Thursday Market (aka How Easily I Get Distracted By Food)

 Back the States we used to love taking the kids to the international supermarkets. At home we would open up our shopping bags and wonder what kimchee flavored dumplings were going to taste like, or sample some crazy kind of potato chip. It was always a little adventure.

Silly, I know. But it is my firm belief that stepping outside your boundaries, even just one small step at a time, will reward you each and every time. Trying something new, even if you don't like it, is rewarding because you can at least say you tried. I feel sad when I hear of people who turn their noses up at sushi or something like that without ever trying it.

Nine times out of ten, I do something or taste something new and marvel, "Why have I never had this before!"

Take last week, for instance. Phil picked up some fermented clams at a shop and wanted to try them. One whiff of them and I balked. No, I made a flat-out "EWWWWW"face and took three steps back. No way, I thought. Let Phil try it, there is no way.

In the end, I tried them and liked them. Disgusting, you might say, but now I'm ready to try fermented fish. Supposedly its delicious.

I also went to the Thursday Market and chose a few savories, not knowing at all what I was buying. If you head down Thanon Asok thursday mornings, you can browse a fantastic outdoor market. Its the usual market goods; Old Navy clothing, kitchen and housewares, accessories and cheaply-manufactured toys. I did grab some adorable headbands and goodies for my nieces. But then. Behold.

On either side of the market are the food stalls. And OH.

MY.

GOD.

The food is amazing.

There was a stand entirely dedicated to jellies and treats. There was this curious pink stuff.

I wasn't entirely brave enough to buy any.





But I almost grabbed a 20 baht bag of this chili paste. I think that's what they had-it was fishy, and spicy, and mixed with dried shrimp which is usually a very good sign indeed.

If you are there on an odd week, you might be lucky enough to grab a few cakes from Tippee Bakery. I definitely recommend the orange and chocolate cakes. We also had the blueberry, but being a new englander it just didn't satisfy my craving for maine blueberries.


There were dumplings, sausages, every kind of yummy you could imagine.



I snapped a photo of this lady wrapping up her french toasts, and she wasn't too happy. So I bought one-WOW. There was ham, cheese AND something sweet in there. I just love how the thais do that. Next time I try the tuna!

By the time I made it to the second aisle, my arms were full. Bags of broth, vegetables, curry and cakes-I wanted to get more but it was time to head home and start sampling them all.

Again, I think being adventurous is so rewarding and another benefit of living in Bangkok is the variety of food we can try. There are so many dishes, that I don't think I've bothered ordering pad thai. And much to our maid's amusement, we have acquired all the tools to already make sticky rice and som tam at home. It rounds out every meal-all you need is sticky rice and some spicy som tam and you are in heaven!

But I digress....thursday market, good stuff cheap, headbands.
I'm hungry now, gotta run.