What I ate in Thailand last summer

 I won't claim I did a proper food tour of the city during my four days in Bangkok. Honestly, after five days in Maldives I was feeling pretty relaxed and wanted to keep that vibe for the rest of my vacation. And the afternoon heat really sapped my energy. But here's what I did get up to.

My first stop was to find a 7-11, as I had heard much about how they're different in Thailand and across Asia than ours in Canada. I was really impressed by the wide variety of chips on offer. Some familiar, some crazy flavours from familiar brands, and some just completely unknown to westerners. The selection was really something.

I tried a few while I was there, including the Nori Seaweed-flavoured Lays. They were fine. I packed a few of the wackier flavours to bring home, including prawn-flavoured chips, but they were lifted from my checked bag in transit. I didn't fine a complaint over my maybe 50 cents worth of missing chips, but it was weird. The huge thing of mango candies went untouched.

Anyways, more than wacky chips, 7-11s here are also known for their cheap microwave sandwiches. Toasties, burgers, some familiar, some wacky, all cheap. You can bring them home or, more commonly, you can ask them to heat them up for you (apparently the magic word is wave) and then eat them on the go.

I opted for two fairly tame choices: a double cheeseburger on a sesame seed bun, and a pork burger on a bun made of rice.

They were exactly what you would expect for a convenience store refrigerated microwave sandwich. Just fine. A cheap lunch on the go. You can do much better in Bangkok. And don't worry, I did.

Right next to my hotel was a street food stall offering Mango Sticky Rice for 8- Thai Baht, which works out to $3.41 CAD. She takes a fresh mango and carves it up right there in front of you, assembling glutinous rice, fresh mango and coconut milk, and some crunchy bits on top.

I took it back to my room to enjoy and it was delicious. I was skeptical at first -- rice in a desert? -- but it was flavourful and delicious and sweet, especially with the fresh mango. And a great deal, even for being right next to a tourist hotel.

My first proper meal was lunch at IconSiam, a large mall just across the river from my hotel and a major river ferry port. Most of my exploring was by river ferry, so I was here a bunch of times. My lunch was at Thipsami, an accessible Michelin Bib Gourmand spot known for its different varieties of Pad Thai. 

I ordered the Pad Thai Siam Royal with Giant River Prawns along with fresh orange juice, which seems to be their signature thing.

I would say it was fine. The juice was refreshing after the afternoon heat. I enjoyed the flavours of the pad thai, but pad thai isn't really my thing. But when in Thailand...

There was a street food-type hawker hall in the basement and it had a wide variety of foods, including this selection of fried offerings, available in air conditioned comfort (with requisite mark-up from the streets). Still cheaper than Canada. Some tasty-looking nibbles but I was full of pad thai.

I was also saving my appetite for my highlight dinner of the trip: the tasting menu at a Michelin Star restaurant in Bangkok – Nahm. They are renowned for their Heritage tasting menu that showcases the varied cuisine of Thailand – so much of which doesn’t make it to the West.

An amuse bouche centred on coconut to start.

(left) Miang Nopakoo: miang of live river prawn chicken, mango and herbs served on betel leaf

(right) Pu Sorn Klin: blue swimmer crab, pickled garlic and peanuts on rice cracker

(bottom) Khao neau kati sim tum: Sticky rice delicacy with celtuce salad

(top right) Yum dok mai tod: edible floral fritter delight, The texture of this was fun, and the sauce was delicious.

Namprik maak maad: Spicy fragrant northern style relish with pork jowl and vegetable. Very tasty.

Tom yung gung: Tom yum of prawn mushrooms and chili jam. A dish familiar to westerners. Not my favourite, but this is certainly an elevation of the form.

