Hot, spicy, and sour
Hungry and very eager to try some authentic Thai food on my first night in Bangkok, I asked the front desk where I could get some street food. I thought I might as well dive right in and start prepping my stomach right away. I wandered for 15 minutes and get to a busy area with lots of street vendors and street stalls selling all sorts of junk — including pink plastic dildos. Unfortunately I didn’t whip out my camera fast enough to get a photo before the vendor stopped me.
Choices galore, I had no idea what each vendor was offering and wanted to try a bit of everything! Finally one vendor I walked by spoke decent English to me and said “for you, I recommend fried rice…with chicken”. Tempting, but seeing all the variations of noodles that some of the other vendors were selling I was keen to have some noodles instead.
“Yes…you want noodles…okay”, he says. “With chicken and veggies…fried”.
But I wanted soupy noodles… “do you have noodles in soup?” I ask.
“mmm…Okay…soup noodles, with chicken and veggies, okay?”
I had chicken for both meals on the flight…seafood sounded better “can I get seafood soup noodles instead of chicken?”
“Okay” he agrees.
So I sat down at the fold-up table by the side of the rope. Beside me, I see another Farang eating by himself. From the looks of it I’d say he’s a local expat foreigner who’s been in Thailand a long time. They bring me a plate with a wedge of lime, a little pile of chilli flakes, and some white sugar (which I mistakenly thought was MSG at first). 10 minutes later, a steaming bowl of noodle soup arrives. First sip: hot, sour, spicy, fresh, and so full of flavour! In the 35 degree heat, I immediately start sweating as I eat this hot soup, but I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that I would have to take another shower as soon as I got back to the hotel. 80 bahts for this noodle soup dish, I have a feeling he’s over charging me, but it’s still a good deal. First meal in Thailand was delicious.
And PS — not a single piece of seafood in my noodles. Only chicken, veggies, and mushrooms 🙂 Haha.
