Who knew leaves could taste so good?

While nothing particularly earth-shattering has happened since last night, there was one dish we had at dinner that I strongly believe deserves its own entry, if even just for the sake of the foodie side of my family (and, for my celiac disease-ridden sister - its gluten-free!). We went to a restaurant in what is supposedly the "Beverly Hills" of Bankgok, and, after walking by scores of street vendor stalls selling mango sticky rice and various unidentifiable meats for less than $3, we came to a fancy restaurant called "Face", which felt like a little Buddhist oasis with outdoor couches, candles, and koi ponds. It was definitely one of Bangkok's more upscale restaurants (a friend of a friend told us to make sure to go in our first few days because we would never spend the money again), but the food was delicious. And it was a great place for old-white-man-with-young-Thai-hooker spotting. Cocktails were excellent, followed by the most fabulous amuse bouche I have ever had. Mieng Kham, "leaf wrapped snack", is a betel leaf served with tiny pieces of peanut, shallot, ginger, lime, coconut, Thai chili, and a delicious galangal root and shallot sauce. The various non-leaf accoutrements are placed inside the leaf, doused in sauce, and eaten in one bite. And it. Is. DELICIOUS. Seriously. Go make it right now. Since I haven't yet figured out how to easily upload my own photos to this blog (those of you who know me well know I'm nearly hopeless with technology), I've included a cop-out photo from our dear friend Google Images below. Damn, it's tasty. Off today to see the sights with two Kellogg friends visiting Bangkok on their way from India to Melbourne, which is a nice excuse to get some of the tourist attractions out of the way so I can spend my time finding some bugs to eat.


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Location:Bangkok, Thailand