We returned to Basanti in mid June only to find the weather in Langkawi uncomfortably hot and rainy. After sorting a few things out on the boat we decided it would be a good time to explore parts of SE Asia not immediately accessible by boat. That said, we started in Penang, because it is a good jumping off point for the Cameron Highlands.
The best part of the day was early morning at the markets. During the cooler part of the day, everyone is out socializing, buying and selling food, and eating. We usually could not resist a snack before heading back to our hotel for the breakfast which was included in the room tariff.
This was the season for many of the tropical fruits, see all the durian piled up here.
Everything looks wonderful and fresh.
Already, at 0600, the BBQ ducks, pork and chickens are ready for serving, as well as Chinese steamed buns.
Chris enjoys a pre-breakfast snack.
The butchers have fresh meat available also...chickens and pork mainly. There are many kinds of fresh fish for sale too.
A local grabs a quick breakfast.
We made our way up to the Cameron Highlands where it was cooler and we could enjoy hiking on some of the many trails. This builds up an appetite and our favourite restaurant in Tanah Rata became this Indian place.
Great curries, wonderful, fresh naan breads and Tandoori chicken right out of the traditional oven.
The staff were really friendly too. YUM!
One night Phil helped make the naan, here he is with his fav, Tandoori chicken.
Chris has the banana leaf set for breakfast...roti (paratha) with an assortment of veggie curries, dahl, tea and a lassi.
From the highlands we went to Taman Negara National Park where food wasn't really spectacular, and then took a train down to Johor Bahru and visited a friend. A couple of nights we walked to a nearby Chinese restaurant...it was filled with locals and this was the menu. Luckily for us, they seemed happy enough for us to be there and one of the waitresses (possibly an owner) helped us with ordering. The food came out fresh, hot and delicious and the beers were icy cold.
Next we flew up to Thailand. We enjoyed the food so much in Malaysia because of the variety...Indian, Malay and Chinese all over, and a great mix of anything you can think of in Johor Bahru. When we sail to Phuket, we have found the menus to be somewhat repetitious with versions of red and green curries, pad thai, fried rice, spring rolls and banana pancakes. It is good, but after a few weeks a change is welcome. What we have learned by travelling a bit more in Thailand is that the food is wonderful and varied, and now Thailand is our favourite place for food.
We caught up with some Thai friends in HadYai (southern Thailand) and went out for two meals with them. The first night was some traditional Thai/Chinese food, plenty of seafood and quite delicious, however we didn't bring the camera. It was a great way to try some new things as our friends ordered. Next night we chose a dim sum place that was great fun and delicious also...and we remembered the camera. Anothai ordered everything (we have dearly missed her expertise in our subsequent dim sum adventures) and we started with a herb soup containing plenty of varieties of mushrooms and supposed to be good for digestion.
Next we selected the dishes. Anothai spoke to the cook and picked many items from these stacks.
Once the dishes are selected, the cook places the baskets on the steamers before delivery to our table.
The dishes started arriving, there were so many they wouldn't all fit on our table...all this for the four of us. It was all so good we ate every bit. Like I said before, great to have Anothai to choose items, we tried some unfamiliar things and had a great meal.
We found ourselves in Chiang Mai for about a month. It was great fun to explore the markets and places to eat, plus try some of the Northern Thai dishes. Another really welcome aspect of Thai food is the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. We rarely find salad bars in Malaysia, and here (Thailand) they were quite common.
Below, fresh spring rolls are prepared at the market in Chiang Mai. Fresh and delish.
The most unassuming little shops are capable of producing some yummy food. Just across from the train station we had a quick curry before making our way into town.
Sunday afternoon and evening in Chiang Mai brings everyone out into the center of the old city for "Sunday Walking Street" Hundreds of venders are out selling handicrafts, art, clothes, watches, gifts and souvenirs and of course, food. So many different kinds of foods...dim sum dumplings, spring rolls both fried and fresh, BBQ chicken, pork, meatballs, fish and fish balls, and squid, fresh fruit shakes, noodle dishes, salads, fruit chunks, mushroom specialties, soup, gyoza, sausages, sushi, and the list goes on. For us, Sunday dinner was grazing at the markets and we usually finished up with an ice cold Chang beer.
There were omelettes cooked in banana leaf boats too.
Fresh marinated and grilled chicken.
Below are little grilled pork and chicken kababs, gyoza and fried quail eggs.
They don't forget the sweets...there are Thai sweets as well as cakes available. Phil usually had room for a waffle but I generally was too full for desert but could manage to squeeze in a fruit shake or passionfruit juice.
Below are photos from a fruit and veg market, not the walking street. Everything looks so fresh and appealing.
There are always things to eat at the fruit and veg markets...here are the little pork kababs, 10 baht each or about 30 cents.
Wanting to make your own Tom Yum soup?? Just purchase a fresh kit containing lemongrass, galangal, fresh turmeric an a shallot already bundled together. Nice.
Fresh curry pastes ready to take home. Sadly I can't read Thai and haven't tried these fresh preparations. I make sure to find a packet in the supermarket with some English instructions.
Then again...why cook? Plenty of food ready to eat at the markets.
I have described the markets as fruit and veg, but this is a little wrong as most of the time you can get meats and fish too. Here it is already cooked.
Finally, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it has been the tropical fruit season here. This is a pomelo, sort of like a huge grapefruit but milder and sweeter in taste. We stayed at a homestay where they grew mangosteen, jackfruit, rambutans and longons. Every meal finished with a great big platter of fresh fruit. If I find the right photos I'll add some, but if I don't get this posted now, it may never happen. Happy eating.
