We arrived very early in the morning at the tail end of a trip that included a cruise up the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel, followed by a couple of weeks in Northern Burgundy and a finale in London. The airport was fairly chaotic, through I did comment at the security desk on the way out of Bangkok, as we boarded the Thai Airways flight to Australia, that it was the fastest fast lane I’d ever encountered. With a long history of enjoying Thai food all over Australia – like most Australians – we discovered a food tour of Bangkok and decided that we couldn’t visit the city without going on one.
The Old Siam Chef's Tour was fabulous and absolutely topped off our visit to Bangkok. We went to so many markets and tiny restaurants, jumped on a canal ferry and a tuk tuk and a bus, and ate so many varied and marvellous dishes. Our champion guides, Annie and Champion, were like a well-oiled machine, ensuring everything was organised in advance and guaranteeing that the food was fresh and fabulous. One roamed ahead of us and made sure that everything was ready and everything, like bus fares, was paid.
Getting it right
I’m not sure if I have the stamina to make it to Bangkok again, but if I do there are several things I will be sure to do – firstly have local wi-fi connectivity that doesn’t depend on the vagaries of free wi-fi (though there is plenty of it); secondly, have cash because most people are paid so badly, you want to be able to tip everyone (even though they don’t demand it); thirdly visit Paste, the original restaurant of its excellent sister restaurant in Mittagong in the Southern Highlands of NSW, which was not far away from our hotel.
Lastly, I wouldn’t get confused a second time by reversing the currency exchange calculation and mistakenly thinking for the first day that we couldn’t possibly afford anything, whereas in fact it was extremely good value. I’d also start ahead of the game because on my phone I still have the app Grab, which everyone uses to book transport and order food deliveries.
See also
‘Continuing the series of posts about places we've visited and reviewed on Google Maps, but which have never been posted to this blog, my next post is about a location a mere two and a half hours from Canberra. The Snowy Mountains are one of the best reasons to live in the national capital. We've been there more times than I can count. I've reviewed some of our favourite places, but have yet to add a few more, even though we've been to them numerous times. Thredbo is an obvious drawcard, but there are many lesser known spots, like Tinkersfield, on the way to Thredbo, for accommodation, and Wild Brumby Schnapps Distillery for terrific food and drink (some of which they distill themselves). It's as close to the centre of Tasmania, where I grew up, between Cradle Mountain National Park and Lake St Clair,’ Echoes of Tasmania on the island to the North – chilling out in summer in the Snowy Mountains.
‘Continuing the series of posts about places we've visited and reviewed on Google Maps, but which have never been posted to this blog, my next post is about Sydney and the Southern Highlands. Given Canberra is increasingly moving closer to Sydney – it used to take four and a half hours to drive to Sydney and it’s now down to three hours, door to door, we have developed a habit of recent decades of driving to Sydney for wild times (more recently, mild times), followed by a wind down in the Southern Highlands on the way home. This means that posts about both places often sit well together, even of the visits are always at the same time’, The short road to Sydney – out and about in Surry Hills and Bowral.
‘Over the years I have posted many short reviews to Google Maps, to the point where now I have had over 30,000 views of my reviews and over 460,000 views of the accompanying photos – and they keep on growing. I realised that many of these had never been posted to this blog, which is my main outlet for news about food, drink, produce and places to visit’, Short note: wine bars, wineries and restaurants I have known...
‘Now not one, but two, new restaurants have opened perched high on Red Hill above the nation’s capital, we managed to visit and try both. First the fine-dining restaurant, Lunetta and then the more casual space, Lunetta Trattoria. Both are well-designed and well-presented venues, worthy of their lofty status above the city,’ Upstairs and downstairs – sampling the ground floor pleasures of Lunetta Trattoria.
‘The awkward relationship between Tasmania and the island to the North is not the only clumsy relationship between islands in this part of the world. The history of the ties between the island to the North and the islands of the Pacific is even more troubled’, The island to the North – the islands to the North East.
‘Our near neighbours in the vast Pacific are often overlooked by Australia in its slavish focus on America, Britain and Europe. Yet this is our own backyard. The lack of knowledge has ranged across many aspects of the culture and history of the Pacific, including its culinary traditions. Yet, behind the scenes over more than a decade, a culinary revolution has been underway. This is the story of New Zealand chef, Robert Oliver, his fascination with the traditional food of the Pacific Islands, and an internationally award-winning cookbook, described as a ‘culinary love letter from a smattering of islands in the South Pacific’, which has developed a life of its own’, Food and culture in the neighbourhood – culinary love letter from the South Pacific.
