Our glasses were somehow full again. I emptied mine too fast, laughing. He smiled back, a handsome guy, practically a stranger. Younger than me, but so what? Bangkok doesn’t judge your appetites. It feeds them.
“What do you think?” He leaned in close, closer.
“I love it.”
Love’s the wrong word, of course. This was lust, love’s more marketable counterpart, the city’s stock-in-trade. No doubt I’d wake up the next morning filled with greasy, wash-out regret. But right then morning seemed far away.
“Still like it?” he asked as we paused for breath.
“You know I do.”
“Good.” He didn’t bother to whisper. “Because this is the best fried chicken in Bangkok.”
***
I hadn’t come to Bangkok to get involved with a chicken. (Who does? Wait, don’t answer that.) The last thing I expected in this city of pleasure was a good time. I’d signed up for a CELTA course, the ESL teacher’s equivalent of boot camp. CELTA certifications are respected all across the world. That’s because they’re hard to get. Candidates spend four weeks being ground to slush under papers and lesson plans. They don’t sleep much.
So I was not Bangkok’s target demographic (single, thirsty, primed to stay out all night). The city wasn’t doing much for me either. Sure, it had some character, with its gap-toothed skyline and office girls riding sidesaddle on motorbikes. But essentially it was just a big city, like big cities anywhere. It could’ve been Chicago in a heat wave, or Seoul without the street cleaners. My feelings toward Bangkok could be summed up with one word: meh.
That was before I’d fully explored what was on offer.
***
“Let’s order another bird.”
“Oh baby, talk dirty to me.”
***
You can buy anything in Bangkok. Anything. It was a promise I heard over and over again, and I didn’t doubt it was true. The city flogged itself daily, nightly, to whoever was passing through. You could buy a Maserati in a mall in Bangkok. You could get a crocodile on the street. You could spend money on massages or ping pong shows or other things that couldn’t come home with you (not long-term, anyway), but scratched that itch.
But this system assumed that you wanted something. What did I want? I’m not a shopper. I don’t even like ping pong the sport. My mid-CELTA needs involved a full night’s sleep and whiteout tape that didn’t break.
Which was when one of my fellow teachers stepped in. “Have you tried Isaan chicken?”
***
“What’s this crunchy stuff on top?”
“Fried garlic.”
“That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
***
Bangkok can’t be faulted on the food. You could eat yourself to death for ten bucks in that city. I just ate to happiness, which cost a dollar or two. Chicken rice. Mango rice. Dumpling soup. Fried noodles. My school was just steps away from Soi Convent, a road that disappeared under street food stands and tiny plastic tables every afternoon. We ate there every day except Mondays, the venders’ day of rest. On Mondays we turned to the restaurants on the school’s ground floor, which sold exotic foods I hadn’t tasted in years. There was Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, all of them inexplicably swank with luxury-style adverts. It was hog heaven.
One of my fellow inmates at the CELTA program had lived in Bangkok on and off for years. We quickly learned to follow him at mealtimes, and he lead us to the most amazing holes-in-the-wall I ever expect to eat in. When he sketched a map showing the way to his favorite Chinese restaurant, we photocopied it and passed it around. I keep mine with the passports and other important documents, in case I go back to Bangkok. That’s how good the food was.
So when he suggested a place he knew, about a thirty minute walk but the best fried chicken in Bangkok, did I want to go? There was only one answer. I would’ve followed that guy anywhere.
***
No one’s going to kiss you after a meal of Isaan fried chicken. We pressed fried garlic into handfuls of sticky rice. We scooped it up with spoons. We ripped the chicken apart with our fingers, dipped it in chili sauce, in lime juice, in the dregs of the other dishes. We licked the plates.
That chicken messed me up.
Sorry I didn’t bother to get a better photo, but this was a veni ,vidi, vici situation.
Sam knew about the whole affair, of course. He was there, and another friend too, a ménage à quatre all scraping garlic blossoms from the platter. It was pretty hot.
Bangkok: a city of distractions and temptations. Surrender to at least one. Mine was Polo Fried Chicken on Soi Polo, just off Lumphini Park. No regrets.
-Erin
PS – I had to restructure my fried chicken hierarchy after this meal. It now goes Isaan fried chicken, , all other Korean chicken.
America, I’m sorry, but you don’t place.
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Delaware Baby chicks are really
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difficult to stand up to,
however it's ideal to plan for their
arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare initially
by compiling not just the
proper products, but
additionally the appropriate
knowledge to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
basic, you simply have to provide them with the following: A tidy and warm and comfortable
habitat Lots of food and water Attention and
love Habitat Your habitat could be a
simple box, fish tank,
cat service provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels and
blankets (with no loosened
strings!) to begin, and after a
couple of weeks use straw over paper.
Keep in mind: Avoid utilizing just
paper or various other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs could grow
malformed. You additionally require
something to dish out food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
lid for food and also an animal bird water dispenser from a family pet store. Likewise, as the chicks get
older you can present a perch
right into the habitat to get them
trained on perching. Warmth To
keep your chicks warm you should
give them with a heat resource.
This could be as easy as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb additionally work effectively (my
recommendation). Chicks require this
warmth 24/7 up until their downy fluff is
replaced with plumes (which can use
up to 2 months). The newly
hatched out need a temperature
between 90 and also 100 levels,
and also each week this can
be minimized by
roughly 5 degrees approximately. The heat source should be on simply one side of the cage
to enable chicks a range of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermostat- if they are hiding in the
other corner of your heat
lamp, you should
reduce the temperature level. If
they are surrounding each other under the
heat (not merely snuggling),
you need to add some heat.
House cleaning
Sanitation is essential and also it maintains your chicks healthy. Make sure to change
the bed linen
usually as well as
constantly offer tidy
food and also water Food and water.
Chicks expand really quickly
which requires a lot of tidy
food and water. Supply
enough in any way times and inspect
commonly to
stop dehydrated and
starving chicks. Chick food is different compared
to adult chicken food, as well as it can be found in both medicated and non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first two months, then
switch to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for one more 2 months,
and then to a somewhat
reduced protein feed or a level feed
(if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks like to obtain a head start on taking
dust bathrooms, while others will not take
up that task until they are
older. If you have the space in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
dust for them to bathe in.
Interest as well as love There are a
few advantages to spending time with your chicks. First off, they will certainly probably bond with you and
not run away as adults. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily and
see their habits, you can
catch ailment or various
other troubles previously. Keep an
eye out for wheezing, hopping, or
other unhealthy
indicators. Make sure to
likewise take a look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels could lead
to matted feathers as well
as blocked cloaca.
Lastly, it is essential to look out
for social concerns, such as the
littlest chick obtaining teased. Empty nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently fully feathered
as well as its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your house
as well as move outside into a
coop. Have a look at our
area on chicken coops to read more
about cages and
proper coop environments.