We haven’t featured much “food porn” this year, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still taking photos of most of our meals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We often tell the story of when we were trying to decide where to travel after Paradox and our stent of house-sitting. We generally asked folks who’d been traveling just where they liked, and would recommend we visit next. Thailand always came up on everyone’s list. And the only thing they could quickly bring to mind was “You’ll love the food”, or “the food… the food.”

Now on our fifth trip we are still raving about “The Food”. And, not just the cost or value of Thai food, but the quality and tastes. Just a couple days ago we finally remembered we hadn’t even had Pad Thai this year: a basic staple that costs 20-25 Baht (80 cents) and is available everywhere. “A-roi”: the Thai word for Excellent. I ordered Pad Thai in Durango several years ago and paid $8.95 at a simple Thai restaurant.

 

We learned an expression when we first arrived in the Rio Dulce, Guatemala on Paracas.  One of the cruisers announced the minute she tied up at Mario’s Marina, “The Galley is closed.”  While in Thailand we are doing what that Texas lady in the Rio did and incidentally what we believe most Thai families do: bring food home or eat out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We do have a small concession to eating “every meal” out, in that we’d discovered German Muesli in 1-kilo bags that we eat for breakfast most mornings with yogurt.

 

 

 

 

 

We are very partial to one restaurant that serves “the best” Panang Curry and even though it’s way on the far side of town, 12 km from our home, we scooter over there at least once a week.  Stanna even had a lesson in that restaurant kitchen last year, but just can’t quite duplicate the cook’s heavenly taste when she tries it at home.

We have at least four restaurants we like to hit each week, each has a different menu and we’ve actually rated them by quality, quantity, and value.  Depending on our lunch schedule we’ll choose one over the other.  Most of our evening meals are take-home foods we gather on the way home from shopping or we just zip over to the University food stalls or the large outdoor market minutes from our home.

Occasionally we’re treated to a meal or dish prepared by one of the Thai tenants in our complex or given a meal by one of our friends in town.  Never knowing what we’ve been given is always exciting, so we ask our owner-host at Ban Wassana how to serve it and what we’re enjoying, oftentimes sharing the large meal with her family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the Mai Mueang Menu with English translations, in case you’re curious.  This is regarded by our Thai friends as “pricey,” however you should note that 100 baht is $2.80

When the average meal is 40 Baht or $1.15, this restaurant is a splurge, but we’re managing,