Strolling Around Chiang Mai

Posted on 12 August 2011 by christao408

We decided to do some exploring in the old city area of Chiang Mai and found several interesting sights.

A rather sophisticated bit of graffiti, a robot image that I saw repeated on another wall a few days later. While I know that graffiti is vandalism, I do find that it is also interesting art.

Outside a building about a block from the touristy pub area, Tawn pointed out this sign to me: tii maa yieaw, or “place where dogs piss.” I take this to mean that the owner has had problems with people urinating there so he is hoping to shame them. I suppose this is only going to work for Thais.

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We passed this vacant building for sale. Its style is completely uncharacteristic of Thailand and would look more at home among Brooklyn brownstones than here in Chiang Mai. Tawn likes it and thinks he should buy it for his fashion design company’s headquarters. Maybe a bit premature for that!

Stopping by one wat, or temple, I found a good example of the Lanna, or northern Thai, script. Lanna (which means “a million rice fields”) was the kingdom centered around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai from the 13th – 18th centuries. A derivative of the language is still spoken by some northern Thais, although the reading and writing is much less common. This sign has Lanna on the top, with Thai and English on the bottom. The Thai script is slightly stylized and is not written quite as you would see it in a textbook.

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A friendly, shaggy dog hanging around the temple. Generally speaking, stray animals in Thailand (especially dogs) aren’t very friendly. We encountered several in Chiang Mai, though, who came up to us, tails wagging.

Wat Sri Suphan, a temple located on the south side of the old city, is in the silvermaking district. Chiang Mai is known for its silver and at this particular temple they are constructing an ubosot, or ordination hall, that is decorated entirely in silver. This process seems to be going slowly, though.

A view of the entrance steps shows how the concrete base is being embellished with silver sheets, pounded into intricate designs. All in all, I don’t find this very attractive. The overall look is very heavy and dull.

Contrast the silver decoration with this other building (a wihan, or Buddha image building) on the same temple grounds, which has elaborately detailed and very colorful dragons guarding the entrance.

Finally, as the sun sank in the west, the rain clouds let up a bit, although the lower ones still shrouded Doi Suthep, the low mountain that overlooks Chiang Mai and has a beautiful temple on its slopes. (Pictures from a visit there in January 2010.)

Food in Chiang Mai – Grandmother’s Khao Soi

Posted on 11 August 2011 by christao408

Sometimes you have bits and pieces of information in your head but they have yet to coalesce into a linked arrangement that qualifies as knowledge. Prior to this trip to Chiang Mai, that described the state of affairs in my mind when it came to the subject of Northern Thai cuisine. On this trip, though, the bits of knowledge started to come together and my understanding of Northern Thai cuisine began to solidify. The process began, appropriately enough, over a bowl of khao soi.

Khao soi means snipped or trimmed rice and it refers to the way the noodles used to be made in this classic curried noodle soup. Originally, sheets of rice noodles colored and flavored with turmeric were rolled up and then snipped into strands. These days, though, the dish is generally made with egg noodles.

The dish is believed to have roots with the Hui, Chinese muslims from Yunnan province. Similar dishes with similar names are found in Burma, northern Thailand, and Laos, the result of the trade routes crisscrossing the area where the three countries not far away from China.

While khao soi has a curry base, it is usually not as thick as a traditional curry. It also does not have a lot of spicy heat, although it certainly has a lot of flavor. The dish also relies on two types of noodles: fresh ones in the soup and deep fried ones on top to add some crunch. All in all, it qualifies as comfort food and is certainly a defining dish in Northern Thai cuisine.

We ate khao soi a trio of times during our trip. The first stop was at Ran Aahan Khao Soi Khun Yai, which translates as “Grandmother’s Khao Soi Restaurant.” Located on Sriphum Road, which runs along the inside of the north moat, Grandmother’s Khao Soi is in a private residence nestled between two wat, or temples: Wat Kuan Kama to the east and Wat Montien to the west. It is only this small orange sign, all in Thai, that indicates the entrance.

Parking is limited to a few places on the grass and most customers walk from nearby businesses and houses. As you can see, Wat Montien is literally right next door.

The restaurant is an open air pavilion just inside the gates. Grandmother’s house is further back on the property. The restaurant is open from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm daily except Sunday and quantities are limited.

In a wonderfully old-fashioned touch, the menu is painted on the property wall as well as being posted on a sign over the kitchen. I didn’t see any English menus, but imagine that you would be able to make yourself understood (through pointing, if nothing else). The menu is basically three items: khao soi, bami (thin egg noodles), and guaytiaw (rice noodles), available with chicken, beef, or pork. (I know, strange that a Muslim-origin dish would have a pork option.)

