Jun Hom, checking out Pooky's Mum's old restaurant, Koh Samui

Pooky was one of the delightful Thai girls we were lucky enough to work with at Parrot Cay. Her food, amazing! So, when we met up with Steve & Kannika, also some old friends we had worked with on the island and we were in Koh Samui, we decided to hunt down Pooky's Mum's old restaurant. We knew it was called Jun Hom, and knew it was somewhere along Hat Bang Po. We doubled up on scooters, and rode the ring road up to the top of the island ... It was hot and dusty, and we were going at some speed. We of course drove past it and ended up at Mae Nam beach before heading back and retracing our steps. It took us a while to find, but it is nestled just beside the Coconut Villas, which is a great landmark should we be looking for it again.. We park the scooters and head on in.



It's so green, the entrance surrounded by fresh plants. There is an undercover eating area, but we are very happy to take a seat out on the beach tables, taking our shoes off with the sand between our toes. We order a couple of big beers, which come Thai style with a bucket of ice.



They have a huge menu, and then funnily enough only a couple of pages translated into English, which lists all the usual suspects. We are very lucky to have Kannika with us, who of course spots a whole range of interesting Thai dishes on the Thai menu. We leave the ordering up to her, just expressing our interest to try and true Southern style dishes. The first dish is just that, a dry fried curry with green peppercorns and lots of tumeric with a few slices of cucumber on the side. This is incredible, almost like a Southern style larb, but a bit dryer.



The soup is also stained with the yellow of tumeric, simply filled with chunks of chicken, slices of onion and some fresh coriander.



The next dish, oh my, I can still remember the taste, the texture of the fried lemongrass, and the amazing aroma. A whole fish was firstly marinated in amongst many other things, lemongrass, garlic & fish sauce and then deep-fryed. Then on top of that, a mountain of smashed up lemongrass and garlic had also been fried, the fine strands so aromatic and crispy. We all love this dish so much, and we have nearly devoured the whole thing before anyone notices the little sauce on the side, not that it needed it!



Majority of the Thai population are Buddist, but many of those from the South are Muslim, immigrating to the area from the Indian subcontinent over the last 2 thousand years or so. Therefor the Southern regions of Thailand bear close similarities to Indian food, turmeric permiating a lot of the Southern Cuisine. It's the fresh tumeric root that is used though, with a beautiful gold colour and mild flavor. We see it again used in the Southern style fish curry. Chunks of well browned fish, with a green leaf that is a little bitter swimming in a light coconut and turmeric broth.



Fried crab with egg, pepper and garlic was our last dish of the day. Whole blue crabs smashed up and piled high, the meat sucked from the shell.



A beautiful, beachside location, with some really interesting and delicious Southern Thai dishes to match. A must if you are up the top end of the island.



Jun Hom
Hat Bang Po
Next to the Coconut Villas
Koh Samui, Thailand


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Blown away, Bo.lan, Bangkok

It's a big call but I'm going to stand by it..... Bo.lan is the hottest new place in the world to get amazing traditional Thai food and flavors mixed with a smattering of international ideas ( don't read con - fusion, think amuse bouche, palette cleansers and petit fors). After being given the tip off to eat here before it became impossible (thanks Austin and Paul) we had to go. I'd like to apoligise now, as a result of being so slack at blogging as well as being totally unprepared for the experience there will be a few gaps.....sorry.



Started by Duangporn Songvisava (bo) and Dylan Jones with the belief that the best Thai restaurant should be in Thailand, armed with this belief, years of experience from working with such great chefs as David Thompson and Amanda Gale and doorstep access to the amazing produce offered from the markets in Bangkok you know they are onto a winner. After a quick taxi ride down Sukhumvit and only one missed turn we find ourselves outside Bo.lan a renovated thai house with a big beautiful balcony,



as it's raining we slip inside to find the interior is just as beautiful.



The menu is seperated into the traditional Thai divisions of salad, soup, stirfries, currys, relishes and desserts with a couple of choices on each. You can just order a la carte or as we did go for the Bo.lan balance where the chef decides on the dishes to created a balanced Thai meal, perhaps also with some dishes not offered on the menu.

