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The Age
28-05-2025
- The Age
Twenty things that will surprise first-time visitors to Bangkok
The west bank of the river was home to the first European settlers in Siam (as Thailand was then known), 16th-century Portuguese traders, missionaries and mercenaries. Kudichin, also known as Kudijeen, consists of narrow lanes (or soi) and old teak houses, including the ancestral Baan Kudichin Museum. The domed 1770 Santa Cruz Church and nearby Wat Prayurawongsawat ('Turtle Mountain Temple') with its hollow, 60-metre stupa are open to visitors. And look for the small family bakeries that sell the European-inspired tart called khanom farang ('foreigner cake'). See There are cannabis shops everywhere In 2022 Thailand surprised the world, and itself, by radically loosening its previously strict marijuana laws. Cannabis-based products, supposedly for 'medical use only', were soon on sale across the kingdom in glitzy shops, kerbside vans and street stalls. A new conservative government now hopes, belatedly, to legislate the billion-dollar genie back into its bottle. Whatever the outcome and your herbal inclinations, don't even think about exporting anything. It's home to the world's largest outdoor shopping mall Chatuchak Weekend Market is the world's largest, busiest, noisiest and allegedly best-bargain marketplace of all. Catch the SkyTrain north to Mo Chit to find this Mecca for impulse purchasers. With more than 15,000 stalls covering 14 hectares and selling everything from jewels, curios and pets to amulets and electronics, you'll need extra bags to lug home the loot. It's always a long weekend at Chatuchak, which trades full-tilt from Wednesday to Sunday. See History lives in the side streets The dowager Atlanta Hotel sits amid its considerable memories down Soi 2 Sukhumvit Road. The classic Bauhaus-deco lobby is unchanged from the 1950s, when this was the place to dine in Bangkok. A 1962 photograph shows the young King Rama IX playing saxophone there with Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman. The menu in the hotel's original LA-style diner declares: 'Typically, the Atlanta is not moving with the times.' See Hotel California isn't played here Forget the chrome pole clubs or beer bars still playing The Eagles, Bangkok has plenty of cool musical watering holes. The Saxophone Jazz and Blues Pub at the Victory Monument has delivered live Thai-Latino-whatever jazz, good drinks and great atmosphere with no cover charge or go-go dancers since 1987 ( Meanwhile, upmarket and down by the river, the Mandarin Oriental's elegant Bamboo Bar stirs smoky jazz into your late-night cocktail musings ( Something similar happens high above the river at the Millennium Hilton's ThreeSixty Bar. See A street corner named devotion Erawan Shrine in front of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel is renowned as Bangkok's most wish-fulfilling shrine. Day and night, Thais from all walks of life make offerings before its centrepiece, a four-faced golden Brahma statue. They pray for wealth, health, education or business success, or give thanks for prayers answered. Traditional dancers often perform here. Visitors welcome, respectful photography appreciated. See The world's most beautiful boatshed The National Museum of Royal Barges, the most beautiful boatshed in the world, houses the Crown's fleet of gilded, ceremonial vessels. These works of art with swan-necked prows and mythological figureheads glide out on rare occasions for the extraordinary Royal Barge Procession, when they parade, rowed by chanting sailors, past the Grand Palace and its dreaming spires. The barge museum, on the west bank in Bangkok Noi, displays these intricate vessels. Watch as artisans maintain them. See It's still a backpacker mecca Khao San Road, unofficial world backpacker HQ, gained fame last century with Alex Garland's novel (and subsequent Hollywood movie) The Beach. 