Food and Drink

Siracha has some of the most famous seafood restaurants in a country full of excellent seafood restaurants. I was at Chonburi yesterday and stopped at the Moom Aroi restaurant beside the Gulf of Thailand after going to Laem Chaebang Golf Club.

I have suggested that falling durian fruit are indubitably lethal, tried to avoid Gradgrindery in my description of the fruit, and noted that my home without durian is a bleak house indeed.

Mangosteens are well-known as “the queen of fruits,” and durian claims the moniker “king of fruits,” but what of the rambutan? Surely the rambutan deserves a catchy nickname as well?

If anyone should question my skills at obtaining fruit from a variety of trees, including the massive rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) shown here, please refer to the title of this post. Peter Ackroyd wrote that Charles Dickens “always possessed a grandiose but not necessarily misplaced confidence in his own powers and perseverance,” and I feel the same when it comes to tropical fruit trees.

An astute reader has questioned the veracity of my claims about the Sam Khok diet. In particular, she wondered if my slender appearance was somehow enhanced by the vertical stripes of my shirt.

The Sam Khok diet will be most effective if practiced in conjunction with a rigorous program of exercise. I find the clement Thailand winters to be ideal for piscine exercises.

A qualified yes. Just make sure you add crispy fried basil and a substantial portion of red peppers. My general rule of thumb is one part red peppers to four parts crispy rice.

I have been asked about eggs and the Sam Khok diet; can I eat eggs when on this diet? Yes, a resounding yes to that, as long as they are duck eggs, and in particular I recommend the salted duck eggs shown above.

When I was younger, I was, by all accounts, a large child, with multiple chins, small muscles, and a weakness for sweet foods. At my heaviest, so prominent were my double and triple chins that I appeared to be without a neck.

A not insignificant advantage of the Sam Khok diet is my ability to eat at will when away from Sam Khok, as I did this weekend at the Amphawa floating market in Samut Songkram province.