We started off with an amuse bouche of pandanus juice with rice wine, a Thai whisky sour, chilli salt and some other little thing (told you sorry). The raucous flavous of the whisky as well as the sipping smooth pandanus rice wine definitly amused our taste buds and had us raring to go.



This was followed up by a plate of delicious tidbits to keep us going till the meal arrived.



On a long white plate we had a son in law quails egg; depp fried soft quails egg topped with a salty fish sauce caramel and deepfried shallots. Well balanced and delicious.



A thin slice of steam pork wapping something delicious (oh please forgive me)



A small puffed rice cake topped with a spicy fresh lemongrass salad



A small bowl which Kat seems to think had a betal leaf wrap inside.

And finally on the end nahm makam boran (ancient tamarind relish) atop a sliver of pineapple (thanks for the correction anon)

After swooning our war through the first two courses our meal was ready and in usual Thai style all brought to the table at once.

We were asked if we would like jasmine rice or red rice from the north. Of course we both the red rice, it had much more body than regular jasmine but not as much fragrence.

Moments after the rice arrived the table was covered in a delicious feast.



A salad of river prawns and grilled eggplant, all tossed in a garden of fresh herbs a soft boiled egg on the side and topped off with a cloud of fluffy prawn floss and several wickedly hot deep fried chillis. Yum.



Our stirfry was one of fresh squid and garlic chives with a few orange chillis thrown in for the fragrance. Of course it was delicious and of course I tried one of the fragrant chillis to find out it was also tounge meltingly hot (though we may have just been away from Thailand for to long)



Luckly we had a rich, soothing, tounge coating coconut curry at the table. The mon style gaeng khi lek with fall apart braised beef. The mon being one of the hill tribes living in Thailand and khi lek a leaf for which I know no other name. The curry was mild and loaded with coconut cream and with the beef super rich.



The relish we were given has from the first mouthful become my favourite lon of all time as well as one of my top ten farvourite things ever eaten. House made naam (fermented sour pork sausage) gently simmered in coconut cream, expertly seasoned and topped with shredded galangal to create a master piece. The artistic arrangement of the assorted garnishes only highlighting this dish was a work of art. I especially loved the little prawm mince stuffed dok kee flowers and the, well and all of it. Unreal.



Our final part of this awesome meal was the soup as we had ordered we were asked if we would both like the same soup, as it was we had both had our eye one the muslim style beef shank soup so we ended up the same, but I loved that you could get your own one person size soup.



Feeling very happy well fed we were just sitting bach going "ahhhhh" when a little pre-dessert arrived. An elegant martini glass of deseeded lychees and rambutans topped with shaved ice and a perfumed syrup, drapped across the top candied pomelo peel. Just the pre-dessert, wow.



And the spectacule was still going with two plate of three different dessert brought out.
Plate one; Mango sticky rice, palm sugar agar and a light and crispy palm sugar meringue.



Plate two; A cute little paper bag of sweet taro chips, a candied coconut ball and a bowl of sweet coconut cream and banana.



By now were swimming in a delirious haze of contentment but there was still more to come as if just to really let you know you were somewhere really speacial.

We sat and just stared at the petit for plate for a good five minutes. It was so beautiful.
With mangosteens (favourite fruit ever) wafers, tuilles, hand made candies and caramel puffed rice, really incredible.



If we were to have eaten any of that meal as an indivudal piece we would have been happy to .. to have it all in one meal was amazing!!

Bo.lan is well on their way to creating one of the finest Thai restaurants in the world, and doing it in Thailand.

Bo.lan
42 Soi Pichai-rongnarong-songkram
Sukhumvit, Soi 26
Klongteoy
Bangkok
10110

11-Gallery Restaurant, Suk 11

Sometimes while staying over the Sukumvit side of town, we would miss our regulars haunts of the Banglumphu side of town. But Suk 11 and it's surrounds had some little gems. For instance, the 11-Gallery restaurant right at the entrance of the little sub-soi.

