Friday 26 March 2021

How to Gain Weight Fast and Safely - Bangkok 2019

YuMei suddenly asked me about the blog of our 2019 Bangkok trip. "I missed Bangkok food" she said. 

Aren't we all?

Anyway, so, here's our simple 2D3N food hunting itinerary (Sorry. Another blog post with too many photos)

Accommodation: We booked a 4 bedrooms townhouse at ChinaTown, (at Soi Phantha Chit 2). This house can accommodate up to 9 guests. (RM1,460.14 for 3 nights)
(I forgot exactly what happened back in April 2019, maybe that has something to do with the coronation for King Vajiralongkorn. During our visit, Bangkok Chinatown was relatively quiet, and many shops were closed earlier than normal)


Arrival Evening 
We chose to stay in China Town because we wanted to have easy access to good food 24 hours. However, there were not much to choose from as most shops closed earlier than normal during that period (we were there about 2 weeks before the King coronation).

Our first meal in Bangkok was at the famous T&K Seafood. I have to say, very disappointed. Well, to be fair, I will not call it bad, but definitely not good for Bangkok standard.



Because of the disappointment, we decided that we have to continue to walk around for Chinatown and look for something else. We ended up in the famous Nay Lek Uan. By the time we ordered and had our few dishes, they were about to close. We were their last customers. We had the famous kuay jab nam sai, some crispy pork at side, and 2 other dishes from the other nearby store.

There are two main types of kuay jab in Bangkok, kuay jab nam sai (ก๋วยจั๊บน้ำใส) and kuay jab nam khon (ก๋วยจั๊บน้ำข้น).
  • Kuay jab nam sai (ก๋วยจั๊บน้ำใส) is the version of soup that is very common in Yaowarat (Chinatown). In Thai it means clear soup, and it’s made from pork bones, so it has a strong pork flavor with lots of pepper.
  • Kuay jab nam khon (ก๋วยจั๊บน้ำข้น) is a dark brown, almost black, colored soup broth. The soup has a mild Chinese spice braised flavor to it – including spices like cinnamon and star anise.
There are big fans of each type of kuay jab, but the popular version to eat in Yaowarat is kuay jab nam sai (ก๋วยจั๊บน้ำใส).




Day 1 (Maeklong Railway Market + Icon Siam)

Maeklong Railway Market
Upon special request, I had to bring everyone to Maeklong Railway Market. And of course, I brought everyone to my favorite Punjung Cafe. It's a good place to wait for the train, and serve very good food.



Finally, we could hear the train horn.....So every stall owners started clearing their shades and stalls for the train to pass by, and every tourists started to get their cameras and phones ready.




Yes, we were this close to the moving train

So, after the "train show", we left Punjung Cafe, walked along the track to go back to our hired van. Halfway, we stopped again, for this hearty kuay jab nam khon. (sorry. I don't think I can give you a clear direction of this kuay jab stall. Not even sure if they had a name. If you go into the Maeklong Railway Market from the entrance at Phet Samut Road, it's about halfway to Punjung Cafe, on your left. You will definitely smell it)



We also had some very nice Moo Satay near the entrance at Phet Samut Road.



Of course, we had to take some tourist photos. How could you not take some photos on the train track at  Maeklong Railway Market?




Lunch at Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu
After Maeklong Railway Market, our next stop was Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu. This is my favorite food stall that serve pretty average, typical Thai food(煮炒档口). The uncle that obviously the chef here, and the aunties that worked here, all were "not very young". Hence. every time I visit this stall, I always feel lucky that I could still have a hearty and perfect meal here. Really have to appreciate this before it's gone. The uncle and aunty cook every dishes to perfection. No joke! 

The dishes that I love most are of course the tom yum goong and the omelet. The broth of the tom yum goong was extremely rich and buttery, very aromatic, and the freshwater shrimp were unbelievably juicy and springy. And their omelet, how do you make something so simple so incredible tasty? Even all their other dishes were great. It's all because of the "wok hei" and their excellence control of the "fire" (火候)



I also love the fruit juice stall just opposite of Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu. They only have drinks for takeaway, and they have a huge variety of fruits to choose from. These juice go extremely well with the food at Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu.




Icon Siam
After lunch, we took a boat to travel along Chao Praya to get to Icon Siam. ICONSIAM has one of the largest shopping malls in Asia, which opened to the public on November 2018. This was a new spot that none of us visited before so we were quite excited.