'The main function for the street was as a decompression chamber … a halfway house between East and West,' he wrote. It still is. KSR endures, with the dreads-and-tatts crew sharing space with flashpackers and selfie-obsessives. By night the street is closed to traffic and becomes a free-range party zone. Explore it for music in clubs like Brick Bar. Above all, decompress. See The nicknames are delightful Don't be surprise to meet, for instance, a woman called Pla (meaning Fish) or another named Porn. Because formal Thai names can seem as long as a stretch limo, many Thais adopt a short, convenient nickname. Foreigners will be surprised to meet someone called Poo (Crab), Meaw (Cat), Moo (Pig) or Gai (Chicken). As for Porn, forget any preconceptions; it's an auspicious name, meaning blessing or grace. Thais sometimes translate their nicknames into English and you might find yourself chatting with Glass (Kaew), Smile (Yim) or Snack (Khanom), or perhaps plain Pop (as in music). It's easy to get high, literally The Great City of Angels lets you brush wings with its namesake celestial spirits via its rooftop bars. From up there you can muse, cocktail in hand, on the glittering street circuitry below or the looping calligraphy of the river as it signs off on its long run to the sea. In this city without hills, vertigo is a rare sensation, except at the MahaNakhon skyscraper. As Thailand's tallest building it trumps the skybars with its 78th-floor skywalk, the city's highest public point. Defy your survival instincts by stepping out onto its glass deck and then looking 310 vertiginous metres down to the toy town cars below. See Tuk-tuks are for tourists (and more expensive than taxis) Probably, yes. The iconic tuk-tuk (proper name samlor, 'three-wheel') functions today mostly as a tourist rattle-trap. They're unmetered, wind-in-your-hair fun, for sure. A first-time hoot. Until the end of the trip when, if you didn't first agree on the fare, the driver is charging you whatever he likes. For farang (foreigners), they're usually more expensive than a metered taxi. Go local, live like a Thai, catch the SkyTrain, Metro or ferry – all faster and cheaper than a tuk-tuk, even if less Insta fun. Thailand didn't invent massage, but perfected it Skip the fluffy rub-downs and five-orchid spa sessions. Try the real thing, where many Thai therapists learn their basics, at Wat Pho temple's 70-year-old Thai Traditional Massage School. Massage as developed here is included on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. For $20, a skilled trainee will turn your shoulder knots to noodles during an hour of pummelling, prodding and stretching. While you're at Wat Pho, visit its famous, 46-metre long, gold-plated Reclining Buddha. It has the world's wettest new year celebration Songkran, the world's wettest new year. Thailand's traditional new year falls in mid-April. Once the first jet of water hits your neck, things can descend into days of being drenched anytime you set foot outside. As a farang, you are an affectionate 'mark', so don't hit the streets wearing or carrying anything you can't afford to have soaked. You've stepped into the middle of the world's biggest water fight. Should you become a target, don't bother to plead: you're painting an even bigger bull's eye on yourself. Often the most indiscriminate water-bombers are inebriated, newbie tourists trying to 'go local'. The river commute is a fast and furious ride Khlong Saen Saep, built between 1837 and 1840, snakes its way through the city. Hop aboard a rocket and see how some Bangkokians get to the office. The skinny, 15-metre-long, 50-seat canal ferries rip along the muddy waters, making Formula One-speed pit stops at the khlong's 18 wharves. Leap – almost literally – on and off whenever you dare. A conductor collects fares as the projectile travels the 18-kilometre route. Blasting past temples and shacks, mansions and malls, it's your cheap-as-chips tour of the real Bangkok's backdoors. See The Risky Market is called 'risky' for good reason Talat Rhom Hoop – literally 'Closing Umbrella Market' – sounds curious enough, but its English name is more ominous – The Risky Market. You look up to see why: a locomotive is bearing down on you amid the market stalls. Their trackside awnings suddenly retract. You press yourself against a wall, flat as a Peking duck, with the train rumbling by, inches away. The fishing port of Samut Songkhram, also known as Mae Khlong, 80 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, is home to this death-defying shopping excursion and its 33-kilometre Mae Khlong-Mahachai railway, the shortest line in Thailand. See One of the world's longest roads runs through it Loading Hail a taxi on Sukhumvit and say: 'To the end of the road, please.' Four hundred and ninety kilometres later you'll be at Cambodia. Thanon Sukhumvit, Bangkok's boulevard of dreams and schemes, is not only the country's longest thoroughfare but one of the world's longest main roads. Until the mid-1960s, rice paddies and aristocratic estates bordered