Food in Khun Han

The way you say “food” or “to eat” or “meal” in Thai is “Gin Kao”, which plainly means “eat rice”. Certainly people eat lots of rice here, as they do in other Asian countries. That does not mean, though, that Thai food is monotonous. There is a large diversity of flavors and ingredients (many more than what is offered in in Thai restaurants abroad) which vary according to the region.

Khun Han, being a producer, does not have a large variety of foods compared to the cities that receive food from different areas, like Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Here people eat mostly what is available locally plus some packaged stuff.

When I was in Pattaya I was becoming addicted to mangos. Mangos in tropical Asia are extremely sweet and juicy. For some reason, though, Thais eat mangos when they are still unripe, crunchy and tart. The ripe ones are consumed by the tourists only. Therefore, since I am undeniably not in a touristic spot I am having a mango withdrawal time (I tried buying unripe ones and waiting… But I am not a very patient person).

However not mangos, I am eating lots of fruit. Apart from the legendary bananas, my fruits of choice are:

·        Mangosteens: they are the size of a clementine, with a thick purple skin. The fruit inside looks like a head of garlic. They are very sweet, of a mangoish-grape flavor.

·        Rambutans: the size of a peach with red skin and red quills. In the inside they look like a big grape, although the flavor is less sweet and the meat is tougher.

·        Dragon fruits: My favorite! They are beautiful on the outside, with hot pink skin and green leaves that make it look like… a dragon? The inside is usually white (although some randomly come in purple) of a very soft meat with lots of little black seeds. Their taste is similar to the kiwis, but less tart.

There are still a few fruits that I have not tried and one that I will not try: the infamous durian. Durians were imported from Indonesia to other South East Asian countries and somehow became very popular. I suspect that the sense of smell of Asian people is very different from Westerns’. This fruit is supposed to be very rich in vitamins and of a delicious flavor but the smell is so repugnant that makes me want to vomit. Even while walking through the market my stomach revolts when I pass by a fruit stand that sells it. Unfortunately for me, this area is a big producer of the devil fruit and it is sold everywhere.

Most people buy their food at the market. There you can get a large selection of green veggies, mushrooms, chilies, eggplants (which are round and small in Thailand), fruits, boiled peanuts, steamed corn, tiny omelets, waffles, grilled pork meatballs, grilled chicken, grilled fish, salads, noodles with their corresponding meat sauces, sticky rice and pork stuffed inside banana leaves, live fish, whole uncooked chickens, chunks of raw pork (including the heads), cakes, deserts made with sticky rice or custard, and ingredients for cooking (oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, curry, MSG...) Additionally, there are animal feed, clothing, cooking ware, and a home decorations stands flanking the food stands.

Packaged foods, toiletries and cleaning products are sold at the 7Elevens. The last week the third 7Eleven store opened in town. Also, a Tesco Lotus supermarket opened the last week. Everyone is very excited about this because the closest one used to be in the next town, Kantaralak. Now people will be able to shop locally and avoid having to drive 25 kilometers each way.

The selection of casual restaurants is very extensive, which denotes the lack of willingness of people to cook. However, there are no fancy restaurants. They are not considered places to hang out and they all close very early. My latest discovery is a coffee shop which will probably turn into my new Tryst. It is very tiny (3 tables) and the selection of things they sell is small (coffee, cappuccino, iced coffee and iced tea), but it has a cool ambiance and the owner speaks English rather fluently.

I am looking forward to visiting Phuket (the beach!) this weekend and eating some fresh seafood!