Omaha

Posted on 11 July 2010 by christao408

Before heading to Kansas City and the craziness that two young nieces can create, I drove north to Omaha for two days of acclimating to the American Midwest with Andy and Sugi. (Better pics of the events on Andy’s blog.) Since we first met a year ago when we were in the Omaha area for our wedding, Tawn and I have enjoyed having the opportunity to see Andy and Sugi several times, including in Taiwan last November.

Thursday evening shortly after I arrived, we headed out to Shucks Oyster Bar and Fish House to join Sugi’s sister, brother-in-law, and niece for Thursday Fish Taco Night.

A dozen oysters on the half-shell. Delicious.

Fried fish tacos (also fried shrimp tacos) had a nice batter with just a hint of spice. Different from the Baja-style fish tacos that I’m used to from San Diego, these were very tasty, too.

Thanks to a Tylenol PM, my second night in the US was a good one, sleeping straight through for about seven hours. Sometimes I find that the best way to fight jet lag is to beat it into submission with some medication. Sugi and Andy had both taken Friday off from work and we had a full day planned. But first, some breakfast.

Baily’s restaurant specializes in Eggs Benedict, including this type with a slab of tomato and thick slices of smoked bacon. The eggs were perfectly cooked with a firm white and a golden liquid yolk.

Our first stop was the Strategic Air and Space Museum a few miles west of town. The museum focuses primarily on the history of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), the operational establishment in charge of America’s land-based strategic bomber aircraft and nuclear missiles until 1992, after which a military reorganization led to the closure of SAC.

As an aviation enthusiast, I found the museum very interesting. Even people who aren’t so interested in aviation – Sugi, for example – enjoyed the visit as we went on a docent-led tour with Bob, a former Korean War pilot who had a wealth of information and a cute sense of humor.

Andy and Sugi in front of the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane which is dramatically displayed in the museum’s entry lobby. The museum has two hangars with about two-dozen aircraft displayed, many of which have been expertly restored.

C-47 Skytrain, the military version of the classic Douglas DC-3 passenger aircraft. Over 10,000 were built for World War II and General (later President) Eisenhower identified the C-47 as one of four pieces of equipment critical in winning the war. The other three were the jeep, the bazooka, and the atom bomb.

B-1A Lancer – This bomber was actually one of four prototypes built to test all of the systems before full production of the bombers – redesignated the B-1B – began.

F-101B Voodoo – an all-weather fighter/interceptor designed to protect America from incursions over the North Pole from Russia. Was also operated by the Canadian Air Force.

B-17G Flying Fortress – A heavy bomber that was critical to America’s success in World War II. More than 12,700 were made and more than 4,700 were lost in combat missions.

B-25N Mitchell – A medium bomber that was made famous by Doolittle’s Raid on Tokyo, a 1942 surprise attack by 16 B-25 bombers launched from an aircraft carrier hitting five cities in Japan. The success in this attack helped lift the sagging American morale in the wake of Pearl Harbor and damaged morale of the Japanese civilian population, who had been told that their homeland would never be reached by bombers.

After a few hours at the museum, including a disturbing special exhibit about the Nazi’s eugenics experiments and extermination programs, we drove further west to Lincoln and visited the James Arthur vineyards. Yes, wine in Nebraska!

The tasting room (and the winery behind it) is located atop a small hill with a cute garden around it, the perfect place for an afternoon tipple.

We tried tastings of a half-dozen different wines along with a sampling of local cheese produced by the University of Nebraska’s agricultural department. The best of the James Arthur wines were the semi-sweet whites, the grapes of which are well-suited to this climate. The reds were not as good.

Beautiful skies and rolling fields of corn and soybeans lent a pastoral look to the passing landscape.

After the wine tasting we drove to Sugi’s parents’ house on the north side of Omaha. Sugi’s sister was celebrating her birthday and I was fortunate enough to be invited along. They live on 20 rural acres with a sweeping view of the countryside.

Sugi’s mother prepared an elaborate dinner including baked lobster tails, grilled beef teriyaki, and clams boiled in a garlic-sake broth. She didn’t want any pictures taken, but Andy and I both managed to snap a few shots.

Sugi’s mother is passionate about horses and has two that she trains and shows. Taylor, her niece, loves the horses and they seem equally fond of her, following her from the barn to the exercise yard. They probably know that she usually comes bearing carrots!

