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?