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 Columbia Maryland,
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baby chicks for sale in Columbia MD.
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Columbia Maryland
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
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and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
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selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
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and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
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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 Columbia,
Maryland Baby chicks are really
cute and also
hard to stand up to,
however it's finest to prepare for their
arrival before you obtain them. Prepare first
by collecting not just the
appropriate materials, however
likewise the correct
understanding to look after
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
basic, you merely have to give them with the following: A
clean and also warm
habitat A lot of food as well
as water Attention as well as
love Habitat Your habitat could be an easy box, fish tank,
cat provider, or guinea
porker cage. Line it with old towels as well as
blankets (with no loose
strings!) to begin, and after a
couple of weeks use straw over newspaper.
Keep in mind: Avoid using just
paper or various other slipper
surfaces-- or your chicks legs can grow
misshapen. You also require
something to provide food and also
water in, such as a chicken feeder and water
recipe from the feed store, or a pickle jar
cover for food as well as an animal bird water dispenser from a
pet dog shop. Additionally, as the chicks age you could introduce a perch
right into the environment to get them
educated on setting down. Heat To
maintain your chicks warm you need to
provide them with a heat source.
This can be as straightforward as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile warmth
bulb also function extremely well (my
suggestion). Chicks need this
warmth 24/7 till their downy fluff is
changed with plumes (which can use
up to two months). The freshly
hatched out need a temperature level
in between 90 and also 100 degrees,
and every week this could
be lowered by
about 5 levels approximately. The warmth source need to get on merely one side of the cage
to allow chicks a range of
temperatures. The chicks are your best
thermometer- if they are hiding in the
opposite corner of your heat
light, you need to
reduce the temperature. If
they are surrounding each other under the
heat (not just cuddling),
you need to put some warmth.
Housekeeping
Cleanliness is essential as
well as it maintains your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make sure to alter
the bed linen
usually and
always supply clean
food and water Food and also water.
Chicks grow really quickly
which needs lots of clean
food and water. Give
sufficient in any way times and also check
commonly to avoid parched as well as
starving chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, and it is available in both medicated as well as non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
very first 2 months, then
switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for an additional 2 months,
and afterwards to a slightly
lower protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks like to get a head start on taking
filth baths, while others won't use up that task until they are
older. If you have the space in your chick
enclosure, introduce a tray of sand or
dust for them to bathe in.
Interest as well as love There are a couple of advantages to spending time with your chicks. To start
with, they will certainly most
likely bond with you as well as
not escape as grownups. Second, if you
analyze your chicks daily as well as
enjoy their behavior, you can
capture illness or other troubles previously. Keep an
eye out for wheezing, limping, or
other unhealthy
indications. Be sure to
also look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels can lead
to matted feathers and also obstructed cloaca.
Finally, it is essential to watch out for social concerns, such as the
tiniest chick obtaining badgered. Empty nest syndrome So your
chicks are currently totally feathered
and also its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your residence
and also relocate outside into a cage. Have a look at our
part on chicken cages to learn more
regarding coops as well as
appropriate coop habitats.