Taylor riding bareback on Callie, a beautiful 13-year old mare. Lest you worry for her safety, Callie’s grandfather was standing in the back of the picture, cleverly hidden, holding her leg.

Cowgirl Taylor is eager to ride the open range.

Sunday morning after another relaxing night’s sleep Andy, Sugi, and I went for breakfast at WheatField’s, a local chain of German bakery restaurants. The selection of baked goods was overwhelming.

The cute indoor patio seating area, which was a bit over air-conditioned.

Wanting to enjoy some fresh seasonal fruit I had the peach crepes for breakfast. As pretty as it looks, the dish was a little disappointing. The flavor was very one-dimensional and about one-quarter of the plate would have been more than enough. The yogurt they drizzled on top wasn’t substantial enough to add anything to the overall flavor.

Andy ordered a seven-piece serving of Ron’s Honey-Drizzled Fried Chicken. It was really well-prepared and the honey does add a nice touch. You’ll be glad to know that Andy did take a few pieces home.

Sugi’s choice was probably the best – half egg salad and half chicken salad with a side of homemade chicken mushroom soup. You can tell how cold it is in the dining room by noticing that a skin was already forming on the soup’s surface.

After that filling breakfast I hit the road for the three-hour drive back to Kansas City. Thanks again to Sugi and Andy for a wonderful start to my visit.

Flight to Los Angeles

Posted on 9 July 2010 by christao408

The flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles (and then on to Kansas City) was smooth, thankfully. I flew EVA Air, a Taiwanese airline that I fly regularly. Service was good, prices competitive, and the food actually was pretty tasty, too.

Since I fly back to the US about twice a year, I qualify for “silver” status in their mileage program. One thing I like about EVA, something that sets it apart from most airlines, is that silver tier status gives you lounge access. When having to show up to the airport so many hours in advance and having long connection times, having access to a lounge is nice. The picture above is the one in Bangkok, which is by far the nicest of the EVA lounges that I’ve seen.

Good selection of food in the lounge, including this gaeng kiaw waan gai – sweet green chicken curry with rice. Really tasty!

P1040712

In Taipei I had a four-hour connection and had some time to look at a display they have celebrating Taiwanese ceramic arts.

This piece is called Skeletal Bottle, by New Zealander Peter Collis. Beautiful, no?

Beautiful serving bowls. Wish I could have bought one.

They have three pieces, one unglazed, one with the decoration partially painted, and a finished piece that has been glazed and fired.

On my flight from Taipei to Los Angeles I had booked economy class, which on EVA’s 747 includes seating in the upper deck. The seats up here have about 35 inches of pitch, versus 33 inches downstairs. Compare that to 31 inches in economy class on most US and western airlines. I asked for an exit row seat and got the “window” seat right next to the exit door. Great legroom but no window. Plus, there is a little “exit’ sign that was right above the armrest, and kind of restricted where I could put my arm. Probably should have just stuck with the aisle seat I had a few rows forward.

Not complaining, though. The seat was pretty comfortable, I was able to sleep about five hours on the eleven hour flight, and the selection of films was good.

Ann Landersish – What to Make of this Dilemma?

Posted on 7 July 2010 by christao408

Just before heading to the US for my grandparents’ 90th birthdays, I received an interesting message in my inbox. It seems I’m turning into an ersatz Ann Landers. What advice would you give this guy, whom we will call Reader X?

Long-lost relatives?

Hello Chris. You and Tawn both seem to have really insightful perspectives on life. I have been reading your blog for a few years. I never comment on your entries though. Hopefully your wisdom and advice will guide me through this dilemma. You could even post it on your blog to see how other readers would do in my situation. But please keep me anonymous. Thank you!

I have been taking road trips with this group of friends every summer (about 6 of them) for a few years. This year I was excluded and never invited. In fact I didn’t even know that they were on a trip until they updated their facebook statuses.

Considering all the planning and coordination involved, I am pretty sure they didn’t just simply forget to invite me.

My questions are:

1) Should I confront them or play dumb?
2) Should I even hang out with this group of friends anymore? I would think that by excluding someone deliberately was an obvious hint that they didn’t want that person in the group anymore. Would I appear clueless and stupid if I hang out with them again?

