Tasty Thai...

Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand

January 21, 2008
N 07°44.128
E 098°46.795

One would think that you can get the best Thai food in Thailand. Yes, this is true if you hit the markets and other places where the locals eat, but on an island catering to tourists it can be very difficult. The dishes lack the hot and spicy flavor that melds together the other distinct South East Asian ingredients; making Thai food one of our favorite cuisines. In other words, the food is dumbed-down for the Western audience, something we Westerners don’t approve of.

On our first night we strolled across to the other half of the island. We hit a Thai restaurant that had adequate food on our last visit. We ordered our favorite dishes including chicken green curry, mixed vegetables and pad thai, and even encouraged the dishes to be spicy. “We like spicy,” we told the young waitress no less than three times. Again, the dishes tasted watered down and lacked the spicy flavor—I didn’t have a bead of sweat or even a drip of perspiration on my upper lip.

My craving for good Thai food hadn’t been quenched. Instead, we’ve been visiting the local BBQ joint located along the shoreline/street; knowing the chicken is fresh and tasty, and we’re never disappointed. However, after a few nights away I wanted, no I needed, Thai food and it had better be good!

Last night we wandered through the back streets of the island where the local’s market is located. We moved through a maze of businesses illuminated by hanging light bulbs. Weathered blue tarpaulin roofs covered the make-shift stands where fruits and vegetables, salt-dried fish, fish nets, eggs, bread and other essentials are sold.

We remembered on our last visit that the majority of this section of the island was covered with garbage, rubble, and the skeletons of a few fruit-stands—reminders of the tsunami. It was heartwarming to see that the island market was once again a thriving business.

As we walked through the newly found section, we wandered down an aisle of restaurants. A place packed with locals and a young woman standing over a smoking hot wok, frantically whipping up food, stopped us in our tracks. A couple rules about eating while traveling: 1) If you can see your food being cooked you’ll be safe, 2) If the place is full of locals then it must be good.

The locals shot us a few strange glances, but when we smiled at them and gave our best Sawadeeka, we were all smiling. The curious looks continued while we watched Thai karaoke music videos, waited for our food and enjoyed a cool beverage.

There was a moment of pause when the food arrived at our table. We ordered basil chili chicken, mixed vegetables and the ever so telling green curry. Before we even tasted the food we added extra chilies to the vegetables and didn’t combust. The guys at the table next to us seemed to be mildly entertained by the fact that we enjoyed the kick; plus they had six empty large bottles of beer in front of them. I looked over at them, gave a thumbs-up and pointed at the chilies—we like, very good. They smiled and laughed, seemingly proud to share such good food with us.

When the green curry arrived we were unsure if it would live up to expectations since we didn’t see any familiar red Thai chilies floating in the green liquid mixture. I decided I wouldn’t add any more spice until I tasted it. It was a good thing! The curry was the star of the show; the perfect blend of coconut milk, chunks of chicken, green curry paste, a couple of hot chilies, and kaffir lime leaves. The green curry paste, where the majority of the spicy-hot comes from, is made in large quantities, and had the perfect amount of heat. We sat there, very happy, savoring every bite of the curry with an ever so slight perspiration moustache, regularly cooled with a sip of Singha.

I’m sure we’ll visit the restaurant stall a few more times while we’re on the island. With great prices, even better food and a name like Coconut & Cream (Tasty), exactly like that, who wouldn’t want to come back for more?