it. Novelist and composer S.P. Somtow recalled his family enclave there as 'our remote little island kingdom on Sukhumvit Road'. The rip-roaring progress monster that ate old Bangkok soon consumed the agriculture and enchantment alike. It's home to the world's narrowest Chinatown alley Bangkok is said to be home to the largest diaspora Chinatown in the world. Which might make Soi Itsara Nuphap, between Yaowarat and Charoen Krung roads, the skinniest Chinatown alley of almost anywhere. Inch your way along as it pinches down to a two-metre-wide crush of food stalls, handcarts, shoppers, monks, motorbike delivery drivers, grandmothers, schoolkids and bargain hunters. Ten minutes later you pop out at the other end, having sampled a parallel Thai-Chinese universe at very close quarters. Celebrate with a pickled egg. Watch your wallet. See
Sydney Morning Herald
28-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Twenty things that will surprise first-time visitors to Bangkok
The west bank of the river was home to the first European settlers in Siam (as Thailand was then known), 16th-century Portuguese traders, missionaries and mercenaries. Kudichin, also known as Kudijeen, consists of narrow lanes (or soi) and old teak houses, including the ancestral Baan Kudichin Museum. The domed 1770 Santa Cruz Church and nearby Wat Prayurawongsawat ('Turtle Mountain Temple') with its hollow, 60-metre stupa are open to visitors. And look for the small family bakeries that sell the European-inspired tart called khanom farang ('foreigner cake'). See There are cannabis shops everywhere In 2022 Thailand surprised the world, and itself, by radically loosening its previously strict marijuana laws. Cannabis-based products, supposedly for 'medical use only', were soon on sale across the kingdom in glitzy shops, kerbside vans and street stalls. A new conservative government now hopes, belatedly, to legislate the billion-dollar genie back into its bottle. Whatever the outcome and your herbal inclinations, don't even think about exporting anything. It's home to the world's largest outdoor shopping mall Chatuchak Weekend Market is the world's largest, busiest, noisiest and allegedly best-bargain marketplace of all. Catch the SkyTrain north to Mo Chit to find this Mecca for impulse purchasers. With more than 15,000 stalls covering 14 hectares and selling everything from jewels, curios and pets to amulets and electronics, you'll need extra bags to lug home the loot. It's always a long weekend at Chatuchak, which trades full-tilt from Wednesday to Sunday. See History lives in the side streets The dowager Atlanta Hotel sits amid its considerable memories down Soi 2 Sukhumvit Road. The classic Bauhaus-deco lobby is unchanged from the 1950s, when this was the place to dine in Bangkok. A 1962 photograph shows the young King Rama IX playing saxophone there with Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman. The menu in the hotel's original LA-style diner declares: 'Typically, the Atlanta is not moving with the times.' See Hotel California isn't played here Forget the chrome pole clubs or beer bars still playing The Eagles, Bangkok has plenty of cool musical watering holes. The Saxophone Jazz and Blues Pub at the Victory Monument has delivered live Thai-Latino-whatever jazz, good drinks and great atmosphere with no cover charge or go-go dancers since 1987 ( Meanwhile, upmarket and down by the river, the Mandarin Oriental's elegant Bamboo Bar stirs smoky jazz into your late-night cocktail musings ( Something similar happens high above the river at the Millennium Hilton's ThreeSixty Bar. See A street corner named devotion Erawan Shrine in front of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel is renowned as Bangkok's most wish-fulfilling shrine. Day and night, Thais from all walks of life make offerings before its centrepiece, a four-faced golden Brahma statue. They pray for wealth, health, education or business success, or give thanks for prayers answered. Traditional dancers often perform here. Visitors welcome, respectful photography appreciated. See The world's most beautiful boatshed The National Museum of Royal Barges, the most beautiful boatshed in the world, houses the Crown's fleet of gilded, ceremonial vessels. These works of art with swan-necked prows and mythological figureheads glide out on rare occasions for the extraordinary Royal Barge Procession, when they parade, rowed by chanting sailors, past the Grand Palace and its dreaming spires. The barge museum, on the west bank in Bangkok Noi, displays these intricate vessels. Watch as artisans maintain them. See It's still a backpacker mecca Khao San Road, unofficial world backpacker HQ, gained fame last century with Alex Garland's novel (and subsequent Hollywood movie) The Beach. 