Thai Cooking Course Day 2: 5 March

I debate whether to eat breakfast this morning as we ate so much yesterday on the course, but I can't refuse the Rice Porridge. I'm pleased I have it as everything runs a little later today as the school has 40 students from the Shanghai International School in the adjacent kitchen.

The people on the course today are a lot more talkative and I meet some interesting people. The day starts with an introduction to Thai ingredients which is fun because its delivered with the unique Chiang Mai sense of humour but I don't learn very much as most of the ingredients are familiar to me.

Dishes we cook today are:

1. Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yam Goong)
Aromatic and delicious. If cooking for a dinner party I would strain the galangal and lemongrass out before serving

2. Green Curry with Chicken (Gaeng Kheo Wan Gai)
This is one of the best I've eaten - brilliant recipe (although the green curry paste is already made which saves us a lot of time)

3. Thai Style Fish Cakes (Tord Man Plaa)
We are treated to this demo by Sompon who set up the school. He is a bit of a Thai celebrity and is incredibly funny to watch - he loves his job! He also shows us how to make a fabulous sweet chilli dipping sauce. The fish cakes taste divine although I manage to make mine in the shape of fish for some reason!

4. Phad Thai Noodles
oh my - these are so easy to make and taste amazing. This will be added to my quick dinner list for sure.

5. Minced Chicken Salad
I've cooked this before and this version seems to lack something - maybe it is just because I've eaten so much today already and am not very hungry.

6. Tab Tim Grob
This is an incredible dessert. I'm not going to divulge the ingredients as I want to make it for people and have them guessing! There is a photo of it above though (next to the minced chicken salad)

After the class I had planned to go and have either a massage by a blind person or a fish foot spa, however after a spot of sunbathing on the roof terrace, some hula practice and a shower I end up napping for two hours. Those treats will have to wait!

Vegetable carving @ cooking school: Thur 4 March

After a breakfast (again) of rice porridge I am collected for the start of my five day cookery course held at the Chiang Mai Cookery School.

There are lots of people on the course but they split us up and half of us are driven out to the school owner's house in the equivalent of millionaire's row of Chiang Mai. It is a beautiful house with two large kitchen sections, two air conditioned class rooms and a communal eating area surrounded by a wonderful vegetable garden. Each student has their own gas burner and work station. First we see a demo on how to cook the dish and then we each attempt it. We have 6 dishes to cook each day and we get to eat them all! Each day also has a theme. Today the theme is Vegetable Carving.

Vegetable Carving
We are shown how to make a rose (out of a tomato), a lotus flower (out of a tomato) and a leaf (out of a carrot slice). After each demo we all have a go and are given tiny carving knives to use. I find it all very fiddly and don't really have the patience for it. As a result my creations are less than fit for purpose! I've included a photo of what the rose should look like (mine did NOT look like this!) however I have included a photo of my lotus flower and leaf. From a distance they look ok, however a lot more practice is needed.

Question is - do I buy a carving knife? I need the practice but will I really ever do this back home? Comments welcomed!

We then head to the classroom for our first demo. I've listed the dishes we made below with some comments. Photos are included for dishes that I remembered to photograph (the spring rolls were not mine).

Today's dishes

1. Clear soup with minced pork balls (Tom Jued)
Delicious, light and flavoursome - one of my favourites

2. Spring Rolls (Paw Pia Tord)
ok but a bit greasy for me. I need more practice at rolling them too.

3. Roast Duck Red Curry (Gaeng Phed Ped Yang)
Nice but a bit sweet for me (it has pineapple and grapes in it)

4. Chicken with Ginger (Gai Phad King)
Delicious and light but almost Chinese rather than Thai

5. Chicken in Pandanus Leaves (Gai Hor Bai Toey)
a yummy starter but quite fiddly to make the parcels. Would like to make again if my Thai grocer can import the leaves for me. The leaves impart a wonderful aroma to the marinated chicken inside the parcel.

