BlueSky

Hello I am new in this forum too. I went to Montreal for the first time during Grand Prix weekend and totally fell in love with the city and its food. Being of Chinese origin, I decided to try Chinese food there, among other things . And I was very pleased with the quality and prices. We went to a small eating place on St.Catherine called Roi de Noueilles (Is that the correct spelling? It's supposed to mean King of Noodles). Each dish was $5-9. A really good deal. Their stir-fried eggplant was good. And the Thai noodle soup was also quite good, though far from being authentic. We also had dim sum at Tong Por (or something like that in China Town.) The selection was good, but it was the price that knocked me off. We ordered so many things and it only came to less than $20 per person. This might sound funny. But I think the satisfaction I got from the meals at these two places is not much less than what I got from my dinner at Nuance the following night. (Don't get me wrong, Nuance was really excellent.) I guess satisfaction is a function of the expectations you have for a place. And of course, I am partial to Chinese food.

I have to put a disclaimer here that it has been a long time since I lived in, or frequented, Bangkok. And hawker stalls are very mobile, so I don't know whether they are still where they were when I last had it. One of the best Som tums is the hawker stall in Soi Polo. That's the entrance to Polo Club where all the rich and famous belong to. So it's possible that you would see Mercedes Benz and other posh cars stop by the sidewalk to buy some on the way home. Their Gai Yaang (barbecue chicken) was also famous. Another place that you can also get good E-Sarn food (som tum, laab, and the like) is near Pratunam Market. After the gourmet simmered pork-hocks, you can cross Rajdamnern Street to the other side and walk towards Petchburi road. Cross Petchburi road. The small shop house is located somewhere between that corner and the entrance to the Pratunam market. The portion is small, so you can order many different dishes to try. It's kind of hard to say where the best som tam is. Most street food with a long queue of locals are good. It's pretty much what you prefer. I don't know about Hor Mok Pla or Yum Som Or. But there is a popular hawker stall in Soi Ging Petch that make good Yum Naem Sod. The vendor is a rather old lady who enjoys wearing make up. Always looks her best when she opens her shop each day. Her stall is so popular with college kids and young adults. You literally have to stand and wait for up to half an hour or order and come back for it. This food market starts around 4pm or so. Soi Ging Petch is on Petchburi street not far from Siam Square. Hope all these are still there...

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, the Gai Todd in Phuket would be the same. And yes, it is kind of addictive. The world was a lot nicer place when I was young. You could practically eat anything without having to think about how it would affect your health or waistline. :-) Next time I go home, I'll cross over to KL and try some of the recommendations.

Hello everybody: I am new here. New to the board, and new to cooking... But eating has always been my life-long passion. After all, I am a Chinese born in Thailand. And both Chinese and Thais LOVE to eat. So I guess that somewhat qualifies me to join this board. Hi Pan: I noted you have expanded your travel plan from the"Southern part of Thailand" to "various parts.... Laos and Cambodia" Anyway, the Malay-majority part of Thailand are concentrated on the five border cities: Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Satoon, and Songkhla. The only place I think you can afford to miss is probably Satoon. (OK, I don't really know Satoon-- that's why...) I recommend visiting Betong, the border point for Yala, as it is quite a unique place, even for Thai. I would say it is much more Chinese than Malay, though. The Chinese food there is supposed to be one of the best in Thailand. The town's specialty is Stir- fried Watercress. (Puck Naam) I am sure you can find a good Halal place there. As the road from Betong to the rest of Thailand can be an adventure in itself, you can opt to go back into Malaysia and enter Thailand again at Sungai Kolok, in Narathiwat, and go to Pattani from there. It is reasonably safe if you are careful and use good sense. If you travel alone, be very careful, especially when you cannot speak the language. I would stick to the city and market place, unless you have a certified guide. If you are traveling with a few other people, you might want to consider hiring a driver-guide in Thailand. Converting back into US dollars, it is really reasonable. I once hire a minivan for about $70 per day, all-inclusive. He ate with us, of course, but that also guarantees a good eating place everywhere we go. He could also go in and out of Malaysia, spoke some English, good Malay, and perfect Thai. That took a lot of guesswork out but we can still do whatever we want to do and stay as long as we like. But if you plan to travel alone, that's fine too. Just be careful not to venture out alone in the dark, or where there are no other people around. The economy hasn't been the best lately, so crime rates have increased a bit. And here are some recommendations on eating place: If stopping in Narathiwat, go to the morning market and buy your breakfast there. Yes, it's certainly not the cleanest place in the world, but I never had any problem with the food there when I visit. Pick your breakfast from the variety of Malay and Southern Thai food there. My favorites are - Poo-Loh: Sweet Sticky rice cooked with brown syrup with grated fresh coconut and fried fish - Kaaw-Yum: (Literally, mixed salad rice) Blue riced (as someone mentioned earlier) with about 10 kinds of fresh thinly julienned-cut or sliced vegetables & herbs, crumbled pomelo, toasted coconut flakes, dried shredded fish or shrimp. The best part is the dressing - Budu --sweet and salty syrupy fish sauce. Yummy and nutritious. Muesli and Cereals would not even compare. Another popular breakfast is Chicken noodle soup at the Ritz Hotel. (Not to be confused with Ritz-Carlton. This Ritz is an old guesthouse. hee hee.) Smooth thin noodles in clear aromatic soup. You just can't find it anywhere else. Again, I am not sure whether it is halal, but I have seen some Islamic locals buying them. So it should be OK. Pattani is another interesting place. I don't remember the name of the restaurants, but everything I had there was good. You might want to stop at the PSU (Prince of Songkhla University), known to the locals as "More Or". The Pattani campus housed the institute of Islamic study, and there should be interesting things to see. I grew up in Songkhla. My hometown is called Hat Yai, which is the favorite place for Malaysians and Singaporeans. One of the reasons is its variety and quality of food. One of the best known street food is fried chicken. Nothing like the southern fried, or any of the fast-food chains we know. The chicken is marinated, but not battered. The skin is crisp and very brown. This is eaten with sticky rice, crispy fried shallots, and sweet/spicy syrupy sauce. OK... not healthy.... but worth every calorie and cholesterol point. And it is definitely halal. Locals call them Gai-Todd-Islam. (Gai Todd = fried chicken) OK. I'd better go. This is making me homesick... and hungry. Have a great trip.