I opted for the khao soi nua (beef), which is always a good test for a khao soi restaurant. The key is whether they have stewed the beef long enough so that it is very tender. Grandmother’s beef met the tenderness test and the noodles were cooked to the perfect, not too mushy consistency. The curry broth is fully flavored, a little thinner than some versions I’ve had but not lacking in flavor. A small splash of boiled coconut cream added richness.

It is customary to doctor your khao soi with a plate of garnishes. These always include some dark chilli paste, red shallots, lime, and pickled cabbage. I make it a point to taste the broth before adding condiments so that I can get a sense of the original flavor. The lime and cabbage add acidic notes that keep the curry broth from being too heavy.

A wonderful drink with which to accompany the khao soi is naam lamyai, or longan juice. Don’t you love the high-end table covering? Winnie the Pooh and Tigger love khao soi!

To get a taste of what else Grandmother’s Khao Soi has to offer, Tawn and I split a dish of bami moo, egg noodles with ground pork and pork balls. This dish is always comforting, a little sweet, a little savory (thanks to the fried shallots on top), and very easy to eat.

The look of a satisfied diner. All told, Grandmother’s Khao Soi met and exceeded expectations, setting a very high bar against which other khao soi we tried during our trip had to compete.

Not to spoil your appetite, but I found this garden snail climbing up the midst of the menu painted on the wall, crossing the “o” in “soi”. I thought it was an interesting shot.

Settling in to Chiang Mai

Posted on 9 August 2011 by christao408

Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, roughly one-tenth the size and population of Bangkok. Located an hour’s flight north of Bangkok, Chiang Mai is nestled in a valley surrounded by low mountains. Temperatures this time of year are similar to Bangkok’s, but a little less humid and ever so slightly cooler at night. We lucked out that our visit coincided with a bit of a cool spell, with temperatures about 28 degrees (82 F) during the day and 24 degrees (74 C) at night. The weather was overcast most days with light drizzle, so we were spared the harsh sun.

At the heart of Chiang Mai is the old city, delineated by a moat and the ruins of city walls shaped in an approximately 1.5 km square. The eastern portion of the old city, near Tha Phae gate, is more of the touristy area. Our hotel, the Tamarind Village, was a few blocks west of that. The hotel is named after the 200-year old tamarind tree, pictured above, that shades one of the courtyards.

Set back from the main street by a long, bamboo-shaded driveway, Tamarind Village fits the cliche of an “urban oasis” and is surprisingly quiet and calm. The buildings are laid out in a series of courtyards, each of which is very lush. The rooms are somewhat rustic, with simple interiors, and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful.

There are only 43 rooms and, despite it being low season, the hotel was fully booked. Many of the tourists were European with a large number of French families visiting. The restaurant next to the pool serves a complimentary breakfast buffet each morning with both indoor and outdoor seating. It was a nice place to relax but I can’t spend too long cooped up in one place so headed out to explore.

Outside our hotel and just down the block is a busy corner with a Wawee Coffee. Wawee is a Chiang Mai based chain that offers very tasty coffee. I made a few stops there over our vacation and enjoyed lingering and watching the people pass. The customers were almost exclusively tourists, which left me feeling itchy, but they also provided several interesting people watching episodes.

Passionfruit meringue pie. Oh, this was very good!

The intersection at which the Wawee Coffee sits is a microcosm of Chiang Mai or, at least, the touristy part of Chiang Mai. Let’s talk about what you can see at this corner.

This corner seemed to be a magnet for the lost and disoriented travelers. As I sat there, I saw group after group stop at the corner and struggle with their Lonely Planet guidebook or maps, puzzling over the directions, and then head off down the street. Sure enough, a few minutes later they would come back, evaluate their books or maps again, and head off in another direction.

At this corner, a Thai man (in camo shorts) was speaking with lost tourists. He speaks proficient English and asks the tourists where they are going. He gives them directions and then suggests they take a tuk-tuk (the three wheel vehicle in the background), which of course is conveniently waiting. It is conveniently overpriced, too.

Another thing you can see in this picture is a pair of foreigners on a rented motorbike. So many tourists rent bicycles and motorbikes in Chiang Mai. I have to wonder how many accidents there are. As I drove about town, I watched as tourists rode either dangerously fast or dangerously unaware of traffic around them. Thai drivers are aggressive and the streets in the old city are narrow. Not much room for foolish and inexperienced tourists.

