CRIZ BON APPETITE

Other than hunting for unique and fashionable items or visiting the many temples in Bangkok, the next attraction would be the street food. Along the many thanon (main streets/ถนน), soi (side streets from main streets/ซอย) and trok (alley/ตรอก) in Bangkok, you would surely find some quick bites that would suit your preferences. Other than the easily available meaty Sai Au (Nothern Thai Fermented Sausages/ไส้อั่ว) and Sai Krok Isan (Northeastern Thai Fermented Sausages/ไส้กรอกอีสาน), the Moo Ping (BBQ Pork on Skewers/หมูปิ้ง) somehow remains my favorite. Well, the scents of well marinated food would surely command my nose to their whereabouts~ LOL! I would say I was lucky though it was my first time in Bangkok as I found the perfect Moo Ping right in front of my hotel – The Key Bangkok Hotel.

Compared to the many Moo Ping stalls I have tasted in Bangkok or even Hatyai in Thailand, this stall managed to suit my taste bud real well as each skew had just the right balance of texture and bites (85% meat & 15% fat). Moreover, the sweetness was just right for me without the overpowering of the overall flavors. The amazing thing is that it was only priced cheaply at THB10/skew. The Thais love to have their Moo Ping with warm sticky rice (Khao Niao/ข้าวเหนียว) and each small pack would cost only THB5. Two skews of Moo Ping and a pack of Khao Niao would be the perfect breakfast or supper for anyone. For those whom had tried out the delicious and succulent Moo Ping as well as the sticky rice, that’s why I can be so crazy to freeze packed them and flew them home to share with you. That’s 6kg extra baggage~ LOL~ 😛

Anyway, I had tried to recreate that flavor but could not get it to be 100% exact to the taste of the ones I had tried in Bangkok. There must be a secret ingredient in it. Perhaps, they might be using some sort of MSG which is the common practice in most street stalls. I’m not a fan of MSG so here’s the 95% result of my Moo Ping. Do try out my recipe~ 🙂

RECIPE: MOO PING (BBQ PORK ON SKEWERS

Makes: 20-25 skews (7” bamboo skewers – soak overnight before using)

Ingredients A:
4 cilantro roots (about 2 Tbsp) or chopped cilantro stems (if roots are not available)
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp white pepper corns
1 tsp black pepper corns

Ingredients B:
2 Tbsp palm sugar (pound until powdery) or brown sugar or honey
2 Tbsp mushroom/oyster sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp black soy sauce
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp corn starch
100ml coconut milk (mix in a tiny pinch of salt – keep 1/4 for brushing)

Ingredients C:
700gm pork shoulder (about 1.5lbs – wash clean, drain well, semi freeze and slice about 3mm thickness. Lightly hammer each piece to break the veins)
200gm pork fat (optional – slice 3-5mm, to be skewed in between 2 pieces of meat. Lightly hammer each piece.)

PREPARATIONS:

1. Use a mortar, pound everything in Ingredient A. You may add a bit of water if it’s too dry to scoop out.
2. In a big stainless steel basin, mix the pounded Ingredient A with Ingredient B. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add in the sliced pork from Ingredient C and mix well.
4. Slowly skew the marinated meat onto the bamboo skewers. Maximum until half the length of the skewer. Make sure the meat pieces are pressed compactly without showing the bamboo skewers. You can opt to skew a piece of fat in between the meat for that sinful flavor.
5. Place all the skewers into a Ziploc bag or a big plastic container. Pour the remaining marinates into it. Make sure you lay the skewers flat.
6. Leave them in the chiller for a minimum of 6-8 hours. The best result is to leave them overnight for maximum flavors.
7. Prior to barbeque, pour out the remaining marinate and mix with the remaining coconut milk. It’s for brushing purposes.
8. Barbeque over medium charcoal heat. Make sure the exposed bamboo skewers won’t get direct heat or they may be charred. Turn the skewers every 2 minutes until cook. Do brush some of the remaining marinate on the meat (as stated in #7) prior to turning them.
9. The Thais may love their Moo Ping with sticky rice. For me, I would love them with some lightly dressed salads.

Note: You can opt not to add fat to your Moo Ping but that’s where the natural flavor comes in.

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Name: MOO PING @ SUKHUMVIT SOI 19
Address: Sukhumvit Soi 19, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Contact: Not available
Business Hours: 5.00am-9.30am
GPS: 13.739075, 100.559977

DIRECTIONS:

Take the BTS Sukhumvit Line and stop at BTS Asoke Station. to Mo Chit Station (BTS Sukhumvit Line). Take the Skytrain to BTS Asoke Station. Use the Skywalk towards Exit 1 and walk downstairs towards Terminal 21. Walk straight towards “The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel”. At the road before the hotel, turn right into Sukhumvit Soi 19 and walk about 70m and you will see the “The Key” after a row of shop houses on your left. The stall is located just at entrance of The Key Bangkok Hotel at the junction of Sukhumvit Soi 19 and Sukhumvit Soi 17 next to the Family Mart convenient shop.

