To hear it from the Brits (Aussies too) it was manna from heaven,
doused with salt and vinegar, wrapped up in newspaper and taken home under
your jacket for the equivalent of just 4 baht! "Central heating you
could eat" sighed a misty-eyed retiree.
But inflation has taken it’s toll on fish and chips the world over and
- 40 years on - 90 to 120 baht is the going rate in these parts for Britain’s
famous contribution to haute cuisine. Said retiree and I were sampling
the 90b offering at the new Fish n’Chip Shop on Ratchawitee Road,
right next door to Voodoo Lounge. Khun Soda and friends have just opened
this bright chippy-cum-bar, serving western breakfasts from 10.00am and
the great British take-away until 2.00am.
The chips are big-bite-sized and tasty, none of your sharp little French
fries so scorned north of the Channel. Equally vital, the fish here is
coated in batter or - slightly pricier - breadcrumbed and served with salad
and coleslaw. The red snapper, also known as red sea bass, is rather like
a flatter version of cod, firm and flavour-full with very little skin and
few bones. My companion pointed out authentic accessories such as pickled
eggs, pickled onions, white vinegar and HP Sauce as well as ketchup. The
only distraction during a satisfying supper was his pre-occupation with
Soda’s unusual decor, lower walls in orange being topped with white and
a pale green ceiling. "It reminds me of somewhere - and it’s a place
famous for fish and chips" quoth he, scratching his balding pate.
We were on the sidewalk, debating whether to finish off at Voodoo Lounge
or the Irish Pub when he suddenly exclaimed "Glasgow! It’s the same
colour inside as the Glasgow trams were outside - and that’s a city for
great fish suppers if ever there was one....." Bizarre coincidence
or subtle marketing, I wonder?
Don’t know how much Grand Prix watching it takes to turn your attention
from laps to lips but Sanuk Sanuk (in the little soi near Johns
Place at Thapae Gate) is a user-friendly place for such high tech testing.
Season-long they’re showing all the F1 qualifying, the races and repeats
and your 5th beer is free during the live coverage. May 7th it’s from Barcelona,
May 21st the Nurburgring.
* Head out of Chiangmai on the Old Lamphun Road and you’ll find that
eateries get thin on the ground as soon as you’re south of The Westin and
Nong Hoy market. Tired and hungry one night I’d crossed the Mahidon Road
3 year flyover project and began to despair until suddenly, up came the
Thai Kitchen on the right, opposite the neat little Caltex gas station.
I swung in between the fairy lights just before their 10.00pm closing time
and had a great value Thai meal of spicy beef salad followed by steamed
fish in spicy soup. Regular customers get a 15% discount without asking
but if you don’t read Thai, don’t miss that gas station!
* The rice-based Indian Biryani is a mild concoction involving chicken
or mutton, comparable with Thailand’s cow pat. Out at the main traffic
light junction in Borsang, the new Amena Biryani House offers the
chicken version at only 30b. With raisins and other sweet ingredients it’s
a pleasant, inexpensive change. Soft drinks and a wide range of ice cream
are the alternatives to beer in this light and airy Muslim establishment.
* In the small soi behind Chiang Inn Hotel, close to Khun Pandit’s excellent
Tel Aviv restaurant, is Bacchus bar/restaurant and massage
run by a charming big guy named Yai ("big")! The pad krapow guy
is hot and succulent in this cool and cosy place.
* If exotic ales and other exotic liquids catch your palate, a long
stop at The Red Lion
in Loi Kroh is in order. They’re not cheap but what a refreshing change!
Try Guinness and Boddingtons (in season); several dark bottled German wheat
beers; e-Thirty-Three extra strong cider (8.4%) from South Australia and/or
Two Dogs alcoholic lemonade from Adelaide. Refreshing, not too sweet and
not too weak at 4.2%.
It’s from the label on the neck of every
bottle of Two Dogs Lemon Brew, but in Very small print:
"Why do you ask? Mainly because
you have never seen these two great hounds doing a big six wheeler deep
in the lemon groves of Corkscrew Gulley."
Several tourists and expats are now locked in Bangkok’s
uncomfortable immigration detention centre because they have over-stayed
their visas. (...).
MISS
SUPAPORN. I am a single girl aged 27, single, 155cms
tall, 50kgs weight, do not drink & do not smoke. I like computers,
tour and travelling. (...).
Night
Fowl
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