Thai Dishes You Must Taste - Part 2

continued...

4) Thai Stir fried crab curry or Poo Phad Pong Kali

I personally love crabs and there's no better way to cook them but with curry. It makes you want to savor every bit of the crab, even the shells.



5) Thai Fried Rice or Khaw Phat

If you're not into spicy stuff, the Thai Fried rice will work best for you. Thai fried rice has different variations from Fried rice chicken ( Khaw phat kai) , fried rice beef ( khaw phat Nua), fried rice seafood ( khaw phat thale') and veggies (phak) , every dish is a must try for everyone.



6) Thai Cashew Nut Chicken or (Kai phat phet ma muang)

This is another dish I can recommend for those who can not take spicy food. It's made of chicken with cashew nuts, mushrooms a lotof onions and sometimes with dried chillies.

..to be continue...

yes, I'm not finished with this Thai food sequel yet...there's just so much of delicious dishes ...

photos taken from www.templeofthai.com and www.thaifood.about.com

Thai Dishes You Must Taste - Part 1

Thailand is known to have delicious cuisine. Wherever you go , may it be in the posh restaurant downtown or even to the simplest hawker shop on the road, you'll be assured to savor the best of Thai food.

Here is a list of my personal favorites and highly recommended Thai dishes:

* Warning: Living in Thailand for 6 years had made my tongue accustomed to spicy food. So, some dishes here may be too spicy for you..but you could always give it a try or tell the 'cook' or waiter/waitress not to make it too spicy.

1) Tomyum Goong ('kung') or Tom Yum Thale

I'm sure you've heard of this dish that is known all over the world. It's a soup that has all the mixture of tastes, spicy, sour, sweet and a bit salty. It's made of prawns ('kung), and sometimes mixed seafood ( 'thale') , kaffir lime leaves and a whole other bunch of ingredients. It is said to have a lot of health benefits too as it has a lot of hers and spices. You can also order it with or without the coconut milk and 'prik' tomyum paste.







2) Thai Green Curry

If you're into curry stuff, I'm sure this will work well with you. It's made of green curry paste, coconut milk, Thai eggplants ( which are rounded) and other ingredients. This Curry is usually served with rice or ' Khanon Jin' or what we just simply call the Thai white spaghetti.





3) Yam Pla Dook Foo or Thai Catfish Salad

This is made of shredded Catfish, green mangoes, peanuts or cashew nuts, chilli and other ingredients. It's a blend of spicy , sour and salty taste. Spicy from the chillies, sour from the shredded green mangoes, salty from the fish sauce and shredded fish. This is truly delicious!

Photo taken from www.dessertcomesfirst.com

......... TO BE CONTINUED

Things To Do in Hatyai, Thailand

Image from bangkoksite.com

Where is Hatyai?? That must be the first question in your mind when you read the title of this post. For starters, Hatyai is located at the South of Thailand. It's one of the gateway to Malaysia and other provinces with the famous beaches.

Hatyai is the common 'holiday' destination of Malaysians since it's the nearest country to them (Singapore is nearer though but expensive) and has cheaper bargains. But this also the hub or the stopover of backpackers traveling from Malaysia before going to the beautiful Islands nearby.


So, here is my list of things to do and places to go in Hatyai, Thailand.

1) Go Shopping!!

Clothes, shoes, bags, fruits and other goods are cheap here. The best places to shop are : The Weekend Night Market ( Talat Paet Thai) which only opens from Thursday - Sunday from 6-10 pm, The NIght Market at the CIty center near Lee Gardens , they are open every night, Plaza ( Naa Ho ) where is open everyday from 8am-5pm. If you're really into shopping, you can shop till you drop. But you have to bargain to get the best price. Start from starting half of their original price. If you're an entrepreneur andwant to buy wholesale, their are wholesale shops around PLaza. You just have to walk around a lot of streets to see this. There are wholesale shops for accessories, shirts, bags, shoes and etc. And they are really cheap!!!

