Sky Buffet, Bangkok, Thailand

If you have a head, and more importantly, a stomach for heights, then get yourself to the Sky Buffet in the Baiyoke Tower 2 in Bangkok's Ratchathewi district. Dinner on the 83 floor is a visual treat and the food is dam fine, too. when you have eaten your fill of the all-you-can-eat buffet, there is only one short flight of stairs separating you from the 360 degree revolving roof deck. Here you can observe a panoramic view of Thailand's capital.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiyoke_Tower_II

Here's a minute selection of some of the food on offer:

Tasty Thai Food

I arrived back this evening from a seven day trip in Central Thailand. Here are a few of the dishes that I enjoyed the most.

t

Pad Thai wrapped in an omelette and my holiday book, which is a dam fine accompaniment to any long trip.

Som Tam

And again.

Sexed up White Snapper

Moo Ma Now

Tom Kha Kai

Tom Yum Goong

Kay & I and a Bangkok BBQ

Now, those of you that know me know that I am never one to turn down food. Here in Thailand it is a food lovers paradise with lots to choose from including curries, seafood, traditional Thai, good Korean, Japanese etc. For those of you who feel strongly that turkey and ham a la traditional wedding fare is the epitome of extravagant gastronomic experience - then I have news for you my friends: Thailand's where it's at.

Kay and I did some serious munching and boozing this particular muggy evening in the big smoke.

Mike

Hoy Ma-lang-poo Pad Num Prik Pao-Stir Fried Green Mussels with Roasted Chili Paste

This recipe will have you thanking me till the cows come home. Don't be lazy, make the effort and get down to you local market for fresh mussels to make this delicious dish. It will be worth it; I promise.

Ingredients
450 grams fresh green mussels, cleaned well

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup sweet basil leaves

2 tablespoons roasted chilli paste

4 fresh chillies, cut into long strips

2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Preparations
1. Heat water in a pot until boiling. Then scald green mussels in boiled water until cooked. Remove and drain.

2. Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic in the hot oil and fry until it becomes golden.

3. Add cooked green mussels and stir for a 20 seconds. Then add fish sauce, sugar, chili and roasted chilli paste.

4. Before removing from heat, sprinkle with sweet basil leaves and red fresh chilli. Stir-fry for another 10 seconds. Transfered to a serving dish and served with hot steamed rice.

Mike

Thai Masaman Chicken-Gaeng Masaman Gai

The "massaman" indicates that the recipe is of a "musselman" or islamic origin. It probably owes
something to early Portuguese influences, and is similar in concept to the "sour and hot" Goan style
vindaloo dishes. By Thai standards this is usually a fairly mild curry, so I find it is a good starting point.

Ingredients

about 1 pound chicken (you can also use pork or beef), cut into the usual "bite sized pieces"
3 cups of coconut milk.
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts (unsalted)
5 peeled, but whole, small onions.
5 small potatoes, peeled and partly boiled.
3 bay leaves,
5 cardamom seeds
a small piece of roasted cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate mixed with 2.5 tablespoons water
3 tablespoon lime juice
2-3 tablespoons Masaman curry paste.
about 1-3 teaspoons crushed garlic. (optional)

Method

Peel potatoes, boil them partly in a cooking pot for 10-15 minutes, and cut in 1 to 2-inch pieces.

Allow the coconut milk to separate and you will have about two cups of thick "cream" and one cup of
thin "milk". In a small saucepan bring the milk to a simmer and add the chicken or pork. If you are
using beef you will need another two cups of milk. Simmer the meat until it begins to become tender
(beef takes longer, hence the additional milk).

Put the coconut cream in a wok and bring to a boil, add the massaman paste and "stir fry" until the
flavor is brought out and maximized. Add the remaining cream and curry paste to the meat.

Add the peanuts. Taste and adjust the flavor until it is (just) sweet (by adding sugar), sour and salty
(by adding tamarind juice, lime juice and fish sauce).

Add the remaining ingredients and cook until cooked.

Note : the potatoes used in Thailand for this dish are a yellow fleshed sweet potato of the type sometimes
called a yam in the US. Western style potatoes can be used, but absorb less of the sauce and flavor.
The potatoes act as a "moderator" to reduce the heat of the curry, and should not be left out.

You can either serve it on a bed of Thai jasmine rice, or double the amount of potato and serve it alone.

Accompany it with a dressed green salad and a bowl of "ajad" (pickled cucumbers--see recipe below). The
traditional Thai table also offers chilis in fish sauce (Phrik nam pla--see below) chilis in vinegar (prik dong,
see below), and ground chilli (not to be confused with the powedered chilli mix sold as chilli powder in the US),
sugar, and often MSG. You can if you wish add about a teaspoon of MSG to the above recipe to bring out the
flavors, but we don't think it is necesary.

Ajad

4 tablespoons white rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2-3 tablespoons cucumber, very coarsely chopped, or sliced
2 shallots (purple onions) chopped
3-4 Thai chile peppers, thinly sliced

Combine the ingredients, and leave to stand overnight.

Nam pla prik

Put two thirds of a cup of Thai chile peppers or jalapeno peppers in a 1 pint jar, and fill with fish sauce.
Seal and keep for a week before using.

Prik dong

Put two thirds of a cup of sliced Thai chile peppers in a 1 pint jar, and fill with white rice vinegar.
We also offer a ready-made prik dong.

Enjoy cooking.

Mike

Northern Style Spicy Chicken Soup (Tom Yum Guy)

This version of Tom Yum soup (the popular Thai spicy soup) is eaten in the North of Thailand, it is made with chicken rather than the shrimp (tom yum gung) eaten in the south and coast. If you prefer chicken its a good spicy soup.

Remember: Soup in Thailand, like most Asian countries, is eaten communally-so share with friends along side another more filling rice or noodle dish.

Ingredients:

150 gms Corn Fed Chicken
8 Bird Chillies
2 Garlic Cloves
20 gms Lemon Grass
20 gms Galanga
4 Kaffir Citrus Leaves
2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
3 Tablspoons Tamarind Water
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
50 gms Straw Mushrooms
300 ml Water

Preparation
1. Put water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. Chop the lemon grass and galanga into 3cm lengths and add to the pot to make a soup base.
3. Pound the garlic and bird chillies and add into the soup.
4. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces, then add to the soup and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Cut the straw mushrooms into half and add to the soup.
6. Add the fish sauce, salt, tamarind water, lemon juice, and kaffir leaves into the soup and cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Serve With
Hot fragrant rice and iced cucumber.

Mike

Spicy Sardine Salad (Yum Bla Gapong)

Who doesn't have and old tin of sardines lurking in a kitchen cupboard?

Thai food can be overwhelming, with lots of strange ingredients and foreign vegetables. So here we have a very simple and very tasty recipe using sardines! We used sardines in oil, but you can also use sardines in tomato sauce, in which case you don't need the tomato puré. This should be served with fragrant Thai rice, but can also be served along with salads.

Ingredients:

2 Cans of Sardines in Oil
2 Teaspoons of Tomato Puré
20 gms Lemon Grass
20 gms Coriander Leaves
50 gms Onion
2 Red Chillis
2 Bird Chillis
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce

Preparation
1. Remove the sardines from the can.
2. Mix the oil from the can with the tomato puré in a small mixing bowl.
3. Slice the onion, lemon grass, and chilles, and add to the bowl.
4. Add the fish sauce and lemon juice and mix all the ingredients together well.
5. Pour over the sardines.
6. Chop the coriander put around the edge of the sardine plate.

Serve With
Hot rice or salads.

Mike