'The main function for the street was as a decompression chamber … a halfway house between East and West,' he wrote. It still is. KSR endures, with the dreads-and-tatts crew sharing space with flashpackers and selfie-obsessives. By night the street is closed to traffic and becomes a free-range party zone. Explore it for music in clubs like Brick Bar. Above all, decompress. See The nicknames are delightful Don't be surprise to meet, for instance, a woman called Pla (meaning Fish) or another named Porn. Because formal Thai names can seem as long as a stretch limo, many Thais adopt a short, convenient nickname. Foreigners will be surprised to meet someone called Poo (Crab), Meaw (Cat), Moo (Pig) or Gai (Chicken). As for Porn, forget any preconceptions; it's an auspicious name, meaning blessing or grace. Thais sometimes translate their nicknames into English and you might find yourself chatting with Glass (Kaew), Smile (Yim) or Snack (Khanom), or perhaps plain Pop (as in music). It's easy to get high, literally The Great City of Angels lets you brush wings with its namesake celestial spirits via its rooftop bars. From up there you can muse, cocktail in hand, on the glittering street circuitry below or the looping calligraphy of the river as it signs off on its long run to the sea. In this city without hills, vertigo is a rare sensation, except at the MahaNakhon skyscraper. As Thailand's tallest building it trumps the skybars with its 78th-floor skywalk, the city's highest public point. Defy your survival instincts by stepping out onto its glass deck and then looking 310 vertiginous metres down to the toy town cars below. See Tuk-tuks are for tourists (and more expensive than taxis) Probably, yes. The iconic tuk-tuk (proper name samlor, 'three-wheel') functions today mostly as a tourist rattle-trap. They're unmetered, wind-in-your-hair fun, for sure. A first-time hoot. Until the end of the trip when, if you didn't first agree on the fare, the driver is charging you whatever he likes. For farang (foreigners), they're usually more expensive than a metered taxi. Go local, live like a Thai, catch the SkyTrain, Metro or ferry – all faster and cheaper than a tuk-tuk, even if less Insta fun. Thailand didn't invent massage, but perfected it Skip the fluffy rub-downs and five-orchid spa sessions. Try the real thing, where many Thai therapists learn their basics, at Wat Pho temple's 70-year-old Thai Traditional Massage School. Massage as developed here is included on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. For $20, a skilled trainee will turn your shoulder knots to noodles during an hour of pummelling, prodding and stretching. While you're at Wat Pho, visit its famous, 46-metre long, gold-plated Reclining Buddha. It has the world's wettest new year celebration Songkran, the world's wettest new year. Thailand's traditional new year falls in mid-April. Once the first jet of water hits your neck, things can descend into days of being drenched anytime you set foot outside. As a farang, you are an affectionate 'mark', so don't hit the streets wearing or carrying anything you can't afford to have soaked. You've stepped into the middle of the world's biggest water fight. Should you become a target, don't bother to plead: you're painting an even bigger bull's eye on yourself. Often the most indiscriminate water-bombers are inebriated, newbie tourists trying to 'go local'. The river commute is a fast and furious ride Khlong Saen Saep, built between 1837 and 1840, snakes its way through the city. Hop aboard a rocket and see how some Bangkokians get to the office. The skinny, 15-metre-long, 50-seat canal ferries rip along the muddy waters, making Formula One-speed pit stops at the khlong's 18 wharves. Leap – almost literally – on and off whenever you dare. A conductor collects fares as the projectile travels the 18-kilometre route. Blasting past temples and shacks, mansions and malls, it's your cheap-as-chips tour of the real Bangkok's backdoors. See The Risky Market is called 'risky' for good reason Talat Rhom Hoop – literally 'Closing Umbrella Market' – sounds curious enough, but its English name is more ominous – The Risky Market. You look up to see why: a locomotive is