Two other common sights in Chiang Mai are shown in this picture. First, the yellow (actually, usually red) pickup truck with covered seating in the back, which are called “song taews”. The name means “two rows” and refers to the two benches in the back of the truck. These are used something like taxis in that they don’t usually operate a fixed route. You flag one down (it may or may not have a sign indicating where it is heading) and name your destination. If the song taew is heading that general direction, you can hop on, otherwise the driver will wave you off. Fares are negotiated but are usually inexpensive. It is initially a little complicated but ends up being a pretty effective way to get about.

The second common sight is the side-saddle female passengers on the motorbikes. You see this throughout Thailand and I’m always startled by how effectively these ladies manage to balance themselves.

The final common sight are monks. Chiang Mai is home to two monastic universities and scores of temples and you see a greater concentration of monks and novices here than anyplace else in Thailand. A snapshot of Chiang Mai would be incomplete without some saffron robes in it! More about monks in Chiang Mai in the next entry.

Back to Terminal One at Don Mueang

Posted on 9 August 2011 by christao408

Festive decorations celebrate the reopening of Terminal 1

We traveled to Chiang Mai by air, flying Nok Air from Don Mueang Airport. Until September 2005, Don Mueang was Bangkok’s sole airport. After the opening of Suvarnabhumi International Airport, operations at Don Mueang are now limited to three domestic carriers and certain military, diplomatic, private, and charter flights. Everything else operates from Suvarnabhumi.

Just outside the security area there is a great deal of empty space.

Three days before our departure, Airports of Thailand, the publicly-traded company that operates Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, and four other Thai airports, switched operations at Don Mueang from the domestic terminal to international terminal #1. The reasoning for this seems a bit unclear, as AOT’s own announcement projected traffic at Don Mueang to reach just under 4 million passengers this year, well below the old domestic terminal’s capacity of 11 million. Terminal 1 has a stated capacity of 16 million.

Scattered passengers inside the secured area with a sign for the sole restaurant: Burger King.

The physical space has increased from just under 42,000 square meters to almost 60,000. While AOT claims to have spent a significant sum preparing for the reopening of Terminal 1, the interior remains very shabby and quite forlorn. Instead of operating from one pier, there are now two piers in operation, resulting in a very long walk between gate areas. Thankfully, most passengers at this airport are not connecting but are instead ending their flights here in Bangkok.

The two major airlines at Don Mueang – Orient Thai and Nok Air – are visible in the background.

The budget for decorations must have been extraordinarily low as AOT staff have hung balloons and made this “getaway island” display that looks borrowed from a secondary school prom. The one thing that seems to be working well, perhaps even too well, is the air conditioning. The gate areas were chilly. Shopping facilities inside the secured area are limited with only one restaurant and, in the former THAI Airways Royal Orchid Lounge, a massage parlor.

Orient Thai Boeing 737 waiting to enter service.

Orient Thai, formerly known as “One Two Go”, seems to have acquired a Boeing 737-400 for its fleet. Sure enough, three days later I read in the paper that they are phasing out their MD-80s in favor of the 737s, which despite having fuel-saving winglets installed are twenty-year-old technology. Besides Orient Thai and Nok Air, the other airline operating from Don Mueang is Solar Air, a small prop-jet operation.

Nok Air Boeing 737 pulls into gate 35 at Don Mueang.

Our jet, a Nok Air Boeing 737-400, pulls into the gate. The airline recently announced plans to introduce an updated version of these jets, the -800 model, this year. “Nok” means “bird” in Thai, so each of the planes is painted to look like a bird with a playful beak painted on the nose. THAI Airways International owns 39% of Nok Air and, ostensibly, Nok Air is the lower cost feeder carrier for THAI, taking over most of the larger carrier’s domestic routes. There has been, however, considerable friction between the two airlines and THAI has indicated plans to create its own low-cost operation separate from Nok.

When’s the last time you received a free snack on a domestic US airline flight?

Nok Air is actually a decent enough airline. It features assigned seats, free checked baggage, and snacks on the flights, things the largest domestic airline, Thai Air Asia, does not offer. On our flight up to Chiang Mai, we received this Nok Bag with an Auntie Anne’s chocolate pretzel stick and a container of water. On the way back to Bangkok, the Nok Bag contained some coconut cake. Not bad for an hour-long flight!

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon in an overcast and slightly drizzly Chiang Mai for four days of relaxation. More about that soon.

In Chiang Mai Through Saturday

Posted on 5 August 2011 by christao408

Apologies for my brief absence from Xanga. Tawn and I are on a four-day holiday up in Chiang Mai and I did not bring my computer. Am eating a great deal of tasty Northern Thai food, about which I will write upon my return.