(bottom right) Gag pu bai cha plu: Southern turmeric curry of blue swimmer crab with betel leaf and calamansi lime

(bottom left) Pad pak goot: Stir-fried young fiddlehead ferns

(top) Pad nuea sau nomai nahm: Stir-fried wagyu beef, yellow capsicum and wild rice stems

The beef was amazing -- tender and delicious, best beef I've had. Enjoyed the fiddlehead ferns. it was nice to have some greens and I was amused as I had always viewed fiddleheads as an Ontario seasonal thing. Enjoyed the creaminess of the crab dish.

And in the shot here is my rum and diet coke made with a local Thai rum that was quite tasty.

A lemony palate cleanser before desert.

Desert was called the lifestyle of coconut. Coconut isn't my favourite, but it was a fun concept.

Here's the Heritage Tasting Menu -- you make a number of choices at the start, and they leave you the card to follow along. Other than the wagyu which was a must have for me, I placed myself in the hands of the chef.

All in all it was a fantastic culinary experience. Not cheap, but high quality and a great exposure to a wide variety of Thai cuisine that you certainly won't find at Thai Express.

For my next dinner, I ate riverside at my hotel, the Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside, dining at their Thai restaurant, Thara Thong. It was quite enjoyable to enjoy the river view at night at watch the boats go up and down while I ate. I would take one of these dinner cruises the next night; the views were amazing but the buffet was just OK and won't be chronicled here.

Here I am at my table with my view.

First, I was served an amuse bouche of shrimp puffs with a Thai relish.

For my starter, I had the Por Pia Pak, or vegetarian Thai spring rolls. Basic, I know, but I could not come to Thailand without having them at the source. Pretty good, better quality ingredients than we usually get at home. Found the sauce a bit muted and hard to place.

For the main, the Nua Pad Bai, or a stir fry of beef, Thai basil and other things. Definitely very basil forward. It was supposed to be wagyu beef but, if so, it was cooked a bit too long. Again, I am longing for the beef the night before at Nahm. It was good, but suffers from the unfair comparison.

For desert, mango sorbet. I was mulling two scoops but was relieved I stuck with one as this was huge. I'm not sure the photo does justice to the size. Lived the fresh mango slices too.
Overall, while I regret not getting more proper street food in Thailand, I don't regret keeping my first visit chill and just enjoying myself at a relaxed pace. It was a fun trip.

I leave you with a river view from my room at sunset.

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Eating on the road: Lounge and plane food from my summer vacation -- part two

 After five amazing and relaxing nights in the Maldives, and some great meals I will review separately, it was back into the air for the next leg of my journey to Bangkok, Thailand, via Singapore.

My first three flights in business were on Aeroplan points, earned thanks to my decade as a frequently-travelling technology journalist (nowadays I mostly earn train and hotel points) but the Maldives to Bangkok trip I paid out of pocket and booked economy on Singapore Airlines.

As one of the top airlines in the world I was looking forward to the trip, even if it would be another redeye to Singapore and an early-morning flight on to Bangkok. But I researched upgrade options and I learned they were often available for purchase a few days out. So I made a point of logging in right when the upgrade window opened and, on my laptop looking out at the ocean in my Maldavian villa, I decided I could justify the price as a once-in-a-lifetime experience (when will I be back here?) and I upgraded both legs to business.

And this business class experience was a step above any other I've experienced. Comfortable lay flat pods, great menus, and warm, friendly and attentive staff that greet you by name. 

But first, they use a private lounge at the airport in Male that was just ok. Very busy, lots of kids running around, food nothing to write home about. No photos taken.

As I settled into my pod I enjoyed a fresh orange juice and looked over the volumnius menu. I had pre-selected my entree, but the drinks selection was quite interesting and abundant. And unlike on Emirates, I was well-rested from my week in the sun and ready to partake.

I ordered a glass of the 2020 Chateau Pey La Tour Reserve Bordeaux which, while only $24 at the SAQ, was excellent and, of course, enjoyed with mixed nuts.

But I couldn't leave it at that, as one other option on the drink menu also caught my attention. I hadn't had one before, but how can you be on Singapore Airlines enroute to Singapore and not try a Singapore Sling?

