What I ate: Thai Street Food Part 1

 Pad thai

 BBQ liver

 Deep Fried Won Ton balls

 More bbq

Scooting around Phuket

After all the eating and drinking, it was time to explore the island the next day. Renting a scooter is the best way to travel around the island.

I loved this elephant crossing sign

The view from the top

Time for a lunch break

Phuket

 February 2009

I left the busy and humid streets of Bangkok for Phuket. I needed the sea, sun, and fresh air to welcome me before my 25th birthday. I started planning my birthday get away months before and I was freezing cold in Toronto. I was feeling miserable and I wanted to be totally selfish and travel for a month. I somehow made it happen but not without a lot of skepticism from friends and family on how I was going to survive. I have to admit, I was scared but at the same time the excitement took over me and I tried to just enjoy everything.

It only took me an hour to get to paradise from Bangkok.

My first order of business was going to the beach and enjoying a nice cocktail. I walked from one end of the beach to another and got severely sunburned. I was a lobster!

The beach in Phuket is gorgeous! I rented a sunbed for 200 Baht for the whole day. I bought some street food to munch on and grabbed drinks at a nearby sand bar. I did not move for hours. I just wanted to relax and enjoy the beach.

The best decision I made was staying at a much quieter side of Phuket. My hotel was close to the beach and restaurants. I only have to walk for a couple of minutes to enjoy great food.

my lobster face after getting sunburned that day

entering food coma!

At night, I enjoyed drinking a lot of Mai Tai's and eating a lot of different seafoods. I love love eating seafood and I had the freshest fish, mussels, etc in Thailand. It was heaven for me until I got allergies! Anti-histamine to the rescue. I am never leaving home without it.

A lot of the restaurants have fresh seafood in containers with lots of ice on display so you can pick and choose your meal. You can have it cook any way you want. I don't know how I even managed to order food while my servers were speaking Thai to me.

I will have more food photos soon and more stories from Thailand.

*photos taken by me and A

A beautiful sunset in Phuket

I was greeted by this amazing sunset on my first day in Phuket. It was a spectacular welcome!

Baby Elephant

One of my most unforgettable moment in Bangkok was feeding a baby elephant. It was truly unexpected!!

I was having dinner in the middle of downtown Bangkok when all of the sudden I spotted the baby elephant. I asked to pet him and I bought sugar cane to feed him. Cutest elephant ever!

Now, I can cross that off my bucket list.

Wat Indrawiharn

February 2009

Wat Indrawiharn is home to the 32 meter standing Buddha. It's a really tall statue, quite impressive!

Restaurant Review: La Palette

I had the most amazing meal last week at La Palette so I have to share it. My friends and I made a reservation for 4 people at 8:00pm. I made the reservation that day and was accommodated right away.

We were really curious to try horse meat for the first time. Our group loves to eat and try new things all the time, sometimes, really really weird ingredients.

We arrived promptly at 8:00pm and was lead to our table right away. Our server was really nice and she gave us water while we browsed through the menu and drinks list.

We started by ordering entrées.

Escargots La Palette - Marinated escargots, chanterelle, leeks, spinach, torn croutons, & lemon-dill beurre blanc

Paté - Course duck liver paté en croute w/ house-brined pickles, grainy mustard and crostini

On special that day was horse tartare. It was really amazingly good!

For the main course, I tried the steak/frites. I loved the steak. It was really well grilled and the flavours were really good. As for the fries, I am not a potato person so I shared them with my friends. They said it was so-so.

Steak/Frites - AAAA black angus striploin (Alberta) w/ horseradish-blue cheese butter & chocolate-port reduction served w/ Yukon fires & house tarragon mayo

Cheval - Hay roasted Horse Tenderloin (Québec)served rare to medium-rare w/ herbed, whole toasted oat 'risotto', rainbow heirloom carrots, and apple cider demiglace

My friends ordered the same main course, the cheval (horse). They really really enjoyed it. Our table was so quiet when we got our food. All of us ate in silence to cherish the good food we were served.