2) GO for a nice, relaxing massage

There are a lot of massage parlors near the city area. But the thing is they are quite pricey ( I guess still cheap for the Singaporeans and Malaysians). In the city center, a 1 hour foot or body massage costs 250 baht . But I recommend you go to Big C, since you can get that same price for a 2 hour body massage. Their masseurs are good and very polite.

3) Eat till you drop!



Oh, when it comes to dining options ...there are a LOT of restaurant to choose from. From pricey shops to the hawker shops..but believe me, everywhere you go, their food is yummy!! Here is a list of our favorite restaurants. Though there are still a number of restaurants we haven't tried yet. Sky Buffet at Lee Gardens for only 129-159 baht per person, it offers a wide variety of Thai food, salads, deserts. I just love the unlimited ice cream and coffee/tea. This restaurant is on the 33rd floor of Lee Gardens Hotel so you get to see the beautiful view of Hatyai city. Sugar Rock along Thamanonvitee Rd. , food and ambience is great and the price is very reasonable. This is our personal favorite restaurant since they have a playroom and we can eat while our daughter plays. Log Terrace, near Ket Pet Rd. I love the concept of this restuarant. It's along the river and they designed it in such a way, that it's like you're in a cave. There is a man made water falls inside and a real crocodile too. The food is good but a bit pricey. Rin Rua ( Moo Kata), this is another eat all you can restaurant for only 89 baht. They have a wide variety of meats, veggietables, soups and desserts. You get to grill and steam your own food. It's an outdoor restaurant with a big screen TV for football fans. Samila Restuarant, this is a new resturant along Rayjindee road. The restaurant design is beautiful specially at night. Ban Phuk Khaw , this is a restaurant on a hill. This restaurant will offer you a beautiful view of Hatyai. I can't write all the restaurants here..there are just LOT!! Of course, if you're bored of THai food and would want more familiar taste, don't worry there are Mcdonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Sizzlers, Fuji, MK restaurant.


4) Go to Songkhla Beach

Image from bangkoksite.com

This is the nearest beach in the city. (I'll write another post on Songkhla) It's only a 30 mins drive from Hatyai. You'll get a 'taste' of the famous white sand beach of Thailand. It's a great place to relax and eat sea food too. THough you have to be careful since the restaurants along the beach are known to over price tourist. We had a terrible experience. So, if you're in a budget and don't want to be a victim of 'tourist overprice' then I suggest you ask the prices first before ordering. Then beware that the bucket of ice cubes they 'give' you is worth 20 baht whether you finish it or not.

5) GO for a swim in Ton Nga Chaang Waterfalls

Image from www.davidjensen.org

This waterfalls has 7 levels. It's beautiful even if we were only able to go until the 2nd level. It's quite a hike but I'm sure it'll be worth it. By the way, if you're a foreigner, they charge 200 Baht as a fee to enter the park where the you'll see the waterfalls but if you're a Thai, you only get to pay 20 Baht. Hmmm...


I think these are only the top 5 things you can do in Hatyai. But even if there are only 5 it's already enough to keep you occupied.

DOs and DON'Ts in Thailand

If you're planning to come and visit Thailand, it's good to come with the knowledge of what's culturally acceptable or not. Generally, the Thais are very polite. If you offend them in any way, they won't tell you and but instead say, "Mai pen rai' or it's okay even if they're already offended. Here's a compilation (just based in my personal experience) of the things you can do and must not do during your stay or visit.

1) Show your respect towards the Royal Family. The Royal Family is very well respected in this country, therefore as much as possible, don't comment anything may it be good or bad about them. Don't ask controversial issues about them from the local people. It'll greatly offend them and neither talk to you about it.