Food in BKK: Din Tai Fung

Posted on 2 August 2011 by christao408

After a year’s delay caused by the May 2010 political protests and subsequent fires, Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fung recently opened its first branch in Thailand at the Central World Plaza mall at the Ratchaprasong intersection. Last week, Tawn and I made a trip there to see how well it upholds the chain’s reputation. The results? Overall, positive, but a little bland.

I almost didn’t write this entry because, well, how many times do I need to post pictures of food from Din Tai Fung? I’ve been twice in Taipei and then again in Hong Kong and Singapore. The pictures never look that different. But I waited more than a year for this branch to open and I thought it would be a shame not to give it due consideration.

One feature of Din Tai Fung locations is that the kitchen, or at least the dumpling making portion, is very visible. The company takes pride in how they operate and their cleanliness is a sign of quality. Plus, the army of cooks making thousands of dumplings is impressive to watch. Here are some photos I took, which I think looked a little more interesting in black and white.

The dining area faces large windows overlooking the Big C Supercenter across the street, letting in lots of natural light. Another seating area is open to the rest of the mall, which leaves you feeling a bit exposed.

The logos on the spoon and napkin have the Chinese, English, Japanese, and Thai versions of the restaurant’s name. The lady working the front counter, taking names, and coordinating orders was from the Singapore branch, leaving me curious about how they manage operations in different countries. Is this a franchise location or is it owned directly by the original company in Taiwan?

We started with a special “Oriental Salad in Vinegar Dressing,” which is a combination of seaweed, sprouts, mung bean noodles, and thinly sliced vegetables. While a tasty combination, it was underseasoned and benefitted greatly from a hearty splash of soy sauce.

Sliced ginger in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar, the ideal condiment into which you should dip your bao, or dumplings.

The original Xiao Long Bao, steamed pork dumplings. Here in Bangkok, as well as in the Hong Kong location, I felt that the filling was under-seasoned. My memory from Taipei is that the dumplings were full of flavor, but perhaps I need to go back and test that memory.

Another variation on the dumplings, this one with vegetables and pork. The filling was more flavorful than with the original Xiao Long Bao.

Perhaps my favorite dish, the wontons with black vinegar and chilli oil. Stuffed with shrimp, these lightly sweet dumplings are served in a sauce that is not as frighteningly spicy as you might imagine.

A good concluding dish was the fried rice topped with pork chop. The lack of flavor in the bao was made up for by the pork chop, which was liberally dusted in salt and pepper.

If you are thinking of ordering dessert at the Bangkok branch, be advised that nothing is yet available. I didn’t ask why but perhaps one day they will fix whatever problem they are having.

All told, the quality continues to be high and the Din Tai Fung company can be confident that their good name will be upheld here. I’m left with the lingering question of whether the blandness in their dumplings is something that I just didn’t notice at the original locations in Taipei and the Singapore location, too, or are the dumplings actually less flavorful here and in Hong Kong? Further tests will have to be conducted!

Meanwhile, I am glad our wait for Din Tai Fung is over.

Trying to Eat Healthy

Posted on 1 August 2011 by christao408

Most weeknights, Tawn and I try to eat dinner at home. Whatever I cook, it almost always includes a salad with lots of vegetables. This is our attempt to fill up on veggies, rather than on meats and carbs. Sometimes, I try for something a little fancier like this steak salad with thin slices of American sirloin, roasted red peppers and onions, and shavings of Parmesan cheese. Most of the time, though, the salads are a little less ambitious.

Weekday breakfasts are also eat at home meals, usually oatmeal with a combination of dried fruits and nuts, sometimes with a little quinoa, which provides some protein to start my day. Since I work from home, my lunches are also usually eaten at home, often leftovers from dinner the night before. From time to time, though, I will step out for lunch, stopping most often at a neighborhood ramen shop for some noodles.

All this weekday eating at home is offset by frequent social events on the weekends, when we end up eating out for most of the meals. On both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend, we had engagements for lunch and dinner. The odd calculus of this pattern of socializing is that while my wallet gets thinner, my mid-drift gets thicker.

Blinders On and Heading Off a Cliff

Posted on 30 July 2011 by christao408

This cartoon from this week’s Economist magazine summarizes how I feel about the debt limit debacle going on in Washington right now. While I think there is blame to be shared by all sides, the obstinacy of the Tea Party Republicans to not accept any revenue increases, even if they are only in the form of closing tax loopholes, shows a fiscal illiteracy that is reckless. The deficit cannot be tackled through spending cuts alone.

