Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

1. Ruby-red fresh pomegranates to be juiced. Frying the savoury peanut crackers and loving every second of it. Lap chup; the jelly-like colourful desserts made from mung bean and coconut milk; with a liberal palette of artificial colours. Rice crackers dotted with black sesame.

I knew you wanted more. And here are the rest of the beautiful shots of food and life on the streets of Bangkok ….. you DON’T want to miss the last chapter of this series. Trust me.

2. Crazy they ain’t. But the locals are indeed, a very religious lot and brought up in a very strong culture of respect; praying to deities and ancestors. (Taken at the famous Erawan Shrine aka Four-Faced Buddha in city centre)

3. Flowers. Beads. Incense sticks.

4. Fried Pork with curry leaves. Smoked pork sausages and MANY other varieties of pork sausages; infused with chili, spices and more. Delicious stuff with a very lean, meaty bite instead of flour and fillers. Found at a random roadside stall just outside of Sam Yan MRT Station.

5. Thai-style of poached chicken rice (Khao Man Gai). Steamed duck noodles. Fresh strawberries going for as little as 20 baht/RM2 per cup.

6. A coil of ridiculously appalling yet alluring pork sausages heavily spiced and usually padded with sticky rice. The inclusion (usually) of innards and herbs may put some off, if you’re not fond of extremely robust flavours.

7. Somehow, these reminded me of Kelantan’s famous ‘bunga tanjong’ desserts (Read my posts on Kelantan Delights and Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah for a more thorough explanation on what these golden morsels are)

8. McDonald’s Samurai PORK Burger which obviously … you cannot find here. McD in Bangkok serves pretty good coffee too, and beats me why the coffee here is limited only to hot ones in the mornings. The UCC Cafe City 21 at Siam Centre serves up a variety of the famous Japanese brand of coffee; yet a bit too sweet to my liking.

9. This uncle was whipping up a storm … creating bowls of icy delights; almost mimicking the classic Ipoh’s Sek Lau Zhi (read this post of Ais Sagu from Pasir Pinji for a clearer idea) but sweeter (again) with ample decadence from the liberal use of coconut milk. (@ Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok)

10. Breakfast Spread @ i Residence Hotel, Silom.

11. Mark of a REALLY fresh tangerine juice by the streets, and making sure that NO water and NO sugar was added? Witness the whole process before bottling for you. Taken at a corner in front of 7-11 near to i Residences Silom. Tangy, zesty with a pinch of salt to reduce the sourness, and very refreshing. 20 baht/RM2 for a bottle of about 400mL.

12. The sheer abundance of fresh, tropical fruits everywhere is amazing. Even daunting, with picture-perfect aesthetics, one can’t be blamed for being skeptical and mistaking the glossy fruits to be … too good to be true.

13. No idea what these are, but appeared to be a Thai rendition of our favourite ‘apom’ here in Malaysia.

14. Roast pork and sliced caramelized Char Siew with rice, and beef noodles for lunch at this food court with good aeration and populated by about 10 stalls a few steps away from i Residences. The lunch crowd was surprisingly active here; with equal distribution of school goers and blue-collared workers.

15. Fresh Cherries. Boiled Peanuts and Grilled Bananas. There’s just NO stopping their salivary gland from reaching overdrive time and again.

16. Oh .. and almost everywhere is Canine-Friendly. Except hotels and enclosed restaurants, of course. Loving these stares from random poodles, retrievers and beagles to bits.

** For the complete serial of posts this sumptuous journey through the heart of Thailand; don’t miss this Bangkok 2012 Saga.

** Bangkok’s streets are packed with stalls selling almost similar items; hence you can find most of the above on lanes, alleys and even main roads populated by traders come day or night. Follow your nose and that foodie instinct in you, and you shall survive …..

** To the East Coast (Kota Bharu, Kelantan) tomorrow. Let’s hope that the trip would be fruitful, in every sense of the word.