Showing 11 - 20 of 53
A flash in the pan
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 21/05/2017
» The most notorious pan in Thailand now is the Korea King pan being sold through social media and home shopping networks. The value-adding word "Korea" makes the Teflon pan seem more hi-so and eligible to be expensive. The product's advertisement claims that the frying equipment is worth 13,000 baht but the buy-one-get-one promotion offers shoppers two for only 3,300 baht. The importers are said to spend 15-16 million baht a month for such advertising but so far they have made up to 8 billion baht.
The restos outlasting the past
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 25/12/2016
» If you are someone who has been seriously devoted to food for years, you will probably experience a special feeling when you think back to old-style dishes. They were dishes that would not disappoint, and by now have a kind of immortality to them. If you had a chance to taste food like this again, you wouldn't let such a golden opportunity pass. And if you tracked down a restaurant that has been in business for 80 to 100 years or more, and was still operating in its original location with no change in decor or in the flavour of its food, it would be like stumbling upon an enchanted palace from a fairy tale. You would feel as if you had actually passed through some portal into the past.
The roots of radish
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 25/09/2016
» The hua chai thao, or Chinese radish, is both cheap and easy to store. There's no need to worry about it going bad if you keep it in the refrigerator for a while, and it is a good friend to have at hand when you are having a hard time deciding what to cook. A Chinese radish in the refrigerator offers many tasty possibilities. You might cut it into long slivers and fry them with egg, stew them with ground pork and soy sauce to make a soup, or slice the vegetable and boil it to serve with nam phrik.
You've tried the restaurants, now try the best
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 24/07/2016
» Living in Bangkok for a while can create the impression that the city is a world culinary capital. There are offerings of every kind from countries all over the globe, available in every price range, whenever you want them. Atmosphere and style in the city's restaurants run the gamut. After experiencing all of this over a period of time it isn't hard to assume that living in Bangkok has taught you all you really need to know about food and dining.
Old names for a new sensation
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 10/07/2016
» When a popular food or way of eating remains a favourite over time, it lodges deep in people's memories. Even if the food in its original form changes or disappears completely, new ones that come in to replace it will often be referred to by the famous old name.
Pride and khoi
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 29/05/2016
» When driving around Bangkok you'll notice long stretches of ornamental plants; dense, hedge-like bushes cut into different decorative shapes. The straight twigs and leaves at the end of the branches might be shaped into spheres, and sometimes the entire plant has been sculpted into an animal form, elephants being especially popular. Often, a row of the dense plants will be planted next to a wall to create a parallel, vegetable fence.
Ugliness is only skin deep
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 08/05/2016
» I'm pretty sure that there are few people who would call the plaa chon, or snakehead, an attractive fish. Its head really does look like the head of a snake. Its scaly skin looks serpentine and sometimes has patterns that resemble those of some snakes. What's more, it has a powerful fishy smell and is so vigorous that when selling it at the market the vendor has to kill it by smashing its head before impaling it on a long steel skewer to straighten it out, since even after its head has been destroyed it continues to writhe. This is done because the snakehead has slimy skin that would otherwise make it hard to hold on to for scaling. Animal torture very definitely, although you will only have to witness it if you buy the fish to cook yourself.
From sweet treat to forbidden fruit
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 20/03/2016
» Candied fruits, popular favourites half a century or so ago, are gradually being forgotten. The number of kinds of fruit that are candied now is decreasing, and fewer people eat the ones that are still being made.
The case of the shrinking mussels
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 14/02/2016
» I’d lived in Bangkok for my entire life and when I moved out of the city I counted my blessings. How lucky I was now to escape the traffic. How fortunate I was not to have to wade through water when it rained. How nice to no longer get lost on new roads that had suddenly appeared.
The noodle superpower
B Magazine, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 06/12/2015
» A couple of weeks ago I wrote that Thailand was full of shops and vendors offering grilled chicken, and that this dish will remain a favourite with Thais for a long time to come.