Ode to Thai Food

I've been eating the most incredible food. As soon as I arrived yesterday (well, after getting internet in order -- gotta have priorities!), I went to dinner with one of my colleagues on the broader Joint Learning Network project.

To call the dish pad see ew would be doing it a disservice, since it was likely the best noodle dish I've had in recent history. Broad flat rice noodles, stir fried in soy sauce and served with delicious greens like spinach, asparagus, and spring onions, topped with chicken and shrimp.

My favorite were all the accompaniments that come with it -- limes on the side, along with one small dish of red chilis, another of vinegar, another of fish oil, and a last one of sugar (okay, I wasn't a big fan of the last two). But what I love about Thai food done well is that, similar to Vietnamese food, it's all about balancing all the various tastes to create an even richer experience. Hence, the sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

Tonight's dinner was at a nearby noodle restaurant. Walking along the highway, we passed a long row of street food vendors, which I had to say, smelled absolutely incredible. There was lots of mixing going on in woks, fried animal parts hanging, and spices galore. If not for my peanut allergy and abismal Thai (I think I've finally got "thank you", but I can't be sure) -- I may have been tempted to try. My colleague, Derek, certainly was -- until Kalipso reminded him that the city barely has clean water due to the floods, so probably wasn't the best idea.

At the restaurant, I ordered green noodles (yes, you read that correctly), topped with crispy fried duck, shrimp wontons, and again -- a whole array of spices to choose from. The mushroom soup was comfort food, and the dim sum was delicious. And my banana shake was like a dessert!

Easy verdict: I'd have no trouble gaining weight here!