Food and Drink

Last night we had an ATC company party, our first of 2009. My assistant Aom, pictured above, has just graduated from college, so we celebrated at one of the ubiquitous riverside restaurants here on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

What happened? Why do I have such a sanguine appearance? My face may look similar after I eat the SHOCK potato chips, but I am sweating here as if I were just removed from the shower.

If anything in the snack aisle of 7-11 is going to hurt you, it may be the SHOCK potato chips (crisps) from Lay. I found all the warning labels irresistible and promptly bought a package the first time I came across this new flavor.

Last summer the Mango Crunky ice cream bar was a fleeting sensation in the convenience stores across Japan. This summer the Mango Tango bar was released in Thailand, and it provides the same intense mango taste, sans the crunky chocolate.

So you might be wondering what I eat on a normal day at Sam Khok. The “nu naa” rats from the rice paddy fields are not available every day, and of course my low-calorie rat-based diet plan doesn’t actually involve consumption of the rats.

When you see this sign at the roadside, you know that grilled rats, fresh from the rice fields, are waiting for you in the vicinity. I went to Korat today and sure enough the Saturday rat special was available from many vendors.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the weekend phenomenon of grilled rats at the roadside. There was considerable interest in this specialty. One of my closest friends resolved not to read my blog anymore.

I enjoy the food from many roadside vendors, especially the noodles or sometimes som tam (green papaya salad) or fresh fruit. Occasionally I’ll have a dessert that must be some sort of congealed and fried coconut milk.

I had a healthy Thanksgiving dinner of vegetables, fried rice, salad, an omelette, and white wine. The food was special (for me) compared with my usual meal of fruit and peanuts or other readily-consumed

 I was at Okinawa earlier this month and had some interesting food, including fresh goat meat (yagi). I also had fresh horse meat (uma), and we finished our meal with uma soup.