‘Almost ten years ago much fuss was made of the rapidly looming Asian Century, full of challenge and promise. I was working in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet at the time as Director of the National Cultural Policy Task Force. The discussion White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century being developed at the same time seemed part of a similar big picture approach to Australia's future. Today it seems even more relevant than in those times of more strategic governments. In Sydney you get a much sharper sense of the Asian Century – and its culinary reflection, the Asian food century’, The Asian food century begins in Sydney.
In search of wild mushrooms
‘Growing up in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, foraging for wild mushrooms was a regular part of life. Now living in Canberra, a landscape markedly similar to where I grew up, mushrooms have an altogether more deadly reputation. However, it all comes down to specialist knowledge about the subject, as I discovered on a chilly evening with one of Canberra’s mushrooming experts’, In search of wild mushrooms.
The Asian food century begins in Sydney
‘Almost ten years ago much fuss was made of the rapidly looming Asian Century, full of challenge and promise. I was working in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet at the time as Director of the National Cultural Policy Task Force. The discussion White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century being developed at the same time seemed part of a similar big picture approach to Australia's future. Today it seems even more relevant than in those times of more strategic governments. In Sydney you get a much sharper sense of the Asian Century – and its culinary reflection, the Asian food century’, The Asian food century begins in Sydney.
We all scream for icecream – cooling down in a cold climate with Frugii
‘I realise I may have just become a statistic. I have a suspicion that I have eaten more sorbet, gelato and icecream since local Canberra icecream outlet Frugii opened in Canberra’s Braddon perimeter than I have eaten in my whole previous life. Tucked away in hipster heaven, it keeps churning out flavours, in an ever changing smorgasbord of coldness’, We all scream for icecream – cooling down in a cold climate with Frugii.
A bustling Friday night in hipster heaven
‘On a bustling Friday night in hipster heaven, I popped into my favourite Canberra restaurant, Italian and Sons, planning for little more than a quick bite to eat. I managed to get my favourite spot – when I’m not settled comfortably in Bacaro, the adjoining bar out the back, that is – sitting in the window, watching the action on the street. I headed straight for a real blast from my Adelaide past, part of my earliest discovery of Italian cuisine – saltimbocca. Then I beat a path down Lonsdale Street to Frugii, Canberra’s own dessert laboratory. What is happening to this city? It’s getting cooler by the minute and it’s not just the icecream or the approach of winter’, A bustling Friday night in hipster heaven.
Vitello Tonnato for a life well lived in hipster heaven
‘It had been quite a week and I had been crushed by too many encounters with the crazy world of Centrelink as I fulfilled my long list of aged care responsibilities. I needed cheering up so last night ate out at the venerable Italian and Sons, the very first of the many funky venues which now enliven Braddon. My attention was drawn to the rare appearance of vitello tonnato. My imagination had been captured decades ago when I was a young boy by seeing the recipe for the dish in Margaret Fulton’s classic cookbook. I finally tried it in a tiny restaurant in Florence, during my first visit overseas, after a stint at the massive Frankfurt Book Fair in 1989. This most recent one was the best I have ever eaten outside my own home – well, perhaps the best anywhere. This is a favourite place, probably my most favourite in Canberra. Coming here always makes me feel happy and what more can you ask?’, Vitello Tonnato for a life well lived in hipster heaven.
Eating out in a cold, funky city – Canberra comes of age in the Asian Century
‘On a day and night which was bitterly cold – as cold as Canberra has been this year, with the hint of snow clouds overhead – I was reminded why I live here. As we wandered along after a full day of cultural institutions and design events, looking for somewhere to eat we impetuously popped into Restaurant Eightysix and even more impetuously were able to get a table. I had forgotten reading somewhere that famed long-former Adelaide chef, Christine Manfield was here for the month, cooking up an Asian-inspired menu. How much better could it get?’, Eating out in a cold, funky city – Canberra comes of age in the Asian Century.
Provenance - knowing where good things come from
‘It took me only five years but I finally found my way to Provenance, the legendary regional restaurant established by chef Michael Ryan in Beechworth in 2010. Provenance is widely considered one of the best restaurants in regional Victoria, in a tiny state that contains many good regional restaurants. I had been meaning to eat there since it was established and given how regularly we travel to Beechworth and its surrounds I was amazed I hadn’t been earlier. It took some time but it was worth it’, Provenance - knowing where good things come from.
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