Eating Asia: Thai Edition

Centara Grand Resort Breakfast Buffet
Krabi, Thailand
One of my favorite things about traveling through Asia was the hotel breakfast buffet. Our two hotels, Centara Grand Krabi (5 star) and Golden Temple Siem Reap (3 star), always provided all your American standards plus incredible Asian and Indian fare. I skipped pancakes and bacon for Pad See Ew, curried chickpea, dal, veggie samosa with tamarind chutney and coriander mint chutney, and a daily dim sum steamed bun or dumpling. Alongside a hot cup of coffee, I was happy as a clam.

An attractive display of fruit included exotic options like dragon fruit, longan, watery rose apple, pomelo, and guava.

Street Food
The resort is perfect for the included breakfast, but for other meals, the town of Ao Nang offers great cheap eats. Our favorite spot is a Food Center, located next to the Ao Nong Holiday Inn. A dozen casual dining vendors surround a common area of picnic tables. It’s your Thai-style food court.

My favorite discovery was a common side dish, Morning Glory, the green vegetable shown here. When I asked for bok choy, this is what they gave me. Stir fried and simply seasoned, it’s fresh and garlicy. I love it and ordered it every chance I got. Round out the meal with a pineapple fried rice, pad thai or satay and wash it down with Chang beer. Perfection.

No visit to Thailand is complete without enjoying mango sticky rice. Sweet rice and perfectly ripe mango is a magical combination. Luckily the sweet treat is available at just about every restaurant, food stall and market. The Dairy Queen in the Bangkok Airport offers 3 varieties of Mango Sticky RIce Blizzards, pictured, but I’ll stick to the real stuff.