Saturday, October 31, 2009

Tawandang German Brewery




























For Halloween night, we went to Tawandang German Brewery in Bangkok. The wait staff was generally dressed up (witches, vampires, ghosts, and the Joker seemed to be the themes), which fit right in to the general eclectic nature of the place. It's a brewpub shaped like a barrel that seats 1000+ serving German style beers brewed on the premises and catering mostly Thai food and a few Thai style German dishes to constant entertainment (gamelan orchestra, dixiland jazz, lounge acts) and karaoke. The staff behind the bar spent the whole time filling tube shaped towers of beer and carrying them like rifles to the various tables.

The food pictured - Thai spiced pork knuckle, deep fried morning glory, extra long crab-filled spring rolls.

Here's a link to their site - a quick internet search will also give you some youtube videos and such - you sort of have to see it to believe it.
http://www.tawandang.co.th/

Oh, and the beer was good (the lager was actually the most notable of the three - I prefer more hops than these sweeter German styles), but man did the atmosphere work.

Do you know Malay?







You might, you just might not know it. Malay is a very flexible language, and borrows many words from other langauges. It's a microcosm of the country as a whole, which integrates many different ethnicities, religions, cuisines and cultures.






Here are a couple examples - can you tell which direction to the clinic, which direction the lobby is, and which way to the IT department? See, you can read Malay!

Friday, October 30, 2009

More squid snacks











I should make a seperate post label to do with squid - I see them everywhere, and cartoon squid are a particularly popular logo on food in this area of the world. Here are more

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Flexibility




Previously I wrote about getting creative to get out of the bathroom:






I've had occasion to return to the same bathroom since, and noticed a change. First, the door doesn't automatically close - apparently reworking that was chosen until the door handle can be addressed. Later, the door closure mechanism was put to additional use.




For me, this is a nice example of the creativity and resourcefulness I often see in southeast Asia. Compared to some places I've traveled, budgets for infrastructure or maintenance are different, so solutions to obstacles often become more innovative. As well, the standards being adhered to are also much less rigid and more negotiable, with 'what works' becoming 'what's proper'. I've tried to learn to see it from that mindset, and it's made me a much more tolerant person.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Durian fish







When the immigration official at the airport read where I was staying on my entry card, he got very excited. "You must try the famous fish there!" he exclaimed. "Do you mean the durian fish?" I asked. "Yes, yes, you like it?!" he asked happily.

I can say, I do like it: Ikan patin tampoyak - "ikan" is fish, "patin" is the kind of fish, and "tampoyak" is a durian paste.

How does it smell? Like durian! How does it taste? I expected to taste only durian, but the one I had was also very spicy, and the fish was very tender. Unlike a lot of catfish I've had before, this one had few bones, so it was much easier to eat than I though it would be. We were also lucky to get to the restaurant on a slow day - usually the durian fish there is sold out first thing.

It was delicious!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Blood type ice cream


Coagulated blood is a great addition to many Thai and Chinese style soups and noodles. Never seen it in ice cream before (didn't get a chance to try this one) - imagine it would be rather savory.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Snail cup


Fun container for kid's ice cream at a local ice cream shop.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mighty Moso



Sometimes I research what I see and try to understand it fully, sometimes it's more fun to not understand. Here's a sign I saw on the BTS, and I have a few theories as to what it might mean, but it's rather enjoyable to not entirely know.

A few thoughts:
1. Thai society already strikes me as very high on the moderation scale
2. Advertising like this might be less effective in Bangkok than in, say, Singapore.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Snake!



Every day in Bangkok I see something I hadn't seen before, even after a year or so of seeing. Even the roadkill is interesting - here's a snake.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Napkin rabbit


Thai culture has a very creative streak running through it - you see small creative touches like this everywhere (even at very modest stores and restaurants). Not sure how to describe it exactly, except I'll repeat - it's the little things that make it so interesting.