Culinary destinations
vendors grabbing delicious food on the go. Laws have tightened up standards and food is much safer to eat nowadays. It has to be chilled and vendors are now more heavily monitored on hygiene levels. That’s good to know because the smells wafting through the streets are simply irresistible. We stop for a cool drink and take more shady detours as I snap away on my camera to document my first Thai experience. Thai people are so friendly and with Pitaya giving a step-by-step guide of his childhood growing up in Thailand, I must say I felt very at home. The city air is very polluted, however. That’s down to the sheer volume of vehicles. Life here is not for the faint hearted and like many travellers before me, I planned to spend only a couple of days in Bangkok, before heading south to island destinations, like Phuket. When we finally hopped on a boat I found a good spot to take in the views. After just a few rather hairy corners we reached our stop and Pitaya disappeared for a few moments, reappearing with two ice-cold bottles of water. I immediately poured mine over my head. “We’ll take a taxi the rest of the way,” Pitaya said, eyeing my drenched T-shirt. Music to my ears! I dropped the bags in the boot and took the short ride back to Pitaya’s private test kitchen. “If you cook from passion, it comes through in the food,” Pitaya said, walking into the kitchen. As a budding (wannabe) chef I couldn’t agree more. Kitted out with huge stainless steel industrial equipment, the kitchen was light and airy. I gazed in awe at walls of shiny knives sharp enough to slice steel, huge refrigerators and a centred counter worthy of any TV cooking show, instantly falling in love. “This is the kitchen I’ve always dreamed of,” I said. Pitaya grinned. “It’s my haven; I like to experiment here with music playing,” he told me. Unpacking the coriander, shallots, lemongrass, and chillies we set out all the tools I needed to get cooking. Apron on, I was ready to make my very first authentic Thai paste from scratch. I tossed cloves of garlic, grated galangal root, and soaked half a dozen dried chillies. “All of these?” I asked We stop for a cool drink and take more shady detours as I snap away to document my first Thai experience.
Pitaya tentatively, who nodded wholeheartedly. “Tonight you’re going to feel the heat!” he laughed. Pitaya was keen to give me pointers as I cooked, sharing tips – like how he uses spices and herbs to maximise flavour – but still making me feel like the head chef. It’s a balance he’s no doubt perfected, having held many cooking classes for tourists in this very same kitchen. As I pounded and mashed ingredients in the pestle and mortar I felt my eyes water under the strength of the crushed chillies, so moved quickly on to frying the chicken in oil. Luckily Pitaya, who lives in Bangkok with his wife and four children, kept talking, distracting me from my burning eyes. “My love affair with Thai food started when I was in boarding school abroad,” he recalls. “It all started with a small rice cooker, soya sauce and sweet Chinese sausage, before I moved on to more elaborate recipes.” A bundle of energy in the kitchen, Pitaya brings fun and laughter to an arena more often marked by stressed chefs and heated tempers. His energy was inspiring. I blitzed the ingredients in the huge blender, added stock and lemongrass and chopped coriander to the pan. “It’s really taking shape,” Pitaya commented. I turned down the heat and covered the pan to let it simmer for an hour or so. “What do we do now?” I asked. “Mark, I think we deserve a massage, it’s been a busy day!” A Thai massage right now sounded like the perfect end to a hectic day of shopping and cooking. As I entered the parlour I was greeted by a masseur. “Sa- wat-dee Kah” he said. Never forgetting my manners, I’d done my research before arriving in Thailand and learnt this greeting, so pushing my hands together and taking a little bow in the Thai traditional way I replied, “Sa-wat-dee kraup” and felt very pleased with myself. I opted for a full-body massage (it had been a busy day, after all) and was told to put on a massage gown, which once I’d pulled on made me look like I was about to go into surgery. Feeling slightly awkward, I laid down and the bending and stretching began. And 45 minutes of hysterical laughter ensued! “Stop!” I cried, stifling giggles. Clearly not the ideal response, but this was the funniest experience of my life. Maybe just a
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