For dessert, I ordered a really small vanilla crême brulée. The best way to end a meal is by having a little bit of sweets.

I really enjoyed our meal together. I love how flavourful each bite was. The service was also great so that added to our nice experience. I would definitely go back and try the other items on the menu.

Overall, we paid about $60 each person including wine, tax, and tip.

All photos taken by G

**This is based on my personal experience, I do not get paid to review restaurants.**

Travel Guide: San Francisco

I have compiled a list of restaurants, accommodations, and things to do from my trip in San Francisco. This is based on my personal experiences. I do not get paid to endorse any establishments (I wish!). 

ACCOMMODATION:

Hotel Vertigo - I booked the hotel via Expedia. It was centrally located, only a few minutes walk to Union Square. I loved the location. It was close to everything plus all the added points of having a gelato shop, sandwich restaurant, and pizza stand less than 1 minute walk. 

I booked the newer rooms with a queen size bed. The room was a decent size and I got free wi-fi. Everything was clean. My only complain was the renovation. I didn't know they were undergoing renovations at the 2nd and 3rd floor of the hotel. They started banging the hammers after 9am and I could hear the noise from the 5th floor. Luckily, I am a morning person.

RESTAURANTS:

Dolce Gelato - 916 Sutter St. (Leavenworth Street) - yummy crepes and waffles. Lots of gelato's. I had my breakfast here everyday.

Bite - 912 Sutter St. - awesome sandwiches! had my first meal here and i loved it so much! lots of choices and great pumpkin soup.

Bellissimo Pizza - 920 Sutter Street. - great pizza!! I came here when I needed a snack. 1 minute walk from my hotel.

Sanraku - I was craving Japanese food one night and just decided to eat around my neighbourhood. BIG MISTAKE! I did not like this restaurant. My first bite of the spicy tuna roll and I knew it wasn't going to be good. The food was so bland. I could be eating any fish. I could not tell the difference. Don't go here! 

Fresca  (Noe Valley) - Definitely worth everything to go here! It was so far from my hotel but I made the trek with my companion who suggested this restaurant. The only thing we did wrong was not reserving a table in advance. We ended up sitting at the ceviche bar. 

I tried the trio ceviche tasting and ordered the ceviche mixto, hamachi taradito, and ceviche de coco. It was really really good! I loved it all! I even had oyster's too. It was so fresh and tasty. 

For my main course I ordered, Ahi tuna - grilled ahi tuna, achiote-aji panca marinade, cilantro infused rice, pineapple relish. I loved the bold flavours! It really came together and gave me a nice meal. 

I certainly would love to go back to eat here again! and again!

Bell Tower - 1900 Polk St. I had lunch here and it was pretty good. I ordered fish tacos and it was pretty decent.

Thai Stick - I ordered the trio sample appetizers. I really loved the satay chicken and egg rolls. Didn't love the taro root so much. I only had drinks and snacks here because it was too early for dinner. The mango mojito's was amazing!!!

Pearl's Burgers - 708 Post Street. Really really amazing burgers! The service was really superb as well!

SIGHTSEEING:

I visited San Francisco in such a short time that I had no time to go beyond the city. I find that walking around the city is the best way. 

Pier 39 - I loved watching the seals. They were really really cute.

Fisherman's Wharf - I didn't love this place. It was really too crowded and touristy for me.

Golden Gate Bridge - The world's famous bridge. I suggest hiking around Presidio park before going to the bridge. It's a really nice view from the mountain.

Chinatown - Take a stroll around the colourful Chinatown. Lots of cheap souvenirs you can buy.
Ghirardelli Square - Make a stop and indulge yourself by eating chocolates. I love love Ghirardelli chocolates, I bought too much of it to take home.

SHOPPING:

I didn't really have time to shop but you can find a lot of stores on Union Square.