…

Now, I responded with some initial thoughts to Reader X, which I won’t share with you at the moment. The next day, he replied with the following message:

Hi Chris. Thanks for the reply. … It would be great if you could present your readers my dilemma. Sorry I don’t mean to hijack your blog. Your readers seem really mature and level-headed when facing life problems as well.

I decided to hear the truth so I messaged one of the girls in the group. I said “I can’t help but notice that I wasn’t invited on the trip. I’d like to know why. I’m prepared to accept any answer, but I want to hear it from you.”

She said it was thrown together quickly. But with hotel booking and coordinating each other’s schedule, it definitely didn’t happen spontaneously. In the past, they would plan the trips weeks ahead.

Then she said they only had one car. That explanation doesn’t really make sense because they know I have a car as well. Also why would they invite 6 people in the first place when the car could only accommodate 5. The explanation is clearly flawed.

So what now? Accept and believe. Or accept and move on?

…

So let’s put it to you, the “mature and level-headed” readers of my blog. What initial advice would you have given Reader X and, now that he’s confronted one of the girls who left him behind, what advice would you give him for going forward?

Escape the Rains

Posted on 7 July 2010 by christao408

A news report in Wednesday’s paper indicated that a weak La Niña system is building up in the western Pacific, which will result in heavier than normal rainfall throughout Asia. Sure enough seems to be the case here in Bangkok where, despite reports of a severe drought in the northeast of the country, we have had quite a bit of rain to kick off rainy season.

Late Monday morning we had several hours of nonstop torrential rain, much more than we usually get at one time. As you can see from the picture taken from my balcony, the soi (alley) on which we live was flooded enough to brush the undersides of passing taxis.

My poor maid was caught in the rain while eating lunch on her way from one of the other houses she cleans to our condo. She was eating at a streetside vendor and stayed there under and umbrella, hoping to wait it out. When the vendor asked where she was heading, he shook his head and told her that the area floods and that she had better head out right there and then, or else abandon all hope.

Sure enough, when she arrived at the condo she was soaked. I told her that next time it is raining so hard she should just call and cancel; no need to brave the floods. A bit later she pointed out that where she lives out by Sukhumvit Soi 101, the sois don’t flood. With all the expensive condos around here, she tsked, the streets shouldn’t flood.

So much for location, location, location!

I’m headed to the airport. Talk to you soon.

Food in BKK: Rex Hotel

Posted on 6 July 2010 by christao408

Yesterday I promised a retro meal and this is just the place for it: the Rex Hotel, an establishment that dates from the 1960s, one of a large number of hotels that offered fixed rates for foreign GIs who were on rest and relaxation breaks during the Vietnam War. The Rex Hotel is still in business, still owned by the original family, in fact. It has undergone some remodels but has never lost that 1960s charm. Its coffee shop, the Rexa Coffee Hall, is still famous for its khao tom, boiled rice.

Located on Sukhumvit Road between Sukhumvit Soi 32 and 34, the Rex Hotel is just a short walk from the Thong Lo BTS Skytrain station.

Despite fresh coats of paint, the Rexa Coffee Hall screams 1960s with its delightfully unselfconscious menu design, booth upholstery, and table dividers.

We ate at an off hour and there was only one other group dining. The Rex Hotel focuses mostly on package tour groups these days and with tourism way down, I’m sure there is a low occupancy level. Notice the staff, wearing the classic red jackets and bow ties.

The Rexa Coffee Hall has a wide menu of both Thai and Western items – eight types of sandwiches, for example – all of which are decent without being flashy and all of which are inexpensive. They are most famous for their boiled rice, khao tom, a Thai breakfast favorite. The rice porridge is served with a variety of side dishes. You can mix and match to get whatever flavors you want to contrast with the backdrop of bland rice.

One must-try is jab chai, which literally means “leftovers”. A mixture of whatever is left over, the Rexa’s version includes bitter greens stewed with tofu, pork belly, and chicken feet. Not very pretty but it is very tasty.

Pad tua ngoc – Bean sprouts stir-fried with pork and tofu. Clean flavors and very refreshing.

Kai jiaow – omelet with fried pork Omelets here are fried in plenty of oil but they always seem to come out without being oily. I guess they keep the pan really hot.

Finally, my choice, some gun chien tod – Fried sweet Chinese sausage

The Rexa is going to get some return visits from me. With a menu so inexpensive and varied and a location so close to my home, it would be a good break for when I need to get out of the house for lunch.