It was fruity and delicious. And yes, I was double-fisting but hey, I'm on vacation! Also, I wanted to get to bed right after dinner.

Speaking of which, meal service did begin promptly and efficiently for this overnight flight but was still served course by course. As an appetizer, they served a seared pepper-crusted tuna with fennel, crab and togarashi mayonnaise.

I would judge it OK. I'm still not totally sold on tuna. I made little lettuce wrap tuna sandwiches. I was more excited for the main course, and I added ordered the local option: Mee Siam Goreng, or Fried spicy rice vermicelli with prawns, fish cake, chives and lime -- they kindly accommodated my request to hold the hard-boiled egg which I appreciated.

It was a tasty entree, not stellar, but very good. 8/10. They warned me the sauce was spicy, and it did have kick, but it was enjoyable -- though I didn't go to hard to avoid bedtime heartburn. Their bread basket selection was very varied and they came by a few times to top up. I had a few garlic bread. I also enjoyed the sticky date pudding with quenelle of cream and butterscotch sauce.

With dinner complete, I put the bed into lay flat mode and managed a little but of sleep before a sunrise approach into Singapore.

It took quite awhile, and a train, to navigate an airside terminal change at the airport in Singapore. Unfortunately I didn't have time to explore any of the cool airport attractions like the garden or the jewel, but I did have time to try their lounge. Finding the right one took a minute (I didn't have access to the more exclusive First Class one) but eventually I did find the one for business class passengers. 

And wow, made to order noodle bar at breakfast time? Oh, yes please.

After watching a few others go to figure it out, I made my selections and my noodle dish was made to order in front of me. 

I can't use chopsticks so eating some of the bulkier choices with a spoon was a challenges, as was getting the noodles to where they needed to be, but no one here knew me so I slurped without shame. Pretty tasty. A Coke Zero as you see; I found that in Asia it seems like Coke Zero has replaced Diet Coke for the most part as the no-sugar option.

I left the dining area to chill before flight time; it was a very busy lounge for early/mid morning; maybe it was the rush hour I don't know. There were some other buffet and breakfast options but other than the must-try noodles, I was saving space for my next leg.

Which was back on business again for the connection to Bangkok, and in preparing for this flight I saw that it had Book the Cook available, which allows you to pre-order a few days in advance from a much broader menu. 

And while it may seem like a very odd choice for a morning flight, I had to go with their renowned chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce. And, my friends, it did not disappoint, Even my flight attendant approved of my choice.

I know it looks a but out of place on this tray with the breakfast fruit bowl and yogurt, but it was so good. Juicy, flavourful, the peanut sauce was excellent. And so much chicken, oh my god. I enjoyed it while watching The Pit fit the first time, Noah Wylie's not an ER rip off, which was pretty good too.

All in all, a great experience on Singapore Airlines. Definitely my favourite business class experience to date.

After four nights in Bangkok -- again, food to be chronicled separately, it was time to begin the long journey home. The trip home was another Aeroplan redemption, this time in economy. I has wanted to keep going West to make it a true around the world, but Aeroplan was making me go on Air India and I was not down for that.

So I ended up on Eva Air to London with an overnight layover. Managed to get an aisle seat at least for this all daytime, 13 hour flight.  I was in the middle four seat section, and the person on the other aisle and I had the two middle-seats free so that was lucky. In this scenario I like to watch shows on my screen and have the map on the one beside me.

It was a long but reasonable long haul experience. Good IFE and moving map, free wifi, two meals, many drink services, and snacks. First nosh, this rice cracker snack mix.

I didn't snap menu shots so I can't give fulsome menu descriptions. But for lunch there was a seafood salad, a fruit bowl, a chicken/veg/rice thing, and some sort of desert. For an economy meal it was good, and a lot of food.