bearing down on you amid the market stalls. Their trackside awnings suddenly retract. You press yourself against a wall, flat as a Peking duck, with the train rumbling by, inches away. The fishing port of Samut Songkhram, also known as Mae Khlong, 80 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, is home to this death-defying shopping excursion and its 33-kilometre Mae Khlong-Mahachai railway, the shortest line in Thailand. See One of the world's longest roads runs through it Loading Hail a taxi on Sukhumvit and say: 'To the end of the road, please.' Four hundred and ninety kilometres later you'll be at Cambodia. Thanon Sukhumvit, Bangkok's boulevard of dreams and schemes, is not only the country's longest thoroughfare but one of the world's longest main roads. Until the mid-1960s, rice paddies and aristocratic estates bordered it. Novelist and composer S.P. Somtow recalled his family enclave there as 'our remote little island kingdom on Sukhumvit Road'. The rip-roaring progress monster that ate old Bangkok soon consumed the agriculture and enchantment alike. It's home to the world's narrowest Chinatown alley Bangkok is said to be home to the largest diaspora Chinatown in the world. Which might make Soi Itsara Nuphap, between Yaowarat and Charoen Krung roads, the skinniest Chinatown alley of almost anywhere. Inch your way along as it pinches down to a two-metre-wide crush of food stalls, handcarts, shoppers, monks, motorbike delivery drivers, grandmothers, schoolkids and bargain hunters. Ten minutes later you pop out at the other end, having sampled a parallel Thai-Chinese universe at very close quarters. Celebrate with a pickled egg. Watch your wallet. See
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Where to eat Portuguese food in Bangkok
Bangkok's Kudi Chin neighborhood, in Thonburi on the western bank of the Chao Praya river, is a sleepy one; a jumble of narrow alleys and old houses, some on stilts. It is sometimes called Little Portugal, as it is home to a number of Thais descended from the Portuguese, who had settled here in the late 18th century. The Portuguese were the first Western nation to contact the ancient Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1511. They soon became a prominent trading partner, and introduced a number of fruits and vegetables, which are now staples in Thai cuisine. As Edward Van Roy writes in Siamese Melting Pot, tomatoes, chillies, peanuts, potatoes, and maize came to Thailand via Portugal. Some of the Thai names for vegetables reflect their imported origin; for example, potatoes are called man farang, or Western tubers, while the Thai name for papaya, malakor, is derived from Malacca, the Portuguese trading outpost from where they first traveled to Thai shores. The Portuguese also introduced new cooking techniques. 'They taught Thais their sauces and stews,' says Navinee Pongthai, who runs Bangkok's Baan Kudichin Museum about Thailand's Portuguese history. 'Meat stew, chicken stew, these are dishes that came from the Portuguese. The Portuguese-inspired Thai stews often have more sauce and stew compared to the Chinese style stews.' Baking, deep-frying, roasting, and stuffing were also introduced, all of which are now part of Thai cooking. Thai dessert-making was also transformed by the Portuguese. At the time, Thai desserts were mainly made of rice flour, palm sugar, and grated coconut, perfumed with jasmine blossoms or pandan leaves. Eggs were introduced in desserts by the Portuguese, as was the use of coconut cream to substitute for dairy, as cows were considered sacred. (Related: Meet the Thai women reviving ancient recipes for food-lovers in Bangkok) The most famous Portuguese personality in Thai cuisine is Maria Guyomar de Pinha, often known as Thao Thong Kip Ma, a royal title bestowed by King Narai, who ruled Thailand in the 17th century. Guyomar is credited with popularizing egg-based sweets in Thai cuisine, and the creation of a number of popular Thai desserts. Guyomar was part-Portuguese, part-Japanese, notes Stefan Halikowski Smith in his book Creolization and Diaspora in the Portuguese Indies. She was raised in wealthy environs in Ayutthaya's Portuguese settlement, and married Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who ended up becoming a powerful advisor to King Narai. The couple maintained a Western-style household, bringing cooking utensils and ingredients from Europe. They hosted lavish dinners, serving dishes based on recipes handed down by Guyomar's mother and grandmother, alongside imported wines, meats, and cheeses. 