“Historically, Thailand was "the Venice of the East" whereby water transport was the primary means of long distance transport of goods. If fact, the canal system in Bangkok and elsewhere was far more extensive than ever existed in Venice”. If you look at a good Bangkok map, you will be amazed at the extent of the criss-cross grid. The Thai word "klong" means "canal" and shall be used hereafter. The 20th century saw a rapid transformation to surface vehicle transport. In fact, many of the main roads of today are just filled-in klongs. Since klongs weren't owned by anyone, loosely speaking, it was easier to fill them in to make roads than to displace people. For example, Silom, Sathorn, Phloenchit, Sukhumvit and Asoke are just a few of the filled in klongs. Many places are named ... read more

Another photo round in China Town. After school Ratch, better known as Richie, said that she would show me where to get the traditional Chinese food carry-ons so I don’t have to use the non-evironmentally friendly plastic bags anymore. We were going to meet in Huag Lampong Station which is the last MRT station that takes you to the entrance to China Town. She texted me when she was on her way…I ran to catch the train! And surprise when I got in she was sitting in the same wagon. How awesome is that. We were laughing for a while. She took me through the Chinese market that is very hard to find unless you are a local and I tried to snap some shots as we were walking. Don’t think I got anything. Besides I ... read more

DIPPING SAUCE: YUM COLLECTION 5g – 3 Bird Eye Chili 15g-1 Shallot 1 Garlic Clove 20g Cashews 1 Spring Onion 1 Coriander Leaf 1 ½ Limes cut Thai style 20g Mango and carrot shredded 100g of deep fried fish. Crush all ingredients in a mortar. SALAD DRESSING: YUM COLLECTION (NOTE: Use with any salad) Squeeze lime 1T Fish sauce 1 ½ Sugar Syrop Mix garlic, Chili, Shallots, spring onion, mango and carrots. Preparation Rehydrate fish meat with a cup of oil and deep fry again. Don’t stir. Scoop out, let it solidify and serve over sliced cabbage. Dress the sliced cabbage with the fish, and garnish with shallots, peanuts and coriander. Serve with dressing in a saucer on the side.... read more

PASTE 15g Dry Chili Re-hydrated 1 Lemongrass 4g Galangal 6g Garlic 9g Shallots 2g Kaffir Lime skin 1/2t white peppercorn 1T Shrimp Paste 1t Salt INGREDIENTS: ½ Kaffir lime (To squeeze juice) 100g of pork belly 2 leaves of Kaffir lime 4 leaves of swamp cabbage 4 leaves of Reg Cabbage ½ cup of Coconut Cream PREPARATION In a wok add: 1 T of oil. 1T paste and coconut cream. Then add ½ cup of chicken stock. Turn to high heat and boil. Add pork belly. Cook until pork is well cooked then add swamp cabbage. Seasoning: 1T Tamarind Sauce ½ Palm Sugar ½ Fish Sauce Squeeze kaffir lime and add the shell to the dish. Taste and turn heat down Add 2T Coconut Cream and 1/2cup of chicken stock if necessary.... read more

After we were all finished with the cooking class day. The chef instructor from the Pro-Chef class took all of us to a fun excursion to one of the biggest and nicest Thai markets in Bankok. Kamphaeng Phet Market in Bangkok is located by the subway stop that has its name on exit 2. Full of colors, people, textures….lots of photo opportunites that would make you want to play all day. I kept falling behing the group and didn’t see anything that was shown to them as far as local fruits and vegetables but I had my own fun playing with dof. Ranked the 4th best fresh market in the world by a famous travel guide, Or Tor Kor is so much more than a local market. Products displayed here are selected among the best found ... read more