IT'S NOT THAT we haven't anything better to do, but a group of friends got together and decided to make a quick overnight trip to Haadjai - what else can a foodie do but agree to join them. Thai food is, after all, my absolute favourite cuisine.
After what seemed like forever (it's fun, but much slower, with a large group) we finally checked into the hotel and were out again to have our first Thai meal of the year at "59", a Thai-Teochew restaurant in town.
They suggested "less spicy" food for us "foreigners" but we soon put them right ... "No lah! Must be THAI ... just a bit less chilli!". Ya we chickened out slightly. However the food was really quite good. We had Steamed Fish Thai Style with the green sour chilli paste (mmm just thinking about it made me salivate); claypot prawns and glass noodles; taukua with leeks, and braised trotters. The only slight disappointment was the Belacan Kang Kong - ours is much better in Penang.
A friend who has Thai blood was a bit disappointed as she was expecting THAI Thai food, not Teochew Thai food. However, I think there is very little distinction between the two: they just eat it much hotter, but the food is very similar. And considering there were 11 of us and 4 bottles of beer had been consumed together with sugar cane water (their speciality), the bill of about 2000 baht (approx RM200) was very reasonable.
That evening, we went to a seafood place: much too much food; slightly cheaper but not as good I felt. The fried rice was very disappointing (no "wok hei"), and the chilli crab didn't have much aroma although the seafood was fresh.
On the way back we stopped at the border for a quick lunch: fried rice, mee and bee hoon. Again, not really bril. I think they are good for some things (their sour and spicy dishes) but we knock the socks off them for others.
Still, overall, I can't wait to go back for another Thai Take!
After what seemed like forever (it's fun, but much slower, with a large group) we finally checked into the hotel and were out again to have our first Thai meal of the year at "59", a Thai-Teochew restaurant in town.
They suggested "less spicy" food for us "foreigners" but we soon put them right ... "No lah! Must be THAI ... just a bit less chilli!". Ya we chickened out slightly. However the food was really quite good. We had Steamed Fish Thai Style with the green sour chilli paste (mmm just thinking about it made me salivate); claypot prawns and glass noodles; taukua with leeks, and braised trotters. The only slight disappointment was the Belacan Kang Kong - ours is much better in Penang.
A friend who has Thai blood was a bit disappointed as she was expecting THAI Thai food, not Teochew Thai food. However, I think there is very little distinction between the two: they just eat it much hotter, but the food is very similar. And considering there were 11 of us and 4 bottles of beer had been consumed together with sugar cane water (their speciality), the bill of about 2000 baht (approx RM200) was very reasonable.
That evening, we went to a seafood place: much too much food; slightly cheaper but not as good I felt. The fried rice was very disappointing (no "wok hei"), and the chilli crab didn't have much aroma although the seafood was fresh.
On the way back we stopped at the border for a quick lunch: fried rice, mee and bee hoon. Again, not really bril. I think they are good for some things (their sour and spicy dishes) but we knock the socks off them for others.
Still, overall, I can't wait to go back for another Thai Take!
