In the eyes of the beholder

Tucked away on the beach front street in Nathon a little cafe called about art and craft is both about art and craft and about the art and craft of food.



We dropped by for a look see and were impressed with the simple wholesome fare being served. I picked up a vege burito with braised red beans and zesty tomato salsa



Whilst Kat opted for (and quickly lost half of) the tomato and garlic on rye toast with pesto.




Mango slushie and carrot and stuff juice

After a super tasty lunch we browsed the other art and craft adorning the surrounding walls and shelves before we jumped back on the scooter for further Samui adventures....ok ok more eating.

View Big Food Big World in a larger map

Mor Din, Koh Samui

"This traditional Thai pot, the Mor Din, is earthenware, large and rounded at the bottom and narrowing at its neck, opening out at its rim. It was originally used to cook rice: the narrow neck ensured minimal evaporation, and allowed excess water to be poured out easily. It also reduced the chances of ash dropping into the cooking pot, something that is not always meant to be included in the ingredients. Being of unfired clay, it was also less likely than a fired pot to shatter when exposed to a naked flame." - Glenn Walis, a friend of ours and publisher for C Holiday magazine in Samui describes the Mor Din in this way. Below, is our encounter of this little gem on the south of the island.

We remembered talking about this earlier on our trip with Mike & Glenn, but it wasn't until one of our last nights in Samui, we were actually trying for dinner at home cooking, but it was closed, that we spotted the Mor Din sign. We take a turn on the Thong Krut road down a windy little dirt road, then we see the lights. It is a jungle setting, with soft lighting and a little fountain in the middle.



I start with a refreshing saparot pun, frozen pineapple slushy. Delicious!



Then we start with a banana flower salad, before the mordin pot's arrive. The salad is packed full of crisp, fresh, banana flower that's enhanced with some fresh coconut and a tangy chilli dressing.



The first mordin pot to arrive at the table for tonight is the tom yum. Delicious spicy broth, with a nice kick of lime, is full of corrinader, spring onion, tomato and chunks of chicken.



Gaeng som, the sour orange Thai curry is something we both love. It's usually done with fish, but we spot a pork verison on the menu. It's the next pot to arrive. As the lid is lifted the chilli wafts into the air and tickles our nostrils. The chunks of pork are tender and full of flavour, and there's some nice little sweet surprises of fresh pineapple and we naviagate our way through this incredibly spicy, and delicious, interpretation of the gaeng som.



Even the rice arrives in a mordin, cooked in the pot which it's served, with all the crunchy bits of rice on the bottom of the pot.


We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at mordin, and we found ourselves glad that Home Cooking was closed on this occasion, otherwise we may have missed out alltogether. Next time we'll be be back with a few more persons as the pots are huge.



View Big Food Big World in a larger map

Save some room for dinner .....

It's actually a little hard writing a blog on one of our many strolls down Bang Po beach with the thought that Sable is no longer there ........

But on one of our strolls, we did find this little beachside place serving some mean Thai food.  We had been on the lookout for this famous Khao Mon Gai place (post to come) but we could never find it from the beach side.  This other little place, recognisable from the huge amounts of bamboo by the beach, was also recommend by Glenn, a favorite stop of his for tom yum.



We were going to order the tom yum, but both immediately spotted the coconut soup with tumeric and crab. Mmm. Good choice, indeed. A rich, yellow, coconut broth packed full of lemongrass and coriander was sublime. Just trying to get all of the crab from the shell with a fork was a bit hard and we eventually gave up ....



Luckily, within moments a khai jiaw goong sup appeared on the table to distract us. A delicate, paper thin omlette was carefully wrapped around minced prawn and peanuts and scattered with chopped chives. nom nom



Lastly, (this was an in between lunch and dinner kind-of meal ;-)) a bowl of Massaman curry. It was packed full of spice, with chunks of pork, onion and potato.



Now to saving some room for dinner ....

In loving memory of Sable, 20/06/2009

An absolute darling ... sending our thoughts to Glen & Kelli.

Terrible news, first their dog Samui went missing but was returned home a little shaken and dehydrated after being hit by a car to have only a day later another of their lovely dogs, Sable, loose her life after being hit by a car.

Sable was a so lucky to have been taken into Glen and Kelli's life and cared for and loved as much as she was by them both.

She will always be remembered ... as will her amazing fishing and crab catching efforts ;p  

Birthday piggin. Samui

Anyway where were we? Oh yeah back in Samui it was our friend Mike's birthday. We decided there could be no better way to celebrate such an occasion than to sacrifice a small animal, and so a plan was formed. We made calls and we found the specialist we were after, satisfied he could deliver further calls were made to inform all of our intentions. And so the day of celebration arrived, we began the morning with a trip to the markets to buy a few ingredients for the dishes we were contributing to the day - bbq'ed asparagus with a sherry bacon vinaigrette and grilled wild mushrooms wrapped in banana leaf with chilli and Thai basil. After some quick prep work it was onto the scooter and off to the other side of the island where the soiree was taking place.


