7-11 Finds

Before I came to Bangkok, I thought 7-11 was as American as apple pie. I even bought a cherry Slurpee as my last taste of the States before my flight out of New York.

It turns out I was wrong. 7-11 is actually as Thai as a curry-filled bun, which are lined up in little steaming cases like taquitos in American branches. Branches are everywhere here, and the city has made the franchise its own.

To date, my two most intriguing Thai 7-11 finds are as follows:

1. Pork Bun-Flavored Potato Chips

Verdict: Gross. The first bite is interesting; the second bite makes you ill; and the pork-powder stays on your fingers through several washings. They are 35 baht ($1.11), two for 70 baht ($1.90), but you should never, ever get two.

2. Corn Yogurt

Verdict: My lactose-intolerance saved me from trying this, but at 13 baht (40 cents), it can't be a huge waste.

In case you are wondering, you can get Slurpees here, too.

One More Thing to Check off My Bucket List

Here’s an interesting lesson: If you are dehydrated, you can get drunk off two beers.

Here’s another lesson: If you are drunk in Bangkok, it is possible your new friends will succeed in inviting you to eat some local delicacies, such as this creature.



Then maybe you order another beer and polish off a bag of local delicacies.



In retrospect, it was a pretty big bag. It was filled with barbecued crickets and frogs (eaten whole), which Ace and I apparently enjoyed.









The frogs were actually pretty tasty, smokey and savory like beef jerky, but crispy and easy-to-bite like soft-shell crab.

The grasshoppers I regretted in the morning. I ate them as if they were Pringles, but now I have a clear memory that they were closer to thin plastic tubes full of dirt and salt. With legs.

Just when I thought we were finished, Ace brought out a second course of ants in a chili-lime sauce served with scallions, scooped up with Thai basil leaves.



Before I moved to Thailand, I had a theory that anything in a chili-lime sauce had to be delicious. Theory proved. The bugs, even the queen ant pictured, just added extra crunch to the flavorful salad. I would eat that again.

But I might need three beers to get started.


Note: Many thanks to Kob for taking the photos for this post, and for continuing to date Ace after watching him eat bugs.

What's That Fruit and How Do I Eat It? (First Installment)

Bangkok streets have so many distractions (snack vendors, motorbikes, ladyboys) that it's pretty hard for any one item to capture my full attention. But every time I walked by a fruit stand full of these Seussical balls, I could not stop thinking about them. What were they? If you open them, will you find Who-ville?


I brought a bag (30 baht/$1 for a kilo) to my office, and my coworkers were kind enough to help me eat them and answer a few pressing questions.

What's that fruit?
That fruit is rambutan! Similar to lychee, it has a firm, pearly fruit inside, which tastes somewhere between a skinless grape and a pineapple gummy bear. Rambut means hairy in Malaysia, where the fruit originated.



How do I eat it?
You can slice the shell with a knife if you're classy. If you are sneaking a snack at work, you can push your thumbnail into the middle of the shell, then pull the two halves apart. My coworker Khun Pam prefers sticking her fingernail in a little, and then squeezing the middle.


When I tried it, juice squirted all over a report I was supposed to be reading. But the peeling method is easy.

There is a little seed inside, which you eat around.




That's a lot of work for a couple square inches of fruit, is it worth it?
Yes, rambutan is delicious! Plus, opening them makes reading reports more enjoyable.

Glamor shot:

First Bites at Kasetsart University

During my first two days in Bangkok, I ate about a dozen meals, all worthy of my first blog post. Could it be possible that I've found an entire city that enjoys snacking, dipping sauces, and street meat as much as I do? Maybe more?

My happiest surprise so far is that I haven't eaten anything that has not been delicious. Case in point: dining hall food. In the United States, a college meal plan conjures memories of dry burgers and greasy omelets only palatable when hungover. My first meal at Kasetsart University's Science Canteen, a block from my new office, couldn't have been farther from my old John Jay dining hall.



A canteen is like a food court for college kids here. There are about ten vendors selling noodles, soups, meat and rice dishes, curries, desserts, etc. You can get a couple items and bring them to your picnic table to eat with friends.



During my first canteen excursion, I used the point-and-nod method of ordering to get a delicious appetizer of hand-made kanom jeeb dumplings.


Kanom jeeb dumplings are kind of like Japanese shrimp shumai, bite-sized and dipped in a vinegary soy sauce. But the Thai version is stuffed with shrimp and pork, then topped with toasted garlic. These cost 20 baht, or about 60 cents.

For my second course, I couldn't decide between chicken and pork, so I pointed at both. Each was chopped and sauteed with garlic, chillies, and basil. My greediness set me back another 20 baht (60 cents).

The best part is, you can cover your rice in condiments, such as sweet and sour sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, etc.

My dessert choice may be a surprise, but this was too cool to pass up because of a minor infliction of lactose-intolerance: vanilla ice cream, 30 baht (95 cents).

What, vanilla ice cream? Not even red bean?

The cool part is the food delivery system, or how to get the ice cream into your mouth. Mine came on a hot dog roll with sweetened sticky rice, a drizzle of chocolate shell, and a candied sweet potato topping. Thanks, Lactaid!



If I keep eating like this here, I'm pretty sure I'll end up like this fat stray dog who sleeps outside my office.


How'd he get so chubby?