It's a very nicely decorated shopping mall. Very vibrant and I just love the indoor "floating market". Of course, the food and the ambience may not be as authentic, but in the horrible Bangkok heat, this version was so much comfortable :)





I couldn't resist, so we ordered some food here too


This mall was very cool. There were areas selling local crafts, and there were also areas that were absolutely luxurious. 

Very luxury-looking cinema


Toyota Alive Cafe and showrooms



You can even play some driving games here

Of course they have collectibles hobby shops


Isn't this cool? (I forgot what shop is this)


All the luxurious cars in the mall.  




And the very cool Apple Iconsiam.

Apple Iconsiam - the first Apple Store in Thailand


Right outside of Apple Iconsiam is the beautifully decorated ICONSIAM Park, with the panoramic view of the great city by the river.




The other big highlight of ICONSIAM Park is the magnificent "Light of Siam”, created by Sittivut Yavichai. 


Do also plan your time properly to catch the The ICONIC Multimedia Water Features Show. Every day 6:30pm and 8:00pm, you can watch this full-fledged water dance show that features remarkable colors, sound and multimedia.




Dinner at Pee Aor Tom Yum Goong
After Iconsiam, we went to Pee Aor Tom Yum Goong for dinner. Of course we had their famous Tom Yum Goong noodle, and we ordered also a few other dishes on their menu. Lovely.


Day 2 (Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market + Train Night Market Ratchada)

La Locanda

The next morning, while waiting for others to get ready for our adventure to Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, I went to the cafe next door (La Locanda) for a simple breakfast (Too hungry, and Khlong Lat Mayom is not very near).


Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market 
Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market is my favorite floating market in Bangkok. It is big but not touristy, and there were so many varieties of food to sample. Walking from the entrance to the food court seating are, there were so many things to see, there were a mixture of flavours and fragrance, so vibrant and colourful.....













I couldn't even recall how much food we ate. I love the fact that you can have all these good food at this one stop. If you are not afraid of the heat, you can basically spend a full day here.

My favorite goong ob woon sen

Som Tum


Pla pao

This aunty sells very tasty thin sliced BBQ pork


Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market has a relatively small "floating part", but it is as charming as other floating market.








Som Tam Jay So (ร้านส้มตำเจ๊โส)
I always love som tam. This green papaya salad is a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya. It is sweet, spicy, salty and sour. Extremely appetizing. Each region has a different version of the savoury dish, and hence som tum is always full of surprises.

Som Tam Jay So is a very famous stall in Bangkok, located down a quiet side street in Bangkok's Silom business district. It is said to serve the best Issan food in Bangkok. I couldn't judge if the food they served were really authentic, but I loved most of the dishes here.

Besides their famous som tum, I also love their laab neua. It wasn’t very spicy, but yet very flavourful. 
Their grilled chicken wings (pik gai yang) was cooked perfectly. And they have very good grilled pork neck (kaw moo yang) too.





Happy Espresso
Because of the horrible heat, we were not in the mood to visit tourist attractions. Instead, we spent hours in a cafe near where we stayed.




Rot Fai Market Ratchada
Until the heat was bearable again, we went to Rot Fai Market Ratchada. 
I think we were greeted with heavy rain (did we? Or I mixed up with another trip?) Anyway, I remembered that we were not fond of Rot Fai Market Ratchada. There were too many people. We couldn't find proper seats for meal. When we finally found one table, the stall food quality was unfortunately not very good. 


Due to the dinner at night market was not satisfying, we went back to Chinatown and look for some street food vendors. Must have some good food before calling it a day. 




Teens of Thailand
Since we were staying in Chinatown, of course, we have to visit Soi Nana. We went to Teens of Thailand as it was in the Asia's 50 Best Bars list. 

This bar was like something Wong Kar Wai might conjure up. Much of the shop-house's original architecture remains, with vintage Thai furniture scattered around the place.




They served some very unusual gin tonic, including "local thai tea" or "chrysanthemum" and of couse we have to try them. 



Going Home
On our last day, I had a very simple breakfast at the street we stayed before we went to airport.



So, this was how I gained weight fast (just 2 days 3 nights!) in Bangkok.



