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Published: August 8th 2013
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I decided to do a little exploring in my neighborhood. I knew that north of me were some restaurants and food carts, but I wasn't sure what's open during dinner. I had also noted--the day I moved in--that there's a large market of sorts near my new home. But I hadn't gotten to check it out until now.
Armed with my older camera, I hit the street. I quickly remembered why I loved my old camera as much as I did... and why I love my new one more. The older one's a little easier to point, shoot, and run (for those sneaky shots) but the newer one takes far better photos in low light. I like to get shots of people just behaving normally, and it's hard to do that with a flash going off every few meters.
I started out on my street and walked up and around. Lots of little restaurants are open for dinner, too, it seems. Then, on the corner is the big market. I had no idea how large it really was.
It's huge. And it's full of people. I felt like I was in China again. Except that no one ran
into me full force with a sharp elbow.
Table after table sells fruits, veggies, eggs, meat, and treats. Some even sell cooked rice. Some have uncooked food, some have lots of prepared dishes you can order to take away. I can't say what a lot of it was, but I can say almost all of it looked delicious.
I kept walking, and around the corner there were more little restaurants on the street. Also, lots of shops open and selling clothes, small household items, and medicines. I stopped when the street shops seemed to run out and went back for some banana roti. I haven't seen my other guy lately, so finding a new one who seems a bit more permanent is a good thing. The women and girls at the next cart couldn't stop giggling over my enthusiasm.
Further up, I found a cart selling little white domes. The batter is poured with a tea pot into each little cup and then it's steamed. I tried to ask what it was, but only managed to get, "coconut," as an answer. The woman working also showed me some corn and spring onions. I thought it looked good,
so I got one order, which ended up being 3x what I wanted. But the price was good, so I don't feel too badly about it. They're a little sweet, but delicious.
I walked through the market again, trying to sneak photos this time. (The first time I was just trying to take it all in.) I also tried to get prices, since a lot of the produce seemed better priced than at Tesco. Most of the shopkeepers didn't seem to mind and a few even smiled for me. I got a few looks from other shoppers, though, but they were scowling at everyone.
Behind all of it is another market of some kind, but it looked like it was closed, so I guess I'll have to go back. Or perhaps it's just the prep area for all the food vendors.
Belly half-full, I walked back towards home, wanting to find the pad thai guy I'd seen earlier this week. His wife was making the pancake with mussels,
hoi tod and I decided to have that instead. (It was easy to point and say, "I want that.")
It turns out his wife speaks English, but they
were more than happy to serve me and tell me the food's name. The guy at the next cart kept grinning at me. And eventually, a man who I can only assume is a regular customer started trying to talk to me, but I think he was actually making fun of my terrible Thai. Ah, well.
Belly full, I walked home. I'm gonna eat well this year.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
The little coconut thingies are called...
kanom croque (like the French word). It's one of my favorite treats, the others being mangoes and sticky rice, sunkaiya (a greyish custard over sticky rice), and salim (clear sweet noodles in an icy coconut based juice). Just try some of everything!