'Her culinary prowess was eventually so evident,' says Thai food writer Chawadee Nualkhair, 'that even when King Narai was deposed, the usurper king Phetracha essentially enslaved Maria to work in his kitchens, even though she was a foreigner. This is, in its own terrible way, a great compliment to her cooking. Legend has it that she eventually worked her way up to head the royal kitchens.' Guyomar was known for her desserts, which she created using egg yolks and sugar, eschewing European baking staples of butter and milk. She created foi thong (golden threads), a cascade of golden strands of egg yolk cooked in hot sugar syrup, that derived from the Portuguese fios de ovos, along with thong yod (golden drops) inspired by ovos moles from Aveiro, and thong yip. These became part of the thong (golden) family of nine auspicious Thai desserts, which are popular as gifts, especially during special occasions like engagements and weddings. 'She made the desserts beautiful and tasty for Thai people,' says Pongthai. 'Foi thong is compactly folded in threads, while the Portuguese version is more spread out. Thong yip is shaped like a flower.' The Portuguese are also credited with creating khanom mo kaeng, a coconut custard flan reminiscent of tigelada, and luk chup, derived from the marzipan-like massapão. The dishes were localized, with luk chup using mung beans in the absence of almonds in Thailand, and mo kaeng using coconut milk instead of dairy. (Related: Bangkok rediscovers the magic of its legendary river) After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, when Bangkok was created, the Kudi Chin neighborhood was given to the Portuguese by King Taksin. The neighborhood is known for small restaurants that are run by Thai descendants of the Portuguese. These restaurants serve Portuguese-inspired dishes, alongside bakeries making khanom farang kudi chin, a Portuguese-Thai sponge cake. 'We are one of only three families left who make the khanom farang kudi chin,' says Teepakorn Sudjidjuye, owner of Thanusingha Bakery House. 'My great-great-grandmother was half Thai, half Portuguese. She learned the recipe from her mother, and made the cakes as gifts for her neighbors.' The cakes are generously sprinkled with sugar and have a slightly crumbly texture, since they don't use butter, milk, or yeast, which were not available in Ayutthaya. Another dish with a mixed Portuguese-Burmese ancestry is kanom jeen gang gai kua. 'It's a mild curry with minced chicken, which is slathered over Mon-style fermented rice noodles, and I haven't seen it anywhere else,' says Nualkhair. It can be found at Baan Sakulthong, which serves recipes by the owner's grandmother-in-law. Kaopeenong: 1-2 Kamphaeng Phet Road, Or Tor Kor Market, Bangkok 10900 Foi thong, thong yip and thong yod can be found in many markets, but the best-known place to try them is Kaopeenong, translating to "nine siblings," situated next to the bustling Chatuchak market. Along with the auspicious desserts, you can also find other popular Thai sweets like luk chup and khanom tan (toddy palm cake). Saneh Jaan: 130 - 132 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Bangkok 10330 Named after one of the nine auspicious desserts, Saneh Jaan is a Michelin-starred restaurant that serves a number of dishes from the royal kitchen. Its dessert menu has an assortment of the desserts. Thanusingha Bakery House: 237 7 Soi Kudeejeen, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600 The 150-year-old home-based Portuguese bakery is one of three (Pa Lek and Lan Mea Pao are the other two) that makes just khanom farang kudi chin. Sudjidjuye uses the same recipe as his ancestors, with three ingredients – duck eggs, sugar, and wheat flour. Baan Sakulthong: 219 Thetsaban Soi 1 Road, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600 Owner Kanittha Sakulthong's relatives were chefs in royal kitchens, and her husband has Portuguese ancestry. The restaurant serves a number of Portuguese-inspired dishes, like kanom jeen gang gai kua, roast pork and potatoes, and chicken stew. Born and raised in India, it took a quarter century for Arundhati Hazra to travel outside the country for the first time. She started off as a check-the-box city-hopper, but now prefers slow travel, and has lived in South-East Asia and Europe for extended periods. Her freelance writing spans travel, food and lifestyle topics, and you can find more of her published work here.
