Vacation is never about healthy food!

When on vacation, forget your diet and just dig in.

The best way to experience the culture is to do as the locals do. Eat what they eat is the best advice I have ever received and I have never refused it... to an extent.

My favorite places to eat are not high-end restaurants but hole-in-the-wall eateries and street carts that line the main road and the small sois in the CBD.

One such place is Hai Som Tam restaurant on soi Convent. The locals simply refer to it as Som Tam Convent. This is where I had my first (and so far, the best) som tam. I loved it so much that I repeatedly mentioned it in many of my posts.

I arrived the night before Songkran so the Pinoys were on holiday and had a couple of days of get-togethers involving mostly Pinoy food. Not bad, except I was here to escape all that! Durnit.

Babawi ako, shempre! So yesterday, I had a feast with Momsie and Popsie on the last holiday this week. Thank heavens Hai was open.

Thai-philes, drool away!

 

Tilapia roasted while encased in salt - juicy and not salty at all!

In Thai, fish is pla. So you can say this dish was salt-encrusted tilapla. Ay, corny... Uhurm! Moving on:

Thubwan (sp?) - barely-cooked pork liver. Those are mint leaves.

Kha moo yang - roasted pork neck.
Sinfully delicious. That green dip is AWESOME!

Squid and shrimp with ramen-like noodles. I don't like this one, but Mom and Pop scarfed it down.

som tam kai-kem - papaya salad with salted duck eggs.
This is LOVE!

khao niew - sticky rice. On the background is that insanely delicious dip I will most certainly be copying!

Heaven on earth: Roll some khao niew into a ball, dip in som tam dressing, LAFANG!
 

Tonight, I'm going out in search of Khun Chao and his lovely roti - with camera in hand - on soi Phiphat 2. Wish me luck!