I’m on my way to the United States today so there may be a few days without an entry. Stay tuned, though. Next stop, Omaha.

Nongmon Market in Chonburi

Posted on 5 July 2010 by christao408

In yesterday’s post about eating seafood, I mentioned that after eating we went for a stroll through the adjacent market. Nongmon Market is in Chonburi province, a coastal province southeast of Bangkok. Like all markets, there is a lot to see, plenty of pictures to take, and not a few things to try eating … if you are brave enough!

A view down one section of the market, which stretches over several blocks. It is a busy place and if you aren’t careful you could easily get run down by a motorbike.

It is all about the fresh seafood. Here are some very large prawns, ready to be grilled.

There are many kinds of fish available. I watched for a minute as this skilled fishmonger quickly cut the tails and fins off the fish, moving as rapidly as a machine.

There were bushels full of hoy dong – marinated/pickled clams that are a popular dish.

Lots of vendors sell hor mok – a fish mousse steamed in a banana leaf or mussel shell. Tawn made this for me using salmon shortly after he moved to San Francisco in late 2000. It was tasty, but I have to say that he struggled to find a banana leaf to use.

Visiting the market is fun for the entire family – especially when you can get four members of the family squeezed onto a motorbike. See the second child in there?

A sweet treat called khanom jaak – The leaf is”bai jak”, a type of palm frond. A mixture of shredded coconut, palm sugar, and coconut milk is folded inside the leaf then it is grilled until it becomes a sticky, toffee-like mass. Tasty stuff. Watch out for the staples.

Dried shrimp – Thais use these in dishes like nam prik (chili dipping sauce) and som tam (green papaya salad) to add a salty and fishy flavor.

A fruit vendor slicing up fruit to go. The orange fruit above the pineapple is called gratawn – a summer fruit with a bitter, tangy exterior layer of flesh. Closer to the seed it is very sweet with a cottony flesh. The bananas in the lower right are known as gluay nam waa, which has a sticky flesh similar to a plantain. There are many different varieties of banana here.

Finally a dessert called khanom chan – “layer dessert” – a jello-like dessert, very auspicious for promotions and other things where you go up a level. The green flavor is pandan leaf and blue flavor is an-chan, a type of flower also known as clitoria ternatea.

I hope you enjoyed the stroll through the market. Tomorrow, a retro 60s meal back in Bangkok.

Dining in Chonburi: Seafood Extravaganza

Posted on 4 July 2010 by christao408

The family of one of Tawn’s university friends owns a famous seafood restaurant in Chonburi province, about a 90-minute drive southeast of Bangkok. In all the years he has known her, Tawn has never been down to visit the restaurant. A few weeks ago we decided to finally accept the friend’s offer and drove to the restaurant. It was, to say the least, a seafood extravaganza.

The unassuming restaurant is in a busy market area near the Gulf of Thailand. An open-air shop house, the restaurant looks like it has been there for ages, which it has. It is clean but not fancy. The counter between the kitchen and the dining area is lined with bottles of their homemade chili sauce, a Warhol-esque decorating statement. Large photos of the dishes on the menu line the walls.

The first thing to be placed on the granite tables are a trio of sauces: the homemade chili on the left, a sweet “plum” sauce in the back, and a fish sauce with chilies. The small green chilies in the fish sauces are called prik kii nuu in Thai – literally, “mouse shit chilies”.

The restaurant’s specialty is a kind of seafood sausage, if you will. It comes in two types: Hoy jaew is the round one, and is made of crab meat; Hae gun is the flat one and is made of shrimp. Both are wrapped in tofu skins and steamed then deep fried.

Another batch almost ready to come out of the deep-fryer.

And interior shot of the hoy jaw – basically a crab cake. Large chunks of fresh crab meat.

Another menu item the restaurant is famous for is the bpuu jaa – crab shells stuffed with a mixture of crab meat and pork, then fried. The flavor is especially good at this restaurant because they mix the meat with coconut milk.

Goong ob wuun sen – baked vermicelli with prawns with a sauce made from oyster sauce, cilantro, and ginger. The secret ingredient is pork fat, which lines the clay pot to prevent ingredients from sticking while the dish is baked. As it is served, the dish is stirred and the melted pork fat is distributed over the noodles, which absorbs it. Yummy!