A beautiful wooden two-story structure, we're ushered away by a beautiful Thai girl in a Sabai (cloth wrap) and decide to perch upstairs. We sit at the tiny little ledge,



with a pleasant view down to the happenings on the street and get to watch the little pinto's being carried from the downstairs across-the way kitchen over to the restaurant.



Kim starts with a gin fizz, a delicious refreshing combination of gin, soda and lime.



I start with a young coconut juice,



as well as a pandan juice. The pandan juice is served with a little syrup on the side, but I find myself adding the pandan to the coconut as I slowly sip down ...



The menu gives a nice little run down about the balance of Thai food and the way it should be eaten (you can also check it out on the website). We're almost seasoned pro's so dive right in !! First up, our salad, fried bits and curry all arrive carried in a little yellow and green pinto, a tiered / stacked set of little boxes.

The yam ma keaur yow - eggplant, shrimp and pork mince salad with boiled egg was dressed with a tangy tamarind dressing and the perfect way to set of on our gastro journey.



The next stop on our gastro journey, gai ta kai - crispy fried chicken that's topped with a dried and shredded lemongrass floss. The floss is textural explosion of flavor and adds a bit of zing to the fried, salty chicken.



~*woot woot*~, chu chee goong.  A rich red curry thats rather mild and full of coconut cream. The prawns, sweet and delicious, and the kaffir lime adding another dimension.



We take a little detour, and find ourselves feasting on some pork toasts. Resembling that of the Chinese style prawn toasts, this version a nicely seasoned pork minced is slathered onto white bread and fried until golden. A cucumber and chilli dressing cutting a bit of the richness.



The tom yum goong ma phrao oon was one of the recommended dishes. I love Thai soups and I love coconut, so the idea of a soup served inside a coconut, awesome! The only disapointment was they had ran out of coconuts ;( They still served us the more expensive option (claiming there was still coconut flesh in there ... well then where was the coconut?!) I even thought to offer up my drinking coconut so they could make the soup in there ;) But it was divine, none-the-less. Rich with coconut, but still somehow light and fresh with all that lemongrass and tamarind leaf.



The last pinto to pull in for the evening contained a typical Thai dessert.



More a palate cleanser, nice and refreshing and not to sweet ... red beans and tapioca floating in a salty/sweet coconut cream.



Definitely discovered some art we liked at 11-Gallery, and were lucky enough to take it all home in our bellies !!

11-Gallery Restaurant

1/34 Soi 11, Sukhumwit Rd

Bangkok, 10110, Thailand

P: 02-651-2672

The Yam Naam lady in Banglumphu

We did find a guy selling Yam Naam earlier on our trip .... It was okay, but we'd been hanging to go back and see if the lady in Banglumphu was still there.

And indeed she was, perched where she usually is just out front of the supermarket, just opposite the giant fridge full of funny sausages.



We're quick to jump in line and order 2 yam naam.



She methodically takes exact amounts of peanuts, naam, pork skin, shallots, ginger and crushes a red curry crispy rice ball through the mix, then makes the dressing over the salad with palm sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and chili. I think she's made fair few of these in her time .....



Each one is mixed individually, then placed in a bag with chunks of cabbage and crisp lettuce.



We make our way over to the park, sit down and enjoy what we like to call the greatest yam naam in Bangkok.

Hello old friend

Over the years shops come and go for all sorts of reasons, luckily Ricky's has and is still there for us. Located on Pra Arthit off the back of Bunglumphu, Ricky's has been knocking up great baguettes out the faux chinese coffee shop for years.







They have been there for us when we just needed some farang food, they have been there for us when we've been drinking for far to long and need a solid stomach liner, they have been there well... always, except for the brief moment when we came back to the shop and stood horrified at the closed down front for a few seconds be for relising they had just moved next door (be still my racing heart).
The drinks are good the staff friendly but what brings us back time after time is the crusty baguette stuffed with bacon lettuce, tomato and blue cheese or feta if we're feel a little daring and topped with slice green olives and dried oregano. It is and will always be a winner in sandwich circles.







Ricky knows we'll have a few brief flirtations with others but we' always be back. See you again soon Ricky.