Other itineraries:
2017 - Germany: Upper Middle Rhine Valley One Day Tour (Stay tune)

Sunday 21 March 2021

2021马甲线challenge - 一丁点成绩(慎入,照片刺眼)

整个Covid-19的lockdown,我整整一年暴饮暴食。却又发神经突然间许下“练马甲线”这个最不可能的愿望。

一个月过去了,得做个小小的总结。

天天约十分钟左右的full body workout、Abs Workout和Butt workout,终于坚持了一个月。

除去大姨妈来访的首两天不运动之外,我确实是天天坚持了下来。(我相信我们必须听从我们身体的指示。女人姨妈来访都特累,就是因为我们的身体设计就是得在这时候休息蓄气血的)

除了几天的意外导致我无法清晨起床运动(但下午补回运动量)之外,我早上起床运动的习惯应该也从新养成了。

首先,我必须誊清。我没更改饮食习惯。冰水饮料没特意戒,零食杯面照样每晚一面看戏一面吃。在这样胡乱吃喝的情况下,肌肉却也还是健起来了。这,我有点儿意外。我原以为第一个月只是为了培养习惯,不期望有任何成果的。从第一天sit up坐不起来,到今天可以一口气28下,腹部确实比之前结实了一丁点。当然,我可没奢望全身内脏脂肪可以这么快消失。

下一步就要稍微更改作息了。



回看我当年那“轻松愉快减肥”,一要早睡早起、二要注重排泄、三要注意饮食习惯、四要确保气血运行。

从明天开始,除了早上的运动,我还要:
  • 早上五点至七点上大号(卯时大肠蠕,排毒渣滓出;这是大肠经运行的时候,喝一杯暖水后轻松如厕) 
  • 傍晚七时后不进食,晚饭后散步至少三十分钟 
  • 睡前泡脚
  • 晚上十点半之前睡觉(亥时三焦经旺。子时胆经旺。丑时肝经旺。人如果在亥时睡眠,百脉可得到最好的休养生息。肝、胆能完成代谢,胆经会引导人体阳气下降,是身体进入休养及修复的开端。肝在丑时起到解毒,过滤血液毒素的作用。)
  • 饮食习惯则更加简单,纯粹少冰、少吃零食。

Thursday 18 March 2021

千金难买回头望

撇开好久以前在Friendster上写的不说,这,正是我第一千篇blog。


从Friendster开始,应该也写了十五年吧?一直断断续续地写。有空有心情,想写就写;太忙太累,也就不写。反正这是“阿盈eh blog”,阿盈作主。有时候一年没写上几篇,有时候一鼓作气一星期就洋洋洒洒几篇了。有时候为的是记录生命里一些小小的悸动、小小的骄傲、小小的欣喜、小小的欢乐……但不写,也不代表生命里悸动骄傲欣喜欢乐从缺……反正,我一生幸运,明明只是个盈把之木 ,但即使千回百折,也总刀过竹解。

在近乎千篇一律的生活里,我找个虚拟角落,把千头万绪化为千言万语。
不就是个大千世界嘛,喜爱的事自然是盈千累万。
要么,读千卷书。左陈四五册,右倾三两壶。
要么,种一地百卉千葩,来几盆千红万紫。
要么,练一手炒勺锅铲,学几道千里莼羹。
要么,不远千里的,走走看看千村万落、千峰百嶂、千沟万壑……

我的梦想很简单。我希望自己充栋盈车,跬步千里。我相信盈科后进,千锤百炼。最好可以千仞无枝,不矜不盈,壁立千仞。

老来,聊持一樽酒,共寻千里春。

Friday 12 March 2021

京都一隅•惊鸿一瞥

京都市本身就是个世界文化遗产(Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)),所以,即使是非常匆忙的两天一夜business trip,我们还是有机会体验一下京都的古都魅力,走了一寺一园一市一街一家。「一寺(建仁寺)一园(円山公园)一市(锦市场)一街(八坂通り)一家(京町家)」

日本人的细腻入微随处可见
我们乘半夜的飞机,早上到达関西国際空港。日本的同事担心我们走失,所以来机场接我们一起到京都去。

我们就住在京都四条通上的一家酒店,离花见小路咫尺之遥。所以,梳洗完毕,开会之前,我们还有机会抽空从花见小路走到健仁寺去看看。开会完毕,我们又可以到円山公园散步,再走到八坂通り一带看看,最后,走到髙瀬川 くりお吃晚餐。
隔天,我们乘火车到约两小时距离的客户工厂开会。开会完毕,我们再次回到京都。日本同事回东京去了,我则带着另两位同事去了一趟锦市场,最后才乘火车到関西国際空港乘夜机回马来西亚。