2) Treat the Thai Baht money ( bill and coins) with 'respect' too. This means, you can't step on the Thai coins with your foot, in case it falls down.The reason? The King's portrait is on the coins as well as the bill, that's why it must be treated with respect. For Filipinos like me, we're used to hand the money, using our right or left hand..but here you'd notice they only give the money using their right hand as they believe that the left hand is for using somewhere else. Their bills here are very clean and no creases, while back home it's not that clean with "wanted penpal/ phone pal' messages all over it and folded 100 times over. :)

3) It's polite to 'wai' back when people 'wai' at you. Wyeing is a sign of respect. It's the folding of arms together like in a prayer gesture and bowing the head slightly.

4) Don't touch anyone's head, specially people older than you. The head is believed to be the most sacred part of the body so, it offends them when you touch their head.

5) Don't point your foot on people. Like when your sitting with your legs crossed, your foot must not point to a person. Just as they consider the head to be the most sacred part of the body, the feet are considered to be the lowest.

6) Don't go out with your hair wet, this is also considered impolite ( I've just learned this recently from a friend).

Weekend in Satun

I'm excited, it's going to be a holiday here in Thailand on Monday. So, out of the spur of the moment my Hubby and I ( together with our friends) decided to visit our dear friend in Satun.

Satun is actually a small province but is a gateway to many of Thailand's beautiful beaches too. Examples are Koh Tarutao, Koh Lipe, Koh Lanta and Koh Bolon. Though Satun's Islands are not as famous as Phuket's or Krabi's but we've had friends who's been there and loved the place. It's actually away from the crowded beaches of Phuket but the sea is as pristine and the nature as beautiful.

We won't be going to all these beaches. We'll have to wait for our 7 mo. old baby to grow a little bit bigger and maybe then we do more adventure. But as of now, we'll just be visiting some of Satun's famous spots and tourist area and of course try their food.

So, see you all on Tuesday! I'll be posting our pictures and some reviews.

Have a blessed weekend!!

Our Phuket Trip Part 2

This is a continuation from the previous post...

3) Rawaii Beach - There's nothing much to do in Rawaii beach but do a bit ofsightseeing and eat at the Seafood shops lined up along the road near the seaside. My Hubby ate in one of the shops here several years back and remembered that their crab used to be 10 baht per kilo but times have changed and it's now 80 Baht per kilo. But I'm sure this is reasonable since they make tasty crab curry...haaa,,crab curry..I suddenly got hungry..:)

Back to the beach, I also remembered that this is the beach where the speedboats dock and it's a starting point for a 30-45 mins. speedboat ride to the other islands surrounding Phuket.

4) Patong Beach - This is one of the famous beaches in Phuket (with Kata and Karon Beach) where most of the westerners hang out. Just a few meters from the seaside is a road and right next to it are all the shops, bars , resorts, hotels and restaurants line up. We're not into barhopping and night life..we'd rather stay in the hotel and enjoy a quiet time with family, so we find this place a bit messy. When we were passing by, there was even this lady who was calmly sitting in a bar, topless!! Yeah, not a wholesome sight at all! But on the other hand, I like looking at the hotel and restaurant designs here, some are just beautiful. If you're into food trip, you'll also find all kind of restaurant here, Irish, German, Swedish , Indian and etc.

When we were there, we had dinner at Tamarind Restaurant which is connected to the Seaview Hotel. I just love the place! It's situated at the far end of the beach, so it's far from the messy nightlife area and thus it's quiet and peaceful.

The hotel is well-designed, cozy and I think a good place to just relax. In the morning, you can have a spectacular view of the sea. I checked through their site and I found a lot of good reviews from their customers. Hmmm..I'm dreaming to stay there for a holiday. It's quite pricey of course but they have this package where you'll get to see a free show called "Fantasea". I heard that's a great show for the kids too.

Okay, this is all for our Phuket Trip! We'll have another trip to Malaysia next week and I'm surely going to update this blog again.

Our Phuket Trip Part 1

We arrived from Phuket just a few days ago and we had a great trip! Though we were not really able to go around but at least I've got to see a bit of it. Here are the highlights of our trip.