I mentioned the moving map and WiFi. It was both fun and a bit frightening to watch the moving map and the route projection. We did a very weird deviation over Pakistan and Afghanistan, perhaps avoiding Kashmir? We seemed to deliberately stay South of Russian air space through Central Asia but the rotue projected us right over Crimea and Ukraine, which seemed a questionable choice and led to some concerned Facebook Messenger activity.

Thankfully though, we turned south, hugging the south side of the Black Sea over Turkey before turning North-West over Eastern Europe. A relief to be sure.

As I pondered the possibility of becoming a statistic, they passed out these snacks. It was fine.

Finally, safely over European airspace they served another meal. 

Some kind of chicken stir fry, that fruit bowl again, and bizarrely, a yogurt and a very beat-up croissant. Breakfast vibes from the sides, dinner from the entree. It was tasty enough though. It was probably after midnight to our bodies, but early evening in London. 

Navigating the Queen's Terminal was a bit of a challenge; more specifically, getting to the hotel bus area. But I made it to my airport-adjacent Marriott, checked in and dropped my bag, and navigated a double-decker, the Elizabeth Line and the Tube to Westminster to pay homage to the Mother Parliament and get a Big Ben Selfie.

I reversed the journey, except with an Uber from the nearest train station to my hotel, and collapsed on my bed to sleep.

No hotel or airport food pics, but there were some adventures. I got a free breakfast in the hotel restaurant as a super shiny member, and they had a prix fixe. There was a 10 pound upcharge to the prix fixe listed on the menu for the steak and I got that because, why not, still on vacation. When the bill came they charged me the full price as if I has ordered it a la carte. Raising this with the manager it was taken off, he said the menu was out of date. Well, it's the one you're still giving out though mate. Steak was decent, anyways, and cooked to order.

I filled my bag with duty free snacks to bring home at Heathrow, and had lunch. I remember whatever it was being over priced, you order from an app at your seat, and while the cola was way overpriced apparently free refills aren't a thing in Europe. I think it was some kind of mac and cheese with brisket at a BBQ place; it was fine.

I managed to use my upgrade credits and some cash to get into Premium Economy for my Air Canada flight to Ottawa. It's my third time in Premium Economy and, if you can swing it, it's worth it for long haul. The meals are supposed to be better than economy. In my experience, they're just different. But the seats are more spacious with more leg room and that's the key thing.

This was another daytime flight, leaving London mid afternoon with an evening landing in Ottawa. Again, I didn't snap a menu shot so I don't have exact descriptions here.

But there's that salad dressing again! Went with a lighter entree with the pasta option. It was fine. Desert was interesting. And, of course, a glass of red.

The hotel night to break up the journey home was nice, and I landed back in Ottawa in reasonable shape. And when I got home, discovered my bag had been pilfered. Surpassingly though, what was missing was two bags of Lays chips from Thailand, one squid and one prawn. They didn't take the chili sauce or the mango candies, so I guess it was a baggage thief that was hungry for weird chips. Probably happened when stored overnight at Heathrow. I was only out like a dollar so no big deal, just weird.

Anyways, this concludes my on the move food chronicles from this vacation. Up next, eating in the Maldives.

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Eating on the road: Lounge and plane food from my summer vacation -- part one

 As I prepare to venture to Montreal for a mini-vacation and a good steak frites, it occurs to me I have fallen woefully behind in my food blogging. So to begin catching up, I'd like to recap some of the snacks and meals I enjoyed during my summer vacation, which took me from Ottawa to the Maldives and Singapore, with a bunch of lounges and business class flights. This update will focus on lounges and in-flight meals.

The trip began with a business class train trip from Ottawa to Montreal, as there were better Aeroplan reward options flying out of YUL. And being paranoid about missing flights, I booked a breakfast train to ensure a large buffer (and more time to enjoy the Maple Leaf Lounge in Montreal).

