He made sure to tell the server to keep everything "mae phet" which is less hot.
A tense moment passed as she quipped something in Thai that loosely and kindly translated meant the food would be neutered.
Meanwhile Ian decides after a decade of dislinking soda, that "Pepsi isn't too bad at all!"
The first dish on the table was a 'Laab' made with duck. This was a dish with raucous flavors that argue boorishly in your mouth! Not for the faint of heart, the aggressive contrasting flavors were deeply fascinating to us. Despite the neutering, it was still hot, but even Ian could hardly keep away from another bite.
The next dish was a bright and elegant Som Tham--green papaya salad. It had fresh blue-crabs from the sea that were lightly brined like ceviche.
Next up, this fiery, tangy soup was a twist on Tomyam called a Gaeng Som. We all liked this one too, especially Ian.
This one was supposed to be a fermented pork rib with naturally occurring tangy flavor, except that there was not much tang or flavor. Uncle Heng was quite disappointed. He said the dish should have a distinct pork flavor and assertive fermented tang like kosher pickles.
The ubiquitous tangy Thai Sausages were better, but Uncle Heng was still not impressed. The deep fried dried red chili offered much needed fiery and earthy smokiness to the insipid sausages and ribs.
Ian politely asked if he could polish off the fiery soup...I asked Uncle Heng about a Maeng. What came out was a plate fried, semi-dried mackerel to be eaten with a peanut sauce and chili sauce wrapped in Greenleaf Lettuce.
It was very tasty, but not the dessert-like Maeng I had hoped for with Pepper Leaves, dried shrimp, shredded toasted coconut and crushed peanut, but it was nice to have the fish!
On our way back to the car, we stopped to admire the landmark building with distinctive lights.
~ Shien
No comments:
Post a Comment