I complained about having to drive through the rain in my last post, but one good thing about a nice day-long shower is that the next day is often much cooler. This was the case with yesterday's weather.
So, we took advantage of it by eating at an outdoor ga-ta place. Basically, the ga-ta is similar to the Mongolian BBQ place I used to visit in Raleigh, except that this one is all-you-can-eat and you have to cook it yourself. But cooking it on a big grill at your table is half the fun!
I have been to a similar place near Victory Monument, but the one I visted last night near Tesco-Lotus On Nut was a bit better. Not only did they have piles and piles of fresh raw meat waiting to be BBQ'ed, they also had other snacks like geow tawd, gai tawd, som tam, and larb mu (fried wontons, fried chicken, spicy papaya salad, and spicy minced pork salad).
The best part about the whole ga-ta experience for me is the soup. Around the outside of the grill there is water, which quietly simmers as it collects all the juice from the grilling meat. Throw in some cabbage, corn, mushrooms, noodles, and fish balls, and add a little bit of lemon juice and fish sauce and you have a real treat. Last night's soup was amazingly delicious.
And all this for the unbelievable (even in Thailand) price of 79 baht. ($US 2)
You are really a BKK local now. When I was in BKK
I liked to go to food court at Central Department Stores , at all locations. They had just about everything to buy/eat (freshly prepared in front of you). I gave up the Fish Sauce though, I use "Thai Golden Mountain Soy Sauce" or "Jap`s Kikuman Soy Sauce" instead while in the States.
PS. How a Mu Ga-Ta, would be said in Thai (BKK dialect) anyway. I can`t make it out in Thai.
Thaiteak.