Friday fervour

To balance last week’s Friday Fury I’m raving about ‘Sunshine Kitchen.’ I went off to do some 'research' about ten days ago so that I could blog about them. However I forgot to take a picture; I was half way through scoffing my food before I remembered and then I wasn’t prepared to stop.

Sunshine Kitchen – okay, it’s not a great name – but OMG, the food… the food more than makes up for it. They describe the food as ‘quality, healthy, fresh and tasty’ but the reason I love it is because it’s proper vegetarian food. They do serve meat and fish – separately obviously – but their use of grains, pulses and veggies make this among the best vegetarian food I’ve ever eaten.

For anyone in Bangkok, you can find them downstairs in the vegetable market part of Gourmet in Siam Paragon. You can take away or eat in at a no frills high stool and bench arrangement. They’re total foodies. When you arrive to look at the food, the first thing they do is to get a pot of spoons and let you try stuff.

It’s been a mystery to me why I hadn’t found excellent veggie restaurants in Bangkok. There’s a branch of Buddhism that is vegetarian and think of all those studenty type backpackers that come to Thailand. Is it presumptuous of me to think that they’ll be a higher than average number of veggies among them?

And no, I’m not being paid to say this; I just feel fervour for the grub. I’m a frustrated vegetarian. I grew up among foodies but they were confirmed meat eaters. My sister became vegetarian in her teens and my parents declared it a stage she’d grow out of: 25 years later my Dad’s still calling it a phase. Sod’s law would have it that I married a meat eater too but not only that, but he’s nearly phobic about vegetable, grains and pulses.

This plate of food cost 200 Baht (currently about £3.60)

Also my life

I feel the need to declare that I’m not often in the company of folk who are swinging and a-flinging their g-strings to the degree that it might compromise my Gin.

I called it ‘colourful’ but much of SE Asia has a reputation for its lascivious nightlife. Some tourists come in pursuit of that specific activity: others are here for the temples and the beaches, but most are curious about the other, equally well known attraction.

Whenever a friend/colleague/relation tells us that someone they know is coming to Thailand, we always offer our address and an invitation to get in touch while they are here. In the event that they need help, it’s always reassuring to their family and friends that they have Western contacts here who know the place. No-one has ever needed serious help (beyond some clean sheets, a hot shower and - in the case of two young lads who’d been living very cheaply in China before they came to us - unending supplies of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches.)

L is our current ‘backpacker’ and she is the cousin of the wife of someone we were at University with. It was in this capacity that we found ourselves hosting a tour of the more outlandish and flamboyant sides of the city. We’ve done it before and I dare say we’ll do it again.

The truth is it isn’t only the few famous red light areas. It’s everywhere and it is roughly this subject that my book is about. What it is like living, as a Western woman, in a place so openly flaunting sexual availability.

Been a bit busy

I didn't think I needed to post that it was half term here too.

I thought I'd be blogging as normal, but apparently not. Daughter, without lots of exercise, is climbing the walls; much stroppier than normal and more easily wound up by Son. So I'm doing a fair amount of being wound up by both of them.

We have a 'backpacker' here too. That's a sort of general traveller term in our house to mean, a friend/son/daughter/cousin of someone we know who's coming to Thailand. We offer to put them up. L is totally lovely, Canadian and the cousin of the wife of a friend from University. Got that? So I've been out and about with her and not blogging...

Anyway, I need to blog - I do - I NEED it. So I've come to tell you that today I had a blogger meet... Carol and I met with Mel, who lives here. She's come to Bangkok for an interview and it was lovely to meet her. I love blog friends. I thought the internet was for saddos and pervs, but I'm loving it and I'm not either. Honest. Well, maybe a saddo...

I think that might be all I've got to say today. Ooh, apart from, here's a picture of Mel in Starbucks.