1) Our Hotel - We stayed in Grand Thavorn Plaza Hotel and we didn't have a very pleasant experience in our stay there. Before we went ther , I check their website and it looked so nice from the site. It looked grand and luxurious. But in reality?? It's an old hotel, poorly maintained with poor service. I'm sure this hotel had its 'grandoise' years. They hang a big picture on their wall announcing that Ricky Martin stayed there way back 2005. But I guess as the years went by, they tried to cut cost by hiring few people and not maintaining it properly that's why their hotel ended up bad. Even their lobby isn't airconditioned now and they defended this by putting up a sign that it's because of global warming..or is it?

One of the statues at the entrance of the hotel. In the morning, this looks like a great piece of art but in the evenings it looks quite eerie because of the lighting..hehehe!

We had two major disappoinments from our hotel. Never mind the poor service, the dilapidated chairs and etc. Our first disappointment was the bath tub. I planned to give my Hubby a nightly spa, but it turned out that our bath tub doesn't work ( I mean it drains the water even when we put the cover). So, the first night we had to 'borrow' someone's bathtub..hahaha! I was so desperate to let my Hubby have a spa and not to mention we had additional luggage coz I brought all the spa ingredients like oranges, oats, honey and etc. whew!! But anyways, my Hubby was already so happy with the Orange Spa I made for him. ;)

The second disappointment was the swimming pool. Before the trip, I was already envisioning my kids having fun in the pool. We even bought a cute swimming trunks for my baby boy. hahaha! ( He looks real cute with his 'elephant trunks' :) But it turned out that their pool was 'under repair'. Poor Tricia! She was so disappointed and was convincing me that the pool is not closed. Good we checked the pool first before getting ready with our things. Our friends immediately went to the pool with their swimsuits, towels and etc just to find out it's closed. When we asked the hotel staff, they said that it's under repair and it'll be done in a week (after we check out). But by the look of it, it seems that the pool has been abandoned for quite a long time and I'm not sure if they really do have plans of repairing it..haaayy!!

2) Phromtehp Cape - Yes we were able to go for sight seeing in Promptehp Cape where you can see the beautiful sea and some islands surrounding Phuket. We went there in the morning so we never get to see the Sunset. The view itself in the morning is spectacular and I'm sure it'll be more breathtaking during the sunset.

please don't mind the Little Big Mermaid on the the rock..LOL!

When we where there, it made me wish that we could go to one of the islands again. The sand is whiter and finer, the beach is more beautiful and the view is more refreshing in the islands. I remember 5 years ago, when my Hubby and I was able to go to Koh Raya Noi (one of the Islands) and it was very beautiful (I can write another post on that :))

That's all for now..this post is getting longer and I'm babbling more than I should..

To be continued .................

Phuket here we come..

image from smh.com.au

At first I was so excited for our upcoming trip to Phuket this month. We will be going there for conference. I thought we could go a bit early or stay back after the seminar to see more of Phuket but then, due to time and budget constraints we won't be able to do that (huhuhuh!). But I guess there's still a glimmer of hope..heheh! I heard that the schedule of the conference is not that heavy so I hope there'll be time to go around. Actually, it'll be my third time to go to Phuket but I haven't seen the whole place yet.

Things I want to do in Phuket

1) Go to the Old Phuket Town - I love the to see some historical places. I heard their blend of Colonial and Chinese architecture is a beatiful sight to see here.

2) View the beautiful sunset from Phromthep Cape - From this hill you can see also see the islands surrounding Phuket. My Hubby has been here and he said it's beautiful.

3) See the beaches - Yes, you read it right.."see" not swim..since time our 'free time' is limited and I guess all we could do is to take a peek. So, maybe we'll just take a look at the famous beautiful beaches such as Patong, Karon and Kata, take some pictures and off we go.

I have only 3 things in my things to do list. I won't be so ambitious given that we have some constraints. I'll already be soo happy if we could accomplish these 3. And if not then, I'll just have to be contented in letting my kids swim in the swimming pools at the hotel where we're staying. LOL!

So, this is all for now and I'll surely post some pictures, after our Phuket Trip.