National Geographic
03-04-2025
- National Geographic
Where to eat Portuguese food in Bangkok
Bangkok's Kudi Chin neighborhood, in Thonburi on the western bank of the Chao Praya river, is a sleepy one; a jumble of narrow alleys and old houses, some on stilts. It is sometimes called Little Portugal, as it is home to a number of Thais descended from the Portuguese, who had settled here in the late 18th century. Portuguese influence on Thailand's cuisine The Portuguese were the first Western nation to contact the ancient Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1511. They soon became a prominent trading partner, and introduced a number of fruits and vegetables, which are now staples in Thai cuisine. As Edward Van Roy writes in Siamese Melting Pot, tomatoes, chillies, peanuts, potatoes, and maize came to Thailand via Portugal. Some of the Thai names for vegetables reflect their imported origin; for example, potatoes are called man farang, or Western tubers, while the Thai name for papaya, malakor, is derived from Malacca, the Portuguese trading outpost from where they first traveled to Thai shores. The Portuguese also introduced new cooking techniques. 'They taught Thais their sauces and stews,' says Navinee Pongthai, who runs Bangkok's Baan Kudichin Museum about Thailand's Portuguese history. 'Meat stew, chicken stew, these are dishes that came from the Portuguese. The Portuguese-inspired Thai stews often have more sauce and stew compared to the Chinese style stews.' Baking, deep-frying, roasting, and stuffing were also introduced, all of which are now part of Thai cooking. Thai dessert-making was also transformed by the Portuguese. At the time, Thai desserts were mainly made of rice flour, palm sugar, and grated coconut, perfumed with jasmine blossoms or pandan leaves. Eggs were introduced in desserts by the Portuguese, as was the use of coconut cream to substitute for dairy, as cows were considered sacred. (Related: Meet the Thai women reviving ancient recipes for food-lovers in Bangkok) Thai desserts The most famous Portuguese personality in Thai cuisine is Maria Guyomar de Pinha, often known as Thao Thong Kip Ma, a royal title bestowed by King Narai, who ruled Thailand in the 17th century. Guyomar is credited with popularizing egg-based sweets in Thai cuisine, and the creation of a number of popular Thai desserts. The traditional Thai dessert, foi thong, or "golden egg strips," is made of golden strands of egg yolk cooked in hot sugar syrup. Photograph by Phatthaya Awisu, Alamy Stock Photo Thong yip, thong yot, and foi thong are three of the nine auspicious traditional Thai desserts. Photograph by Media Pte Ltd, Alamy Stock Photo Guyomar was part-Portuguese, part-Japanese, notes Stefan Halikowski Smith in his book Creolization and Diaspora in the Portuguese Indies. She was raised in wealthy environs in Ayutthaya's Portuguese settlement, and married Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who ended up becoming a powerful advisor to King Narai. The couple maintained a Western-style household, bringing cooking utensils and ingredients from Europe. They hosted lavish dinners, serving dishes based on recipes handed down by Guyomar's mother and grandmother, alongside imported wines, meats, and cheeses. 'Her culinary prowess was eventually so evident,' says Thai food writer Chawadee Nualkhair, 'that even when King Narai was deposed, the usurper king Phetracha essentially enslaved Maria to work in his kitchens, even though she was a foreigner. This is, in its own terrible way, a great compliment to her cooking. Legend has it that she eventually worked her way up to head the royal kitchens.' Guyomar was known for her desserts, which she created using egg yolks and sugar, eschewing European baking staples of butter and milk. She created foi thong (golden threads), a cascade of golden strands of egg yolk cooked in hot sugar syrup, that derived from the Portuguese fios de ovos, along with thong yod (golden drops) inspired by ovos moles from Aveiro, and thong yip. These became part of the thong (golden) family of nine auspicious Thai desserts, which are popular as gifts, especially during special occasions like engagements and weddings. 