I was discussing this over lunch this afternoon with a mixed crowd of Thais, Australians, and a Canadian. They all would like to know why American politicians are behaving like this. I’d like to know, too.

Finding Bigfoot

Posted on 30 July 2011 by christao408

I am bigfoot. My feet are long and they are wide. That has always made finding comfortable shoes (especially stylish ones) a challenge. The problem is that for an untold number of years, I’ve been buying shoes that are too small for my feet. It wasn’t until I stopped at a New Balance shoe store in Torrance, California last month, that I met a man who led me out of the shoe size darkness and into the light.

You may wonder how it is that, if I knew my feet were long and wide, I continued getting shoes that were too small for my feet. In retrospect, I feel kind of silly about the whole thing. What happened was this: since graduating from college, I’ve had it in my mind that I wear a size 10.5, 2E width. That has been the gospel truth, in my mind if not in reality, and so always tried shoes in that size.

Sometimes the shoes felt like they fit well, other times it was clear that they didn’t, but they were always pretty snug. Sometimes the shoes that felt like they fit well ended up not fitting so well once I brought them home, often pinching my small toes. Over time, I had come to accept that this was just my lot in life as someone with wide feet, and would stick loyally to the few pairs I had that were truly comfortable.

So it was something of a revelation when I walked into the New Balance store on a whim and the assistant manager, an affable young man named Matt, listened to my complaints about the difficulty I have in finding shoes that fit and asked, “When was the last time you measured your feet?”

Of course, this is one of those questions that shouldn’t catch someone by surprise. But I was stumped by this trick question. A long silence lingered, as I searched my mind for an answer. “I don’t know that I’ve had my feet measured anytime in the last two decades,” I responded with a twinge of guilt. With that, Matt suggested that measuring my feet would be the right place to start.

You will not be surprised to learn that I’m not a size 10.5, 2E. In fact, according to his measurements, I’m a size 11, 4E. Half a size longer, one size wider. This would go a long way towards explaining why some pairs of shoes I bought in size 10.5, 2E would still pinch my toes. THEY WEREN’T WIDE ENOUGH!

Matt also had me stand on a mat that measures how I distribute my weight, which showed that I put more weight on the balls of my feet than I should. That would explain the problem I had a few months ago with tendonitis in the front of my left foot. (As I write this, I’m amazed at how obvious these things now seem, and how inexplicable they were back then.)

We looked through a variety of shoes and Matt explained that even at a single manufacturer, the shapes of the shoes vary. He pointed me to one particular model, the 993, which is a classic New Balance shoe and is cut wider through the “toe box” – a term I had never heard before. Sure enough, trying a pair of these in the right size and with the right shoe insert was an amazing experience. The shoes actually felt roomy and comfortable instead of tight and cramped. I also noticed that I was putting more weight on my heels instead of the balls of my feet.

I left the store with two pairs, one in grey and another in navy blue, and a profound respect for just how much comfort a professional shoe salesperson can bring to another human being. Looking back, I still wonder how it is that I managed to go so many years without measuring my feet. Maybe it is because at most shoe stores, no salesperson ever suggests it. The future feels a little brighter, though, now that I’ve found bigfoot.

Croissants in North County: Loïc

Posted on 27 July 2011 by christao408

The last night of our June trip to California was spent in Oceanside, a small beach town in northern San Diego County, visiting friends. The following morning, I decided on a whim to search for a French patisserie, or pastry shop. Perhaps I was in the mood for something like Tartine, a corner bakery in San Francisco’s Mission District that I make it a point to visit each time I’m there. We ended up driving a quirky route through the hills until we wound up at Loïc, a bistro and patisserie in Rancho Santa Fe.

The bistro and patisserie are adjacent buildings nestled in a small shopping complex at the foot of a large housing development. The design is meant to evoke an Italian village, which it more or less succeeds in doing.

Would an Italian village have a parking lot like this? Probably not. Just a small concession to Southern California’s car culture.

The interior of the patisserie was a little stark but the smell and sight of freshly baked goods were every bit as welcoming as the lady working behind the counter.

As we ordered, the lady explained that the chef is French. After several years working aboard cruise ships, he decided to settle in the Rancho Santa Fe area and open his own restaurant and patisserie.

We sat in some comfy chairs, sipped our café au lait, and picked apart our croissants, smearing eat bite with jam and pretending we were back in Paris. The croissants were very nice: light, flaky, and buttery – everything one wants in a croissant.

Afterwards, we took a few more pictures then climbed back in the car for our drive back to Orange County, where we met another Xangan for lunch.

christao408

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

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