After arriving at Glen and Kellys place and a quick drink we finished up our prep and awaited the arrival of the guest of honor...oh and Mike. Without warning it arrived, set on a long wooden plank and wrapped in butchers paper,



we all so desperately wanted to peel back the paper and take a peek but without the birthday boy all we could do was wait and anticipate. You know the saying idle hands, well ours soon set to work with a marker turning present into card with a few budding artists amongst us adding some final flourishes.





Finally Mike arrives not only to our relief but also the trio of dogs who were patiently guarding the aromatic parcel sitting on the table.

With Mike here it was all on, first the unwrapping of the present, paper was torn away to first reveal a golden brown snout followed by two crispy ears and down a superbly crackalicious body to the curly tail.



Fifteen kilos of perfectly roasted pig, yum! First cut is given to Mike before the savagery began.





Asparagus and mushrooms were put onto the bbq followed by corn, twice baked potato's and deviled eggs prepared by the insanely energetic Vern, Jess and co as well as Kel's mad coleslaw and fresh bread rolls from down the road.



The pig was amazing, the chef had deboned the beastie before rubbing the inside with Thai spices and then building a wooden frame to hold the shape as it roasted.


Seriously we're starving here

There was much feasting and drinking, then games with more drinking and silly hats as well as some impromptu magic, some more drinking and then some drink fueled eating, a good time was had by all.




Half down, half to go.... and yes I ate that ear. Tasty

I hope it's a birthday you remember Mike, it was a pleasure to be part of it.



Asparagus with sherry bacon vinaigrette (adapted from webers book of grilling)

It's a pretty loose recipe. Make with quantities suited to your taste.


Take some bacon and dice fairly finely, saute over a med low heat so the fat renders out of the bacon, don't rush it and cook until the bacon is golden and crispy.

Strain the bacon and return the fat to the pan.

Add diced garlic to the fat and saute until golden, at the end of sauteing the garlic throw in some picked thyme leaves for a few seconds to release the flavor and aroma.

Strain the garlic and thyme and add to the bacon. Keep the fat.

Whisk the bacon fat into some sherry vinegar until you have a loose dressing add the fried bacon, garlic and thyme then season.

Pour over freshly grilled asparagus or broccoli rabe.



Mushrooms in banana leaf with chilli and Thai basil.

Another simple one. Again quantities to taste.


Take a sheet of banana leaf and quickly run over an open flame, you will see as the leaf changes shades of green. This makes the leaf pliable and more giving as it is folded.

Onto the leaf add a handful of mixed mushrooms, some crushed garlic cloves, roast chilli powder, sliced shallot, a good handful of Thai basil and a squeeze of lime.

Fold the leaf around the mushrooms and secure with a couple of toothpicks if your not quite up to the leaf folding you can then wrap the leaf wrapped mushrooms in a sheet of al foil, you'll still get the leaf aroma in the mushrooms.

Place the package on the grill and cook. Unwrap at the table to get the full spectrum aromas.

Bake n Stay, Lamai

Now I love my rice and chilli for breakfast, but even when in Thailand we sometimes just have a craving for some eggs, and a coffee ... maybe even some bread.  We've driven past this little place alot, right at the corner before you turn into Lamai. It's called Bake n Take.



But this morning we're going to Bake n Stay. I go straight for the French breakfast set. 2 fried eggs, 2 croissant with coffee and a juice. Well, it was okay, it certainly might frighten a Parisian calling it a French breakfast though. The coffee was great, a nice chocolate feathering on the top and a strong caffeine kick. Freshly squeezed Thai orange juice as well, mmmm.



Kim has a panini with sausage, olive, dried tomato and pesto. The bread's a little unexciting and could do with a touch more toasting, but it's not bad.



We had both been eyeing off the custard tart sitting in the display cabinet since we arrived. So this makes a fantastic finish. The tart was definitely the highlight. A rich creamy custard with a caramel top encased in a crumbly short pastry.



Another good start to the day, we're back on the scooter for more exploring of the island.

Thanks for the all the fish.

Thanks to Ioanna from Pelican Burger for giving us the fish names from our visit to Izakaya Torimatsu.

The fish with the scary 8 -sided face is called Hakaku, and the next one (the oilyish very tasty one!) is called Tsubodai. Both caught of the coast of Hokkaido!