VIA offers the choice of a hot or cold breakfast, although the eggs are inescapable with either choice. I mean, you could escape them, put the point is, egg features prominently in both. I have never gotten the hard but I believe it involves a hard-boiled egg, yogurt and fruit.

I always get the hot option which is some kind of egg dish, usually potatoes and some sort of protein like bacon and sausage, and fruit. Sometimes it's an omelet; egg bites are a regular new feature. For a few years now the bread choice has been a roll with hints of cinnamon which is delicious.

This trip it was a bacon leek quiche with cherry tomatoes and sauteed onions and mushrooms. I was very happy to see this; their quiche is not supper eggy which is a plus for me and the ingredients and crust help mask the eggs for me.

Which brings me to a side note on ketchup, a regular issue for me when it comes to eggs. When I remember I bring ketchup packets if I can, as availability can be hit or miss. They do have ketchup more often than not, but it's back in the galley so if you're being served early in the service, you could have to wait awhile and your food could get cold. I don't expect them to go and get it for me right then, but I'm curious -- if they have it stocked, and they do more than half the time, why isn't it on the cart? You could argue they stock the ketchup for lunch or dinner, but I take the train a lot and I have never seen a lunch or dinner offered that lends itself to ketchup. One of life's mysteries.

Anyway, after an on time arrival at VIA's Dorval station and a free shuttle transfer to the airport, I cleared security, bought an airport ballcap to protect my bald head in the Maldivian sun, and headed to the Maple Leaf Lounge. It was pointed out I was a bit early (I was crazy early) so I was admitted without issue.

Besides the bar not being self-service, I like the YUL International MLL far more than the one in Toronto, which I last visited two years ago on my way to Jordan and Palestine. There was ample appy selection, hot and cold, as well as a made to order pasta bar. And it just seemed to flow more smoothly than the Toronto domestic or international lounges -- Ottawa is also very limited in selection. Also, when it comes to tarmac plane watching, the order is definitely YUL>YOW>YYZ.

Here's a video tour:

While it wasn't a self-service bar they did give me a healthy pour on my rum and diet coke. I samples the various appetizers but the highlight for me was definitely the popcorn chicken bites -- I may have have had a few helpings -- I was there for quite awhile. So long that they ran out of this variety and replaced them with an inferior, more processed popcorn chicken. Note the corn cause I'm healthy like that...

I also ordered a tasty bow tie pasta with olive oil, garlic, bell peppers and mushrooms. Simple but delicious.

After a few hours of plane watching and probably too much popcorn chicken given the meals I had ahead of me, I headed to the gate for the first leg of my flight journey: Air Canada in business from Montreal overnight to Frankfurt.

I settled into my pod and, once airborne, my tablet was set and the service began with a ramekin of warm mixed nuts and a glass of red wine -- I selected a Chateau De Pistray Les Praries Castilllion from France that was delicious. This was the first of many wine and nuts combos, which seems to be a business class staple.

Next I was served my salad. It was fine. It was served with the same oil/balsamic dressing I have had with every salad I have ever been served on a business class flight, and would see twice more before I got my next solid sleep in my Maldivian villa.

But the real star here was the Mediterranean mezze appetizer. Which I guess some people will fine more acceptable than calling it an Arabic mezze. Whatever you call it, it was excellent. Hummus, Loubieh Bi Zeit, Muhammara and  Za'atar seasoned feta. Truly the highlight of this flight.

Next was the entree, which I has pre-ordered online. I had selected the slow braised beef, tomato demi-glace, garlic pappardelle pasta, broccoli and sweet cherry tomato. The other options were chicken, trout and a bean stew.

It was...fine. Cooked properly and all. I have come to the conclusion that I just think I don't care for braising as a beef preparation. Will keep this in mind for future ordering opportunities. 

Stuffed from lounge food and a three course meal, I passed on desert, got changed into more comfortable clothes and tried to get some sleep in my lay flat pod. Which I don't think I did that well at, so I eventually gave up and watched White Lotus until we approached the European coast and they came around with breakfast.

