Love street food, will travel? Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are your go-to cities, and the most budget-friendly way to discover their best kept secrets is to plan a southeast Asia train trip. Let Richard Holmes set you on the right track …
“It’s good … but it’s not the best,” is Diamond Thongsaem’s verdict on the pad Thai we have just sampled. When you’re in Thailand, this is the dish with which to start your food quest. I have enlisted Diamond, a Streetwise Guru tour guide from the Anantara Riverside hotel (see Where to Stay, page 109), to help me find the finest in Bangkok. If you listen to Google, the best in the city can be eaten at Thip Samai on Maha Chai Road. But online acclaim comes at a price, and the lines often stretch around the block.
“No need to queue! Few tourists bother to look just a few doors down,” says Diamond, ushering me towards Leung Pha, where they have been coalfiring pans of pad Thai since long before Thip Samai hit Tripadvisor. The noodles are delicious indeed, the lines are short, and a generous portion will set you back just THB60 (R28).
We had started our foodie wanderings that morning at the rough-and-tumble Bangluck market. It’s best experienced at dawn, when the market is jammed with stalls and shoppers, but Diamond’s favourite sweet seller was still open when we arrived just before lunchtime. We wandered away bearing a carton of Thai desserts: jelly with coconut milk, and more elaborate options topped with coconut shavings and custard.
The duplicity of Bangkok’s food scene is obvious in this part of town. In the alleyways, a bag of simple but delicious steamed pork and rice costs just THB150 (R60), while at the two-Michelin-star Mezzaluna restaurant at Lebua Hotel, the European-inspired menu by chef Ryuki Kawasaki could set you back an eye-watering THB6500 (R2 950). If that’s beyond your budget, rather stop in for one of the innovative cocktails at the hotel’s Sky Bar (at a height of 250 metres, it’s billed as one of the highest in the world), then head back to the streets for fare that’s decidedly more affordable.
Bu hikaye Woolworths TASTE dergisinin June 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Woolworths TASTE dergisinin June 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Award-winning Food: Trending Plates
Fine-dining takes on both nostalgic and African ingredients - from Cremora and polony (yes!) to okra and beetroot - were food trends singled out by the judges of the 2022 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards.
Everything you need to know about quinoa
If it was good enough to sustain the Incan armies - and NASA's astronauts - you'd better believe this protein-rich seed will see you through your afternoon slump.
PIGS IN BLANKETS
The kids will love these quick-and-easy snacks that won't break the (piggy) bank.
82 words on...
THE FROZEN APEROL SPRITZ is the hottest way to keep cool this summer, says Jeanne Calitz.
MEET ME AT THE RIVER
Plan a visit to the new Mukwa River Lodge on the banks of the Zambezi to experience Zambian food with a twist, courtesy of head cook Aaron Menezes and four passionate members of his kitchen team.
FIRE STARTER
Celeb TV chef Clem Pedro - of Afternoon Express and Expresso fame takes the art of hosting to pro level and not because he went to hotel school or worked for TASTE, but because he started in his mom's kitchen. We asked him to share his food nerd roots and family braai secrets.
PLANTS IN PARADISE
Former Durban creative (and one-time carnivore) Neil Roake and his daughter Jordan's epic travels led them to collaborate on the all veg cookbook Castaway. They shared their meat-free adventures on the Filipino island of Siargao with TASTE.
ΤΟ MAY-ΤΟ, ΤΟ MAH-ΤΟ
Midsummer tomatoes are impossible to resist, we know. So when you find yourself with a bounty of exotic varieties - heirlooms, Italian Romas, ripe Mediterraneans and sweet Rosalinis - Hannah Lewry is here to help.
HOME TRUTHS
At her Joburg eatery, established in the iconic former Women's Jail at Constitution Hill, Mpho Phalane has worked to create a space that both honours the historic site and feels like home. She spoke to Khanya Mzongwana about the food journey that brought her here.
Morogo magic
Budget-friendly indigenous leafy greens - fresh, sautéed or preserved for later use are on Mokgadi Itsweng's menu at this time of year.