'She made the desserts beautiful and tasty for Thai people,' says Pongthai. 'Foi thong is compactly folded in threads, while the Portuguese version is more spread out. Thong yip is shaped like a flower.' The Portuguese are also credited with creating khanom mo kaeng, a coconut custard flan reminiscent of tigelada, and luk chup, derived from the marzipan-like massapão. The dishes were localized, with luk chup using mung beans in the absence of almonds in Thailand, and mo kaeng using coconut milk instead of dairy. (Related: Bangkok rediscovers the magic of its legendary river) Little Portugal in Bangkok—the Kudi Chin neighborhood After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, when Bangkok was created, the Kudi Chin neighborhood was given to the Portuguese by King Taksin. The neighborhood is known for small restaurants that are run by Thai descendants of the Portuguese. These restaurants serve Portuguese-inspired dishes, alongside bakeries making khanom farang kudi chin, a Portuguese-Thai sponge cake. 'We are one of only three families left who make the khanom farang kudi chin,' says Teepakorn Sudjidjuye, owner of Thanusingha Bakery House. 'My great-great-grandmother was half Thai, half Portuguese. She learned the recipe from her mother, and made the cakes as gifts for her neighbors.' The cakes are generously sprinkled with sugar and have a slightly crumbly texture, since they don't use butter, milk, or yeast, which were not available in Ayutthaya. Another dish with a mixed Portuguese-Burmese ancestry is kanom jeen gang gai kua. 'It's a mild curry with minced chicken, which is slathered over Mon-style fermented rice noodles, and I haven't seen it anywhere else,' says Nualkhair. It can be found at Baan Sakulthong, which serves recipes by the owner's grandmother-in-law. Where to try Portuguese-inspired food in Bangkok Kaopeenong: 1-2 Kamphaeng Phet Road, Or Tor Kor Market, Bangkok 10900 Foi thong, thong yip and thong yod can be found in many markets, but the best-known place to try them is Kaopeenong, translating to "nine siblings," situated next to the bustling Chatuchak market. Along with the auspicious desserts, you can also find other popular Thai sweets like luk chup and khanom tan (toddy palm cake). Saneh Jaan: 130 - 132 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Bangkok 10330 Named after one of the nine auspicious desserts, Saneh Jaan is a Michelin-starred restaurant that serves a number of dishes from the royal kitchen. Its dessert menu has an assortment of the desserts. Thanusingha Bakery House: 237 7 Soi Kudeejeen, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600 The 150-year-old home-based Portuguese bakery is one of three (Pa Lek and Lan Mea Pao are the other two) that makes just khanom farang kudi chin. Sudjidjuye uses the same recipe as his ancestors, with three ingredients – duck eggs, sugar, and wheat flour. Baan Sakulthong: 219 Thetsaban Soi 1 Road, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600 Owner Kanittha Sakulthong's relatives were chefs in royal kitchens, and her husband has Portuguese ancestry. The restaurant serves a number of Portuguese-inspired dishes, like kanom jeen gang gai kua, roast pork and potatoes, and chicken stew. Born and raised in India, it took a quarter century for Arundhati Hazra to travel outside the country for the first time. She started off as a check-the-box city-hopper, but now prefers slow travel, and has lived in South-East Asia and Europe for extended periods. Her freelance writing spans travel, food and lifestyle topics, and you can find more of her published work here