For this meal there was no choice -- just the standard parsley omelet, chicken sausage with parmesan cheese and spinach, roasted potatoes and tomato cumin chutney. Plus a croissant, a fruit bowl and yogurt. 

With the time change it may have been breakfast time out the window and in Frankfurt, but it was not in my stomach. In my stomach, it was still the day before when I had a train breakfast, copious lounge food and, just a few hours before, a three course meal. So I had the fruit and sausage and picked at the rest, mostly leaving the eggs untouched. No disrespect to their breakfast, but I would have no appetite for quite awhile.

After navigating a terminal change and a train ride at Frankfurt airport -- thankfully, no customs checkpoint for transit passengers, I settled into the Emirates lounge. They had the standard breakfast offerings but nothing super impressive, and I passed knowing I had a big lunch ahead of me. After a welcome shower and a Cola Light, I boarded my next flight -- business on an Emirates 777 to their Dubai Hub, where I hoped a much nicer lounge awaited me.

Again, I had pre-ordered my lunch on the Emirates web site as soon as the option was open. I am the sort that scouts menus ahead of any big restaurant meal. And once we were airborne the service began. 

It's the little things that set the Emirates service apart from Air Canada like the large ramekin of butter instead of  a plastic tub, the real salt and pepper shakers, and the metal napkin holder. Just more classy overall. But there's that salad dressing again, hello old friend.

I was still not super-hungry and was pretty tired -- one reason I went with water instead of wine. And I picked at the salad, picking out the olives. But the appetizer of seared scallops on pea puree with microgreens was outstanding -- again, as on Air Canada, the appetizer outshining the main. The scallops were delicious and cooked perfectly. Here's a closer look:

Next came the main, and I had pre-ordered the fish tahta. The flavours were good but it was dry. I was too full any ways, I had a few bites and tapped out and even skipped desert. I felt bad about not fully capitalizing on the full Emirates business experience, but I just had zero appetite at this point, thanks to both fatigue and having had far more to eat already than I usually do.

Of course, there are multiple deserts on an Emirates business flight, even at lunch. So while I passed on the main desert I couldn't pass on the chocolate box, or the strawberry ice cream served later in the flight.

We touched down in Dubai and it was the evening -- at least outside, I had no idea where it was to my body. After a long and circuitous march through Dubai's airport I found my terminal and headed to the flagship Emirates lounge, a visit I had been looking forward to for years after many travel vlogger videos.

The smiles stopped when I got inside. It was, to be honest, disappointing, I have no videos as, frankly, there was nothing with chronicling. Maybe it was the time of day, which I believe was late evening/post dinner. But I walked the length of the huge lounge to find the different regional food stations. But frankly, they all had only slightly different versions of rice/noddle/sauce/veg. It gave off low rent buffet vibes, and there was hardly any protein to be found. Just as well I didn't have an appetite; if I ate anything it left no memory or impression.

After trying to sleep a bit, flight time approached and I made my way to my gate, after picking up some Dubai chocolate at duty free, and boarded by business class flight on Fly Dubai to Maldives. For a low cost carrier, this was a great experience. A lay flat seat that I managed to actually sleep on (two days awake may have helped). 

But first, I began again with wine and nuts -- this time, a Journey's End Huntsman Shiraz from South Africa that was very tasty.

The meal was served all at once which was fine, as I was more than ready for bed at this point. No pre-order, I had the roasted chicken served with baby carrots, charred broccolini, and herbed-mased potatoes in a cream sauce. There's that salad dressing again. And cheese blintzes for desert, with vanilla creme anglaise and cherry compote. The main was hearty and satisfying, and put me properly to sleep.

And with that, it was off to bed before an early morning arrival into the Maldivian capital.

This got long so I'll save part two for another update, including two business flights on Singapore Air and the lounge in Singapore, before returning to the economy life for the journey home from Bangkok.

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