RATING:
Ambience: 5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 5/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 9/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 4/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

By staying at The Key Bangkok Hotel where travelling via the two major mass transit systems has been real fun and convenient, I managed to explore quite a few interesting cafes within the Watthana district. Located nearby the BTS Thong Lo Station is a charming little hideaway establishment named Chico Interior Products & Café. If you are a cat lover, you would surely go goo-goo gaga over some of the free roaming cats within the premises. The bungalow-style shop may be hidden away from the main road but it was never short of visitors, especially those Japanese staying within the vicinity. Even their main website is all written in Japanese other than Thai or English. Isn’t that obvious? LOL~ 😛 If you love the serenity away from the hustle and bustle of the city life, this will be quite a nice place to spend some time sipping some beverages and gobbling down some of their nice homemade snacks and light meals.

On top of some tranquil moments with the furry felines, you can also spend some time mingling through some of their interior home products as well as personal gifts, not forgetting cat related items too. Some of their products may include Thai handicrafts, unique kitchen utensils, pillows, cushions, aromatherapy lamps, bamboo by-products, natural soaps, beewax candles, trinkets, wind chimes, stuffed toys, printed clothes and more.

Here are some photos of their cute cats, a mix of pedigrees and local shot hair felines. Even my cats had some edible gifts from the shop~ LOL~ 😛

Since it was already almost tea time, we had some light food and dessert over some hot beverages. I started off with a hot pot of Lavender Tea (THB100nett). With so much of eating spree for the last few days, it indeed relieved my eating tension and stress~ LOL~ 😛 Luckily they did not burn any lavender oil or I would be fast asleep under such a relaxing environment.

I also did try out their Hot Chocolate (THB80nett). It was filled with chocolate richness and the milk they used was also awesomely creamy. Wait! Why is there a fat cat having its sauna in my cup? Haha~ The latte art may look simple but based on the comment by an established 3D latte art master, it required lots of patience and steady hand to come out with this design. The hot beverage came with a cute cat shaped cookie as well.

As for a light meal, I ordered the Japanese Style Spaghetti (THB160nett). Wow~ I was impressed. The color may not look pleasant to the eyes but the taste was heavenly. It was just a simple spaghetti dish, stir fried with some pork slices, shitake and enoki mushrooms, zucchini and garnished with some bonito flakes but the gravy itself was pepped with rich earthly flavors. I could not stop myself from pussy licking the whole plate dry~ Meow~ 😛 For those who would want to get the best of the meal deal, I would advise you to drop by between 11.30am and 2.00pm as they have daily set lunch available, which would include a salad, a main dish (4 options such as Japanese Omu Rice, Japanese Style Spaghetti, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Japanese Beef Curry with Rice) and a cup of hot beverage (+THB10 for iced beverages) at only THB185nett.

We were lucky on that day as they have Dessert of The Day which was the Hot Banana Pie served with Vanilla Ice Cream (THB55nett). The hot oozing banana combined with the fresh vanilla pod ice cream was so seductive. The sensation was beyond any earthly word.

Overall, I quite like this place due to the peaceful settings within a hidden greenery filled premises. I also like the fore-sight of the shop owner by allowing patrons to have a place to relax before continuing with their hectic lifestyle. Time will stand still here while you are immensely occupied with the many interesting and unique items you can bring home as souvenirs. At least you do not have to suffer the scorching heat from the scattered markets to have your shopping done. Everything will be inclusive of the necessary taxes.

Just a note to those shutterbugs: You may take some general shots of the shop but not on individual product as they would want their products to be exclusive to their patrons.

Name: CHICO INTERIOR PRODUCTS & CAFE
Address: 109 Sukhumvit Soi 53 (Paidee-Maidee), Khlong Tan-Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Contact: +662 258 6557
Business Hours: 9.30am-6.00pm (Closed Tuesday)
GPS: 13.732805, 100.579067

DIRECTIONS:

Take the BTS Sukhumvit Line and stop at BTS Thong Lo Station. Use the Skywalk towards Exit 1 and walk downstairs all the way until you reach a junction. Turn right into Sukhumvit Soi 53. Walk on for about 15 minutes, pass the newly opened Nippon Kai Market, until the second junction with a “Soi Renoo” road sign. Turn right into the small alley and you can see the Chico signboard right at the end. If you are tired of walking, you can always get a tuk-tuk or a motorbike taxi by telling them that you are going to Soi Renoo or Chico.

RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7.5/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)