Culinary Discovery in Thailand

In Thailand, it is the roadside that is almost always, uniformly home to the best food to be had. During the many trips I have made to the country, this truth has only been reinforced. Nowhere is this truer than in Bangkok, easily one of the culinary capitals of the world in general, and of street food in particular. Finding good, cheap street food in Bangkok is not a hard task, all one needs to do is follow one’s nose.

The Thais take their food seriously, and it being a communal affair, roadside eateries heave with people at meal times – adding to the chaos of the already congested Bangkok roads. Needless to say the smell of food permeates the streets too. A walk down a main thoroughfare and the olfactory senses are assaulted with myriad scents and smells – the sweet, charcoal-laden smell of grilled sausages, the pungency of the chillies that accompany any meal, the tanginess that accompanies the soups, the fragrance of lemon grass and basil foremost amongst the many herbs used to flavour the dishes…

From breakfast to dinner to snacks in between, there are no meals that can’t be had on the road. Even the variety of food available on the street is astounding. There are certain foods that are only to be eaten on the roads. The ubiquitous Pad Thai is one. Found literally everywhere, this dish is a thin flat stir fried rice noodles flavoured with eggs, chicken or shrimp, bean sprouts, fish sauce, tamarind juice, lots of red chilli pepper and garnished with even more chilli pepper and an overload of peanuts – a good Pad Thai is an explosion of flavours and textures.

Bangkok, through history, has always attracted migrants from across Asia, and this reflected in the street food as well. The insanely crowded, bustling China Town is home to everything from pork noodles to dumplings to glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves, not to mention the array of seafood available. No talk of Bangkok street food can be complete without a mention sweets – coconut ice cream, Cendol ( a desert consisting of shaved ice, coconut milk, noodles and palm sugar with optional add ons of red beans, glutinous rice or grass jelly), mango with sticky rice, sandwiches with sweet kaya (coconut jam) or red bean fillings. Though most people don’t much delight South East Asian desserts and given the heat of the Thai capital, it’s the fruit salads that tempt more people. Raw mangoes and fresh juicy pineapples (often accompanied with a sugar and chilli topping, for an extra punch), rambutans, mangosteens, lychees flood the roads. Like everything else had on the street in Bangkok, they are bursting with flavours – fresh and completely satisfying.

Marrakech’s Jemaa el Fna

Marrakech’s main square has always been the city’s showcase. When Queen Victoria sent the pasha an elephant as a present, this is where it was displayed. When the Glaoli, pasha of Marrakech for much of the first half of the 20th century, had his setting of scores, this is where his enemies were beheaded; their heads salted and hung on the nearby city walls. These days the Jemma el Fna serves a more peaceful purpose, as the centre of entertainment. At sundown, half of the square is covered by stalls and tables; benches are wheeled in and food laid out. Smoke from the first fires rises up in a string of thick plumes. Across the square, entertainers, including story-tellers, snake charmers, acrobats, musicians, old sages who can cure diabolical conditions with a range of natural remedies, will be warming up. Here, then, are the makings of a unique evening of food and diversion, a recipe recognised by UNESCO when it inscribed the square on its list of the world’s Intangible Heritage.

Street Food

Eating in the square is a brief but entertaining experience. Each stall has a number, its food (and prices) displayed, and a front-man to pull in the clients, many with Anglo-Saxon references that include M&S and Jarnie Oliver. Food is always fresh – nothing is kept over from one day to the next – and hygiene, although basic, is usually dependable. Sheep’s head and offal and a snail soup are among the more exotic offerings but there are also meguez (spicy sausages), fried calamari, chicken kebabs, kofta and a long list of other less challenging dishes.

Riad Dining

If you are staying in a riad in the medina that doesn’t have a restaurant, chances are you will still be able to eat at home. These can sometimes be the most delicious and most memorable meals, an opportunity to sample Marrakshi home-cooking. You will have a choice of what you eat- chicken or lamb, tagine or couscous, fruit or pastries or both, and while this is being prepared, you can be in the hamman or watching the sunset over the rooftops of Marrakech Magical.

Colombo Restaurants

A land where people worship cricket, adore elephants and get pleasure from music. A combination of shopping, a stroke of art and coupled with its greatest passion – food. Sri Lanka emerged from a historical colonial rule to a modern day tourist destination. The capital Colombo, is one of the most exciting and interesting cities in the Indian subcontinent and it is quite natural for a food aficionado to get lost in the city; to want a taste of everything; to want to explore further – and one can. I’ve listed some of the best restaurants and cafes in Colombo, which accelerates your culinary journey through this wonderful part of the world.

• The Gallery Café – The best is lemon butter lobsters and unforgettable chocolate cakes to top designers, artists, architects, diplomats and expats would make for a hugely successful café. New art exhibitions every weeks and the availability of popular Paradise Road stores merchandise would make for an exceptionally good café.

Don’t miss – Mediterranean prawns with saffron risotto, calamari pasta and lemon Meringue Pie.

• Cricket Club Café – Cricket is the soul of the country and it’s no wonder that cafés themed after cricket are well popular. This particular café is hidden behind trees and ample tree spaces. There is a large collection of Sir Donald Bradman memorabilia, including his hat, tie, his bat, original pictures of his best innings and even a bar named after him. The innovative menu comes to your table as in the form of scoreboard, and the food and drinks resemble an extensive cricket thesaurus.

Don’t miss – Succelent chilli crabs along with The Googly. (This delivery will get you a wicket, melon liqueur, mango liqueur, lime juice and fresh mango blended with ice.)

• Mahaout Café – Mahaout literally means elephants and plush Mahaout Café understands that. The café is better designed and lighter in spirit than most organic cafes around the world. Food options include a vast selection of salads, juices and sandwiches; or go for a full whammy: salad, soup, main course and desserts.

Don’t miss: The alternative sandwiches.

• Barefoot Garden – Ironically, the main attraction is not the food but the coloured handloom shop. The garden café is equally colourful. Late afternoons at this frangipani-fringed café often translate into a live band providing background score, light lunch and Lion Lager beer. The atmosphere is deliciously relaxed and the tablecloths and walls are colourful enough to cheer up the weariest of travellers.

Don’t miss: Barefoot’s homemade ginger beer.

• Summerfields Café – If you only want superb food, this is the place in Colombo. Choose from glistening mounds of seafood and all other meats, pick your cuisine, let them know how you’d like it cooked and once you plate is loaded enough, dig in! The wine is impressively stocked with wines from Spain, New Zealand and America, besides the usual France and Australia.

Don't miss: Be at Summerfields for their elaborate breakfast or try the crab curry for lunch. Also worth relishing is the dinner on Saturdays, laden with just about everything with meat barbecued to perfection.