauce dish to go with your Chicken Biryani. Vegetarians can have samosas (Indian name for flour-based pastry shells looking like Tagalog empanadas) filled with chick peas. Or just order their "salad" of Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, sweet onions, and thin flour-based crackers generously lavished with a thick peanut sauce. 1354-1356 New Road, Charoenkrung 42 Open for lunch and early dinner Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Saphan Taksin Inter Restaurant Nothing can beat this eatery for its location and its reasonably-priced food. Located on Siam Square, a few meters from the Siam Central Skytrain, Inter Restaurant gives good value for your money. Its very simple façade which hasn't seemed to change over the years, belies the truly Thai dishes offered on its menu. My favorites are the Tamlueng sai moosap (ivy gourd sautéed with ground pork and garlic), tom yum kung, and nam prik gapi pa-too (smelly fish paste similar to bagoong used as a dip for several vegetables accompanied with fried galunggong fish). Dishes are priced at an average Baht 80-100. 432/1-2 Siam Square Soi 9 Open daily 10 am - 10 pm Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Siam Central Jok Bangrak On your way home, perhaps you can briefly stop for congee at Jok Bangrak, located in a little alley between two small stores on Charoen Krung road. Famous for its very filling congees (known as joks) mixed with ground pork balls, entrails or an egg thrown in, a heaping bowl of Jok Bangrak eaten with the puffy pa thong koh (puffed up bread) can be your main meal for dinner. Prices range from Baht 30 to 45, depending on what is included in the congee. The place is open only in the evening, from 5 pm to 9 pm -- or until the food runs out! 1391-1393 Charoenkrung Road Nearest BTS Skytrain station: Saphan Taksin - YA, , GMANews.TV