Umm!... Milk

In the last two weeks I've done nothing but work and eat, hence another restaurant blog...

Chokechai Steak House is almost exactly half way between Korat and Bangkok and a perfect pit stop for a good meal and to break up the monotonous 3-hour journey.



There are not many "steak houses" in Thailand. You'd understand if you ever saw one of their cows.

This is my friend Supot's cow. It's actually one of Thailand's healthier specimens.


Although cow is on the menu, most dishes are chicken, pork, or fish. Full-sized steaks are rarely seen, and I'm sure any quality steaks are imported.

Chokechai Steak House is trying to change all that, and by the fact that this roadside restaurant is always teeming with tourists, I would say they're doing a good job.

Recently, Nuch and I stopped by on the way back from Korat.

This is a painting of the founder - Mr Chokechai

Why build a steak house in the middle of Thailand? Perhaps, Mr. Chokechai was inspired by Ronald Reagan's old cowboy movies.

Here's the giant Chokechai mascot. A bit boney in the rump, and the head looks a little small for the body. Can you see the the veins running along the sack of the utter? With such attention to detail, why not make the body and head proportional to each other?

This was taken in front of Chokechai Steak House. At some point in history you would have seen the lush green hills of Kao Yai National Park. Now, you see two of the world's largest billboards that are currently slowing down the Earth's rotation.

Chokechai is also taking on the not-so pleasant responsibility of introducing milk to the lactose intolerant masses of Thailand.

I noticed these signs at the milk shop - one is in English and one is in Thai.

When writing "Umm!... Milk" in Thai - instead of using the word "Nom", which means milk, they spelled "Milk" phonetically in Thai. Either that's just a trendy way of promoting this typically Western product, or they were concerned Thais would take "Nom" as it's commonly used slang meaning for mammary glands.

Umm!... Breasts

Finally, the meal. No offense to Chokechai's cow steaks (I've had them before and they're not bad), but Nuch and I enjoyed some fried rice and chicken along with an excellent grilled salmon steak.

Next time I'll stop for one of their famous steakburgers.

At least, I think they're steakburgers...

Balu's

Discovered a new restaurant in Korat recently.

I had passed it a hundred times, but it was always empty, and I had assumed it was shut-down until a friend confirmed that yes, it is open, although rarely busy. He also mentioned that they have the best goulash in Thailand. Having never eaten goulash (always associating it with rubber boots used to protect your shoes in the rain) Nuch and I tried it out.

The name of the restaurant is Balu's. I didn't get a chance to talk to the owner, but by his jungle book-esque profile, I'm guessing he named the restaurant after himself. He's a tall European with an enormous belly that seems to begin at his belly button - opposed to the top of his stomach.

It was certainly quiet - we were the only ones there for most of our meal, but the atmosphere was pleasant and a rare, cool breeze and the lush garden made for a good night out.

I expected to see some Hobbits running around.

Being my first goulash experience, I couldn't tell if it was world-class or not, but would certainly try it again. The meaty gravy sauce, which I hadn't had in years seemed to satisfy a craving that I had forgotten was even there. There is no Thai equivalent.

Gridlock

I found this picture on the web. Without actually experiencing it, I can't think of a better way to explain the madness and frustration of Bangkok traffic.


Anyone who has been to Bangkok knows about its traffic problems. The average speed during rush-hour in the Central Business District is something like 5 mph -just a touch faster than walking.

The Bangkok Metropolotin Authority has made some efforts to improve the situation by putting up traffic alert signs in congested areas around town.

The idea is - the sign shows you what roads to avoid (Red) and indicates alternative routes you can take that have less traffic (Green).

There's only one problem...

Saber Rattling 101

When your approval ratings can be counted on two hands and a foot. When the opposition says George Bush could do a better job. When the best thing to say is nothing at all. There's always one way to get everybody back on your side - start a war.

That's what the Thai government seems to be doing these days.

What started out as a routine power struggle between two political parties, has now become a military standoff between two neighboring countries over 4.6 sq km of disputed land that for the last 40 years had sat quietly unnoticed.

I won't go into all the details, but recently a 900-year old temple, Preah Vihear, located on this border between Thailand and Cambodia was accepted by UNESCO as a World Heritage site - more specifically, Cambodia's World Heritage site.