建仁寺
我们到达的那一天,天气很好,万里晴空。我们沿着花见小路一路走到建仁寺

花见小路


建仁寺是京都最古老的禅寺,为镰仓幕府第二代将军源赖家于建仁二年(1202年)所创建。当时自中国宋朝习得临济宗禅法后学成归国的荣西禅师被授为开山祖师,并以当时的年号“建仁”命名为“建仁寺”。建仁寺是一个台、密、禅三宗兼学的道场。而荣西禅师自中国学成归国后,即开始大兴临济宗禅法,并将中国的茶和其礼仪传入日本,因此荣西禅师也被尊称为“茶祖”。
国宝-风神雷神图(金箔屏風)



我们运气特好,到达时正是深秋。潮音庭鲜黄艳红一片。坐在静谧的室内,望着窗外绮丽秋色,心里一片平静。有时候一阵西风吹过,一两片秋叶飘落,禅意顿生。

潮音庭

双龙图
离开了潮音庭,再往里走,到了供奉著释迦牟尼本堂。而建仁寺最出名的双龙图就在這裡了。

這幅「双龙图」是2002年为庆祝建仁寺建寺800週年,请日本画家小泉淳作历时两年完成的作品。虽不是古画,但这两条充满动感的龙盘旋在法堂上,毫无违和感。


円山公园

2018年,我到円山公园时,是赏樱、野餐的好时节。这次在深秋到访,也有着另一种韵味。少了春天的人头攒动,深秋的円山公园,禅净儒雅。

看那一池的鱼!悠游呢





八坂通り
从円山公园出来,也没什么特别的目的地,就朝着八坂通り的方向走去。这样子漫无目的的散步,最能体验京都的美。既有着如诗如画般的唐风,却又是最真实的日本魂。到处弥漫着古都特有的风韵。











高瀬川旁,有一排京町家。当中,好多已经改成餐厅、茶坊……我们的日本同事领着我们,穿过那浓浓古意的小巷,经过一家家朴实无华的店门,细听还可以听见里头传来的低声笑语。然后,我们在一家看起来平平无奇又温馨宁静的门口停了下来。墙上贴着餐厅的菜单。一看见他家的菜单,我就爱上了。那是手写的菜单,还配上蔬果的水彩画。菜单下,放了一盆新鲜的五颜六色的蔬果,看了给人一种素食店的错觉。但即使嗜肉如我,我愿意为这餐厅吃一餐素食。(当然,那只是假象,我们还是吃了肉。嘻嘻)


这家是很典型的和食,精致健康,尊重自然。端上来的皿具都是自然色系,在深秋凉意里,端着,很禅。

前菜


这新鲜制作的土锅豆腐,是他们家的特色菜。那阵阵淡淡清香豆味,难忘。

出来たての土鍋とうふ


这葱ゆず雑炊也是他们家的特色菜。秋冬两季,还会放上一颗完整的柚子(ゆず)。青葱与香气芬芳的柚子竟然交织出独有的美味。

葱ゆず雑炊


在流水旁,后巷里,一个不起眼的角落。深秋,微寒。京町家里昏黄灯光透出丝丝温暖。我们席地而坐,小酌。吃着再简单不过的,新鲜的,原汁原味。这一顿,餍足。


(如果你春天到来,别忘了预定餐厅窗前的位置。想象在满开的日子,你就坐在樱花间用餐的那感觉。幸福满满。)


锦市场
锦市场是“京都的厨房”。来这儿是走在390米长的市场上,也是走在400年历史的道路上。
锦市场前身为江户时代生鲜食品批发地“锦之店”。现在,已有130多家店铺。主要销售鲜鱼、生鲜食品、加工食品、京都料理的材料等,且老店众多。我趁我们还有一点时间,就带同事们来这儿东尝西捏的,给我解馋,也医一医肚子。








最后,到便利店买了我爱吃的饭团和野菜汁,乘火车回関西国際空港,准备回家啦~



Other itineraries:
2017 - Germany: Upper Middle Rhine Valley One Day Tour (Stay tune)