Southern food

[Bamboo Grove]

Guess, the place you recommended for southern curries seems to be closed. Any other options for those fiery things?
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[Guess]

If it is Kin Lek you are referring to I am very surprised. It was/is a thriving business. One of the busiest Thai restaurants in town.

We get our daily doseage from a guy on the corner of the railway road and the night market road directly opposite the Railway Restaurant.

Also I have to go to TT & T soon because they have not sent me a bill for over one month now. I will check it out then.

There is a place on the opposite side of the road on the corner of Soi 96 that does some southern dishes as well.

I will speak to Oi. She is the family expert on culinary affairs.
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[chelsea]

Try the places on the opposite side of the road to the swedish bar in the street where the London Lounge is (one I thnk is Nam Nam's).
It was by far the hottest Thai food that i tasted in HH when I was there last year.

[Guess]

Apparently Kin Lek is only closed temporarily due to some family problem and will be open again soon.

Oi knows of no other decent restaurants in Hua Hin although there are many Hawker Stalls and a few such as chelsea has mentioned that have a few Southern dishes on the menu. I would not vouch for their authenticity though.
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[Bamboo Grove]

If you go further that soi across the railway line (where Kin Lek is/was) after the soi turns to left about where the school is, there are couple of places selling southern curries but the selection is rather limited.
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www.bamboogrove.fi

[chelsea]

Can anyone explain tp me what the differnces between Southern Thai curries and the other regions of the country. I am a lover of Thai food and would be interested to know

[Guess]

Thai curries mostly come from the Southern Cultures and were inherited by the Thais when the ventured down south in the King Nuresuan (pre Rama) Era. So essentially all curries in Thailand originated in the South.

However today they still have they own special varieties. There is much use of Khamin (Haldi in Hindi) which you see in the west in powder format and it is what gives Indian Curries the yellowish tinge that is a bugger to wash off clothes. Lime leaves, root spices, (I can get the names if you really want to know) and loads of little chillies (In Singlish know as chilli paddy). The proportion of red to green changes the heat and the colour.

Additionally fruits such as pineapple (Gang Som) and coconut extract are used. The Buddhist varieties usually contain Pork or Fish whereas the Masaman (Muslim) will contain chicken or fish. The Muslims also add blended peanut and other kernels to dishes. Palm sugar is also a common ingredient but in varying quantities depending upon the chef.

The guy who wrote in the guide book that states Thai food is not hot has his head firmly up his butt and has obviously not never been further south that Sirkimwit Nana.

The hottest Indian food and the hottest Mexican food is like a bowl of Sugar Frosties compared to some of the stuff that I have eaten in the South.
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[prcscct]

[lomuamart]

Well, Pete, I'll start the ball rooling. My wife's from HH, so fairly neutral geographically. Her view :
Definitely southern food.
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"I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered". George Best.

[prcscct]

Mine is from the Rayong area so I can only be an observer. There is one hotel I used to frequent regularly here (Asia Pattaya) who has weekend seminars for many companies. I was there once on a weekend sitting at the pool bar observing an Issan/Lao company group. The chefs in the kitchen and waitresses said that a normal Thai couldn't eat what this group had asked them to prepare...chilli wise. Pete

UPDATE: We discussed it at dinner. She has visited Issan more than the South but she said "....almost the same but...the South is hotter...".

[Norseman]

Issan food is hot, but the southern food is even hotter. If I understand it correct, it's the southerners use of curry powder that makes you sweat.
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[Bamboo Grove]

Different things make food spicy and different chillies and spices affect the taste buds in different ways. I remember when I was in Chengdu, China and ate some noodles there, the local chilly made me feel like my lips would be running around.
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[Guess]

Yes Isanese food can also be very hot. I don't like it do have not had much experience despite the fact I did six months R & R in Khon Kaen.

It seems that the general opinion here is that the food in the South and the North East is hot whereas in central regions it is more mild. That ties up with my experiences.

As for the mention of powder, I have never ever seen a Southern Thai cook anything at all with any kind of powder although I have seen the odd bit of MSG chucked in sometimes.

The general method of creating a curry paste in the South is to get all the spices and beat them to pulp with a pestel and mortar. My wife also uses a blender (which BTW makes my milk shakes taste disgusting).

PS one spice that I forgot the name of yesterday was Kaklai (forgive me on the spelling) which looks like a pea but does not taste remotely like one. They are sometimes pulped and sometimes added whole especially in a Grenn Curry.
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[Norseman]

[lomuamart]

I've not seen Thais cook with powder either - that's not to say they don't, though.
As we know, they tend to use paste, as Guess said. In fact duing my visits to India, paste was more often used as well. It's maybe just that the spices grow naturally here, whereas back in farangland, the easiest way to transport and keep them is in powder form.
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"I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered". George Best.