Dinner with the Happy Couple

As most of you know, I am in Thailand for a friends' wedding.  Dear invited me to join her and Arak for dinner.  With a wedding in less than two weeks, it was a very generous offer of hospitality. Arak had only arrived that afternoon. Dear and I had met earlier in the afternoon to have a Thai massage (one hour of amazing massage for the equivalent of $6!).

So we met at this great place that is very commonplace in Bangkok, called MK (Gold in the case of this incarnation) and known easily by only these initials. It is a place for hotpot. Very popular amongst Thai people (of all ethnicities – I saw a table of ‘my’ people have a jolly good time) and one of Dear and Arak’s favourite culinary outings. We were joined by Arak’s lovely aunt who is a serious foodie! She was a good guide for my first hotpot outing.

Hotpot involves a hotplate in the middle of the table containing a pot of vegetable broth (and yes it was vegetable broth because we argued amongst ourselves and had the wait staff ask the kitchen about it) that is warmed up. When you arrive, you turn it up so it is getting hotter. You also order a variety of items to go into your hotpot (and drinks and rest of the normal dinner experience). You can order whatever – meat, seafood, vegetables. We ordered a great deal of vegetables and Arak’s aunt expertly put them into the hotpot. Each person is also provided with their own sauces and they come with extra garlic and extra chili so you can change your sauce to your liking. There are individual ladles and one soup ladle so you can fill your bowl when you believe something might be ready (or when the foodie at the table believes you should eat :).

The pictures are of the hotpot, the vegetable tray and the sauces. And of course some to show the wonderful company we kept.

It was one of my best evenings of dining. I would happily do this again and plan to before I leave Bangkok (once if not more times). Normally you receive your food and it is prepared. This allows you the childhood pleasure of playing with your food AND eating incredibly well!

These last few shots are of me and my dessert. It is a young coconut filled with tapioca and young coconut and two different types of nuts. Very, very yummy. I wasn’t able to finish it but now, I wish I’d tried. (I will post these later - the internet connection is very slow - trust me, the dessert was yummy!)

 

 

 

I’m writing this from Cambodia and at the end of my first day of my detox program. I’ve had coconut water all day but nothing else. So I think of my dessert with some longing.

More on Cambodia in future posts.

Take care and love each other.