Things to do in Thailand

photo from travel-images.com

This is a repost from my personal blog " Lalaine's World". Since it's travel related, I'm bringing it here.

_______________

Thailand is considered my second home. Even if my Hubby is from Malaysia but I lived here in Thailand longer than in Malaysia. I'm thankful that God has allowed us to stay in this beautiful country. Indeed, it's true that this country is just amazing. They have the most beautiful beaches, the gentlest people, and the cheapest bargains.

So, if you were to come to this country, here are the things I suggest you to do.

1) Go shopping. For Filipinos, this is a must...to go to the malls and shop or even just window shop. But here in Thailand, the cheapest bargains are found in their weekend markets. Most of the cities have their weekend markets like the Chatuchak in Bangkok. You can buy fashion blouses as low as 50 Baht (that's like 75 pesos). But sad to say, these blouses don't fit me as Thai girls are small/pettite so most of their blouses/shirts are small too. Anyway, you can name all items in these weekend markets and they have it, from bags to jewelry, plants, pots and even pets for sale. If you're a business person, then this is it, find the cheapest items here and sell it back to your home country, double or triple the price! :)

2) Go to the islands and stay there for at least a night. You can swim in the beaches, dive, snorkel or just lay in the hammock and relax. Remember the movie, The Beach? Yes, their islands, beaches look like that. The waters are like aquamarine in color, the sand is so fine, the scene around you will just be breathtaking. There are package deals in most islands that includes 2 nights stay, 1 meal, snorkeling and boat rides at affordable prices. Most of the middle class local Thais go island hopping too, which means their rates are not that extravagant and only affordable by westerners.

3) Savor Thai food. If you're into the spicy stuff you'll enjoy a wide variety of Thai dishes. My favorite is Green Curry and Fried Catfish with Mango Salad. If you can't take spicy food, Thai Fried Rice will suit you best. One thing amazing here is that, wherever you eat, whether in an expensive restaurant or side walk vendor, you're assured to have clean and delicious food. I'm not exaggerating. Being from a city from the Philippines, it's really a no-no to buy from the side walk vendor since you're not sure if the food is clean. But here, everyone buys from the street vendors and it's clean. In my 5 years stay here and eating everywhere, I didn't have problem with food (or maybe my tummy is just strong??) and I'm enjoying every bit of Thai food.

4) Go for foot or body massage. You can treat yourself here with a nice massage for only 130baht ( less than 200pesos) per hour. Their masseurs are real experts. They really do a good job and even sometimes pinpointing your body's problem areas without you telling them first. Just be careful that you go to the 'wholesome' massage parlors. Those inside the malls are the best choice.

5) Go for a haircut, manicure/pedicure or spa. I think one of the Thai's strong points is their good service. They really go beyond what is intended for them to do. For example, you want your hair cut. First, they will wash your hair (shampooing and conditioning your hair 2-3 times), then cut, then blowdry/ iron your hair, then moisturize your hair, then massage your head and shoulders. Who wouldn't feel good or beautiful after this? This procedure goes for most of the saloons here for an average of 100-120 baht ( less than 200 pesos).

6) Visit the landmarks in the places. And of course do 'picture picture'. Bangkok has their very famous Floating Market, The Grand Palace. Ayuthayya has this temple ruins, Phuket has their beaches, Chiangmai has their mountains and so on and so forth.

7) Ride, touch or have picture taking with the elephant. The elephant is quite a common sight here. They're not contained in the zoos but on some days they are out in the streets.
So far this is all I could think of as of now. So to all my friends come and experience Amazing Thailand! hehehe! I think the Tourism Authority here should give me commission for advertising their country. Hehhehe! Anyways, I'm just encouraging you to go out for a holiday and it wont be that expensive considering the rate for Pesos and Thai baht is not that big..and with all the promotions now from Airasia or Cebu Pacific (if your'e from the Philippines) , everyone can fly..hehehehe! Last year, my mom was able to purchase a roundtrip ticket for only 2,800 pesos. Imagine that? :)