6. Mango with Sticky Coconut Rice (Khao Neow Mamuang)
This is very moreish!

After the lesson, feeling very full, I go to a local hotel to use their lovely outdoor pool and swim a lot of lengths. In the walk there I discover that lots of food stalls set up in front of the nearby school at home time to offer kids snacks. The choice is very diverse (and very tempting). Even though I'm super full I still buy 3 pieces of fresh sushi because at 10p each, how could I refuse?

Later that evening on my walk home I'm still not hungry but I do pass a street vendor selling pork dim sum and I can't resist 20 baht worth, just to try them. I get a bag of about 10 which I munch on my walk. I justify it as at least I haven't had a full dinner.

Everything I ate today! 3 March

In order:

Rice Soup with Chicken plus Earl Grey tea
Thai omelette (small portion)
Crispy spicy dried fish snack
Coconut sticky rice pudding with fresh mango slices and a Lychee juice
Banana
Watermelon shake
Miang Kam
Papaya salad with salted crab
Fried meat and sausage balls with sweet sauce
Roast pork fried with basil and chilli
Mojito

plus lots of water.

I'm not going to lose weight at this rate!

Cycling around Chiang: 3 March

This is my main day to explore the city before starting my five day cooking course.

I practice hula hooping on the roof terrace before breakfast and then discover that the guest house has rice soup with chicken on the breakfast menu ... and it's delicious. Really light and fresh with tender chicken pieces and garlic oil (maybe the garlic is not such a good idea for breakfast).

I decide to hire a bike to save my feet and explore places outside the old city. Cycling inside the Old City is quite easy however it is surrounded by a moat and on either side of the moat is a very busy 2 - 3 lane road, each one way. I often find myself having to run my bike across the road. I also find it very hard to navigate as many of the roads are not named (and my Lonely Planet map appears to be wrong). It takes me and hour and a half to find the food market in the guide book and so they are packing up by the time I get there! I buy some Thai omelette from a street vendor outside which is light and tasty but a little salty. Inside the market I buy some spicy, dried fish snacks and the woman who sells them to me has a sister who lives in Brighton!

From the market I cycle to the Mai Ping river to take a boat trip on a Scorpion Tail boat. I'm the only passenger so I get the lovely Nu all to myself as my guide. She is very funny and we share a love for trees and birds. The trip is very tranquil and I hear a lot about the history of Chiang Mai. The boat trip is finished with a snack of sweet sticky coconut rice and very fresh, ripe mango (literally plucked from the tree in front of me).

I then eat lunch further down the river at The Gallery in a beautiful and peaceful setting. I'm not very hungry so I opt for two salad style starters, however even these are huge. Miang Kam (a favourite Thai dish of mine where you roll up chillis, lime, peanuts, coconut, ginger, shallot, dried shrimp and palm sugar paste in a betel leaf) and Green Papaya salad (their version comes with salted crab but the crabs are small and whole and taste more of salt than crab).

I visit another market after lunch where I mistakenly buy Tamarind pods thinking they are Longon. Emma introduced me to eating raw Tamarind and although I quite like it, it is not a favourite like sweet juicy Longons or Lychees. I now have a giant bag to eat! Considering it cost me about 10p I shouldn't complain.

After a rest back at the guest house and a change of clothes I cycle up to the university area which is supposed to be quite young and trendy. I am pleasantly surprised by what I find. The cycle there was horrendous (3 lane roads, lots of traffic) however either side of the main road, Nimmanhemin Road, are cute little boutiques in glass boxes and funky bars. All the Sois (or lanes) running off the main road are also packed with individual shops and art galleries. It is super modern and reminds me more of Tokyo.

On the roadside I see a street vendor selling something resembling deepfried meatballs. I'm not sure I want anything deepfried but I am keen to try one or two, so I just ask for 10 Baht's worth (less than 20p). He then proceeds to fill a bag with about 15 of the balls. I really didn't expect that many and I doubt I can eat them. He then gives me a choice of sweet or spicy sauce (I go for sweet) and hands them to me with a skewer. Well, these little meatballs are divine, and because they deflate a little before you eat them they are not as filling. I manage to eat them all however I'm not sure I'm going to manage dinner now.

Well, not until I spot the Roast Pork stall that is written about in the Lonely Planet. The stall hoarding has a pig on it, and all they sell are variations of roast pork dishes. I go for Roast Pork fried with basil and chilli on rice. All for only 30 Baht (about 50p!). Yet again it is a taste sensation (see photo).