Tom yum talae – Traditionally “tom yum” soup with fresh seafood. Moderately spicy with a tamarind flavored broth.

Khao pad bpuu – Stir fried rice with crab meat. The owner spoiled us by making it stir fried crab meat with a little bit of rice in it. Tasty!

Plaa muk kai tod gratiam – Young squid that are filled with squid roe, fried in a sweet sauce and topped with fried garlic.

Plaa tod – Cotton fish filleted and fried…

and topped with yam mamuang – a sauce of green mango, carrots, cilantro, chilies, and dried shrimp mixed with fish sauce and lime juice. Perfect with the fish and not as spicy as you might expect.

The star of the show, a basket of steamed crab!

The mother of Tawn’s friend as an expert at cracking and peeling crab. She sat there at the table and opened a half-dozen crabs for us, making the choice bits easily accessible. Normally, crab is something I won’t bother with if I have to peel the shells and pick out the meat myself because it seems more work than it is worth. But with an expert peeling them – well, I’m all in!

Sauce of death! Chilies (loads of the “mouse shit” variety) blended with lime juice, fish sauce, and not much else. This is super spicy. And really good with the crab meat.

The strange interior membrane of the crab, which I was encouraged to try. Very astringent, briny flavor and not something I’ll have again.

For the most part, the food wasn’t very spicy but was really tasty. The sauce for the crab, though, is just spicy. There’s no two ways about it. This required a lot of water with lots of ice to cool down the mouth!

Growing up in the US, I didn’t eat a lot of seafood while I was growing up. I only came to appreciate it once I started having really fresh seafood prepared in simple ways that emphasize the freshness and flavor of the meat. Needless to say, this restaurant reinforced all the great things about seafood.

For dessert, some khanom niaow – basically, a Thai-style mochi (pounded sticky rice) served with a palm sugar sauce and fried cooked rice.

After lunch we strolled around the local market. I’ll share those photos tomorrow.

Happy Fourth

Posted on 3 July 2010 by christao408

Happy Fourth of July to everyone, especially the Americans in the crowd. Here in Bangkok it isn’t a holiday, of course, but the American Chamber of Commerce hosts an annual celebration, which was on Saturday. I was there for about four hours, volunteering to sell raffle tickets. We had cloudy weather with the threat of rain, which kept the Bangkok temperatures much lower than full-on sunshine.

I have three posts in the queue, written but not ready for posting since I need Tawn to clarify the Thai names of things. They are all food posts, so your wait for food porn will not be long!

My recent post on Gay Pride ended up on the front page – thanks to all of you who recommended it. The result is that there are many new subscribers to my blog. Welcome everyone! When I first start reading a blog, I’m always curious who the person is, what their back-story is, etc. A while back I wrote a post that addresses that, kind of a “Getting to Know Me” post. If you’d like to check it out, the link is here.

This Wednesday I’ll be traveling to the United States for two weeks. This will be a combination of a business trip and a family reunion, as my maternal grandparents are celebrating their 90th birthdays and their 67th wedding anniversary. What’s really amazing is not that they’ve made it to 90, but how active they both are. I guess age has a harder time catching up with you if you keep moving!

Tawn, unfortunately, will not be traveling back with me. This week has transitions to a part-time role at his job, something he has been wanting to do for more than a year. His work, in public relations, is both very rewarding for him and very stressful. Hopefully, part time will give him more time to explore other interests and also to see his parents. As their only child, I know they don’t see enough of him.

Reducing work will mean reducing salary, and we’re going to have to see how that impacts our life. That’s one of the main reasons I’m traveling to the US solo on this trip. We’ve done our planning and put a lot into savings, so I think we’ll be able to make the transition without too much trouble. But there’s always a little bit of stress knowing that the paychecks will be smaller in the future.

One geeky thing I’m looking forward to on the flight over is that I’m flying EVA Air through Los Angeles. The particular days I’m flying, they are operating their B747-400 aircraft. Unlike most airlines, which put business class or first class in the upper deck, EVA actually has economy class, and the seats there have about four extra inches of legroom compared with downstairs economy. Normally I fly their premium economy but when I saw which aircraft was being operated, I realized I could save several hundred dollars and still get much of the extra legroom. Let’s hope they don’t change planes on me!

Okay, aviation geek moment over…

Enjoy your weekend. I’ll get the first of those food posts up today.

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

Monthly Archives: July 2010