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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We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Saint Anthony Idaho,
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baby chicks for sale in Saint Anthony ID.
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Saint Anthony Idaho
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Saint Anthony Idaho * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
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out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
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before their orders sell out.
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Saint Anthony Idaho is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Saint Anthony,
Idaho Baby chicks are really
adorable and also
hard to withstand,
however it's ideal to prepare for their
arrival before you obtain them. Prepare first
by gathering not only the
correct products, however
likewise the correct
understanding to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably
straightforward, you just need
to supply them with the following: A tidy and also warm and comfortable
habitat A lot of food and also water Interest as well as
love Habitat Your environment could be a straightforward box, aquarium,
feline carrier, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels as well as
blankets (without any 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 can expand
malformed. You likewise need
something to provide food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder and water
recipe from the feed shop, or a pickle container
lid for food as well as a pet dog bird water dispenser from an animal shop. Also, as the chicks get
older you can present a perch
right into the habitat to obtain them
trained on perching. Warmth To
maintain your chicks warm you should
supply them with a warmth source.
This could be as simple as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile heat
light bulb additionally function very
well (my
referral). Chicks need this
warmth 24/7 until their downy fluff is
changed with plumes (which can use
up to two months). The freshly
hatched need a temperature
between 90 and 100 degrees,
and every week this could
be decreased by
around 5 levels or
so. The warmth resource need to get on simply one side of the cage
to enable chicks a range of
temperatures. The chicks are your ideal
thermostat- if they are concealing in the
opposite corner of your heat
light, you should
decrease the temperature. If
they are smothering each various other under the
warmth (not simply snuggling),
you should include some warmth.
House cleaning
Cleanliness is essential and also it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make certain to transform
the bedding
commonly and
constantly give clean
food and also water Food and also water.
Chicks expand quite fast
which requires a lot of clean
food and also water. Provide
enough whatsoever times and also check
frequently to prevent parched and also
starving chicks. Chick food is different than grown-up chicken food, as well as it comes
in both medicated and non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first two months, then
switch over to a grower food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for an additional 2 months,
then to a slightly
lower healthy protein feed or a level feed
(if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks want
to get a running start on taking
dust bathrooms, while others will not use up that task until they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
dirt for them to bathe in.
Focus as well as love There are a couple of benefits to hanging
out with your chicks. Firstly, they will certainly probably bond with you and
not escape as grownups. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily and also
watch their actions, you can
capture illness or various
other troubles previously. Keep an
eye out for wheezing, hopping, or
other unhealthy
signs. Make sure to
additionally look at
their poop, as diarrhea can bring about matted feathers and stopped up cloaca.
Lastly, it is very
important to watch out for social issues, such as the
tiniest chick obtaining picked
on. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are now fully feathery
as well as its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your home
as well as move outside into a
coop. Look into our
part on chicken cages to learn more
about coops and also
proper cage environments.