After asking lots of people I finally find the Glass Onion bar which I've read about, and which I fancy having a cocktail in. It is very stylish in a New York kind of way with great lighting and retro yet modern furniture. I meet two US ex-pats in there, Brad (from Wisconsin) and Larry (from NYC) and they regale me with tales about living here and a local dodgy nightclub owner who died in dubious circumstances.

Message for Meryn 2 March

While wandering around the temple I find a peaceful garden with lots of Buddhist quotes on boards which have been nailed to trees. I appreciate the sentiment of many of them and this one in particular caught my eye. Meryn, take heed!

Anxiety shortens life

I then walk the streets hoping to be tempted by street food everywhere however 5 - 6pm seems to be the quiet time and no one is out selling. I do watch a lady making rings with pancake batter and then breaking a quail's egg into the centre and letting it fry. They look very pretty but she has a long queue of kids waiting for them. I arrive back at the hotel and realise I've not eaten since my rice porridge at 9am this morning. I eat in the hotel to give me fuel for a night-time wander - a Pad Thai. It is tasty but a little too sweet. Stella then warns me against eating the street food - but I'll have a hard time heeding that (when I find some).

After dinner I head to the Night Bazaar. Stella has also warned me against buying things here as there are Saturday and Sunday markets which are much cheaper. Amazingly I do manage not to buy anything. I am very tempted in their food court where you buy tokens and then exchange them for food. The quality is supposed to be very good here and the ingredients look lovely. Mussels and Oysters in batter do take my fancy but the portions are huge and as I'm really not hungry I resist.

Whilst walking around I am struck by how clean all the streets are, as all the shop and stall holders clean up after they've finished trading. It is a stark contrast to India.

Arrival in Thailand 2 March 2010

I left for Thailand on 1 March with no great incidences. The most fun was all the attention I got for carrying a collapsible hula hoop. The first security guard wanted a demo, the second searched it with his flashlight and the third warned me not to hula hoop in the terminal for health and safety reasons!

I arrived in Bangkok airport with two hours to kill before my flight to Chiang Mai and so I headed straight for some Thai refreshments of Rice porridge with pork and a Watermelon shake. The broth is fresh and flavoursome and the shake is thirst quenching. I feel so happy to be back in Thailand - and this is just the airport food!

CHIANG MAI
Taxi to my hotel is only two quid and my taxidriver tells me the city is just entering the hot season - and I can feel it. He knows where my guest house and takes me straight there - it is a lot less stressful than my last time in Bangkok or Delhi.

I'm met with smiles at the Green Tulip Guest House by this effervescent Thai woman called Stella, who is very excited to see my hula hoop and demands a demo later. I so wish I'd practiced more already!

I have four hours sleep - my first proper sleep since I woke at 6am the day before - and after that I head out for a wander. On my doorstep is one of the most famous temples and I arrive just in time for prayers with lots of teenage novice monks.

Hula Hoop Class & Clothes Swap: Sat 13 February

Improving my hula hooping is also on my to-do list and so I’ve signed up for a beginner’s hula hoop class. It is held in the lovely WestHill Community Centre and run by a lovely and very fit woman called Jessica. She introduces us to the idea of Hoop Dance and by the end of the workshop I’ve learn about six new tricks or moves with my hula hoop. I could do the basics before the class but I really feel like I’ve learnt a lot and now just want to perfect what she’s showed me.

Suzanne has come to the class with me and afterwards we drive across town in her gorgeous retro Pao car to go to a clothes swap, or Swishing party, in Kemptown. I’ve looked out about five items to take to the swap and Su has a couple of items, however she nabs a Noa Noa top I’d planned to put in before we even get there. In the end I’m so happy that Su took that top as I got NOTHING from the clothes swap and found the whole set up very stressful and not fun at all. I missed out on a lovely All Saints top which I’m convinced some bitch stole off my hanger after I’d claimed it and I narrowly missed out on these cute ankle boots. Su and I decide to do another clothes swap with friends where it is a lot more amicable and fair.