Here's a picture of the temple in question - interestingly enough it's a Hindu temple, although Thailand and Cambodia are both Buddhist countries.




Ever since the French carved up Southeast Asia nearly 100 years ago, there have always been disagreements as to where certain borders should lie. 40 years ago the dispute concerning this temple went before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and it was ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia. And, for 40 years Thailand didn't do much about it - that is, until now.

In a recent censure debate, the opposition party accused the government of passively accepting the 1963 ICJ ruling (by not opposing the World Heritage Status was officially accepted by UNESCO, July 2008), and casually handing over Thai sovereignty to historic arch-enemy, Cambodia. Anyway, as is often the case in politics, it's not the truth that matters, it's the perception of the truth that gets you kicked out of office.

So, in defence of Thai sovereignty, the blood of Thai ancestors, and the right of future generations (and approval ratings), soldiers were sent to the site to defend Thai soil, where they were promptly met by Cambodian soldiers (Cambodia has an election next week). Fortunately, no shots have been fired, yet - although a few Thai soldiers were caught and detained after crossing over into Cambodia. For the most part it has been a textbook example of saber rattling. And everyone loves a good saber rattling.


But that's not the reason I'm writing this blog entry.

Next to my factory is the Korat Army Base - in fact, we share a 12-foot high cement wall along our border. As part of the national saber-rattling initiative, the Army base has tripled, if not ten-tupled, it's regular training activities. What is normally a pitter-pat of gunshots heard from the nearby firing range has become a torrential, non-stop barrage of ammunition fire that can be heard from here to Cambodia.

Here's a sample.

Instead of filming the 12-foot high wall and simply recording the sound of gunfire, I downloaded some pictures of Preah Vihear and made a quick slide show. What you hear is what I heard sitting at my desk while filming my computer screen (hi-tech, right). Anyway, it's loud, and I'm sure the Cambodians will think twice before occupying the temple that was granted to them by a World Court - election year or not.




For a better look, here are the pictures from the slide show.

For the record, this is the land in dispute, I think.


and this is where it is in relation to Thailand.

Prawn Palace

Between Korat and Bangkok is a large reservoir called Lam Ta Khong

The main highway between the two cities runs along it's Eastern shore, which is lined with several dozen seafood and Bar-BQ restaurants. I'm usually hurrying one way or the other and rarely have a chance to stop by and enjoy the traditional Northeastern Thai food or the scenic view overlooking the reservoir.

However, this past weekend, the stars were aligned - I was able to leave work early, Nuch was with me, and we happened to be passing Lam Ta Khong just about lunch time.

With nothing else around, the only reason to stop by Lam Ta Khong is for the food and the view or perhaps for a bathroom break during the hour-long stretch between Korat and Pak Chong. But, my favorite part about Lam Ta Khong is the promotional efforts by the hyper-competitive restaurant owners. To differentiate one place from another, each restaurant has a hawker, a Thai guy usually wearing a ski mask and wide-brimmed hat to protect him from the sun, that stands on the side of the road and through improvised dances and exotic gestures competes with other hawkers to lure you into their particular restaurant.

Here's a video - pardon the poor quality, I was trying to avoid tour buses and semis on one side, while not to running over hawkers on the other.



We chose Prawn Palace (Wang Gung Yai) because the guy out front had by far the most enthusiastic and creative "come to my restaurant" dance. Unfortunately, I didn't get a video. After we had parked, I asked if I could film him, but he said he was too shy. Here's the Big Shrimp Mascot instead.



To start off, we ordered a highly recommended Honey and Lemon drink. I think they added a little soda, as well. I suggest trying to make this at home.


Soon after our food came. We began with a fried fish sprinkled with toasted garlic, some spicy chopped pork, and sticky rice.



The fish is deep-fried, so you don't have to worry about bones - just eat them.

The other reason to stop at Lam Ta Khong is the view. Although it's much more scenic towards the end of the rainy season, when the reservoir is full, it's always refreshing to see a large body water in arid Northeast Thailand.


You may be able to see a small herd of water buffalo grazing at the bottom right.



Finally, here's the cat that came with our table - sat with us for the entire meal, enjoying little bits of fish, chicken, and pork. In my opinion, 'restaurant cat' is the 2nd best life in Thailand after 'beach dog'.