Dotcomedy.com's Sean R. recently took a jaunt to Bangkok, Thailand. Being an avid carnivore, he took his camera on a long, languid lap around a market's sausage counter. Come and take a stroll with him, why don't you?


Seven Deadly Seans

Next - Midnight Sausage: Paris

There may be a new, energy efficient way to roast food coming soon. According to InventorSpot, a food stand owner in Thailand has invented a solar powered roasting oven.

The oven uses mirrors to focus sunlight on the food, and in the case of its inventor the food is chicken. The inventor says he got the idea from childhood memories of playing with magnifying glasses to focus sunlight. He claims that his oven can roast a small chicken in ten minutes on a sunny day and twenty when it's cloudy out.

The article also comments on the food stand owners' power bill: nothing. In a time of rising energy costs and environmental worries, this is the kind of invention that needs to be developed and promoted world wide. It's great for third world cooks, but I hope it can be developed for my kitchen as well.

Researchers in the U.S. and Thailand have discovered that the more fruit you have in an alcoholic drink the better it is for you.

It's actually the ethanol that you find in drinks such as rum and vodka. When it is added to fruity drinks it actually makes the fruit part of the drink even healthier.

Is this really surprising news for anyone? We know that some alcohol, in moderation, can be good for you, so it stands to reason that if you add fruit to the mix they're going to add vitamins and minerals and nutrients. Though the fact that certain alcohol can actually increase the power of the fruit is interesting.

So there you go, another reason to have a Hump Day Happy Hour after work today.

A Thai scientist has managed to strip the durian, a Southeast Asian delicacy, known as the king of fruit, of its signature funky aroma. What's next, fatless bacon?

Songpol Somsri, who grew up on a durian orchard, crossed more than 90 types of the spiky fruit to create Chantaburi No. 1, which is said to smell as mild as a banana. As anyone who's read Tony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour can tell you, a durian's natural aroma is nothing at all like a banana. So noxious is the fruit's aroma that it's banned from Singapore's subways. Bourdain characterizes it thusly: "like you'd buried somebody holding a big wheel of Stilton in his arms, then dug him up a few weeks later." That aside Bourdain likes them. He really, really likes them.

I can understand his attraction somewhat. Several years my fellow blogger and intrepid eater, Jonathan, sampled one with some friends. Sure, the flesh is custardy, creamy, smooth and sweet. But it has a a definite funky undertone, kinda like garlic steeped in jet fuel, that stays with you for several hours. That aside, I say leave the durian as nature made it, in all its stinky splendor.

Several years ago I encountered a Thai snack food that utterly captivated me. I was perusing the shelves of goodies that lined the counter at Queens' Sripraphai. This was back in the day when this wonderful Thai eatery had yet to undergo a slick renovation and was still a hole in the wall, but in a good way.

I spied a round container filled with fried garlic chips, huge dried (maybe fried) shrimp, kaffir lime leaves, dried hot peppers, peanuts and cashews. The cashier saw me eyeing it and told me it was a Thai snack that goes well with beer. I'd downed more than a few cold ones while munching on the Chinese beer snack of salty fried fish, chiles, black beans and peanuts, but I'd never seen anything quite like this. Immediately I pegged it as a great snack to munch on over a few cold brews. But what really drew me to it was the combination of classic Thai flavors it embodied. Hot, sweet, salty and fishy ... mmm. I couldn't wait to try it.

If the fruits and vegetables shown here don't look quite real, it's because they're not. They're marzipan. To be precise they're not really marzipan either, there's no almond paste in them. What they are is luk chup a Thai dessert whose name translates as "dipped fruits"

I picked up this assortment from a Thai grocery in my native Queens. These jewel-toned morsels are made from a mixture of mung bean, sugar and coconut milk. They're coated with a thick jelly that forms a skin on the fruit. The bright colors come from natural pigments like turmeric for yellow and screwpine for green. To be honest I didn't real find luk chup that tasty. Perhaps I need to revisit them.

Ever had a hankering to order up a 78.5-pound hamburger with 12 hours notice? Now you can thanks to Bob's BBQ & Grill. This Texas 'cue joint recently cooked up what it calls the Texas Belt buster in a bid to unseat Fuddruckers Guinness World record for the largest burger.

Bob's grilled the gargantuan ground beef sandwich in honor of the King of Thailand's 60th year accession to the throne. And just why is a Texas BBQ celebrating a Thai holiday? Because the restaurant is located in Pattaya, Thailand. It was founded by Bob Schindler, a former comepetive barbecuer from Houston.

Once it gets certified, the Texas Belt Buster will hold the record. Fuddrucker's burger weighed in at a paltry 29.9 pounds. The Texas Belt Buster used 55 pounds of ground beef and took more than six hours to grill up. It comes topped with two large heads of lettuce, 35 slices of cheese and four jalapeños, among other things.

For a mere 15,500 baht ($400) you can try to take down this monstrosity. I wonder if Takeru Kobayashi has heard of this megaburger yet.

Richard Vines, the London-based food critic for Bloomberg just posted a guide to dining in Bangkok that runs the gamut from cheap authentic Thai eats to more upscale Thai fare.

Vines is quick to point out that Thai street food has caused many a Brit food poisoning and cautions against it. For cheap eats he reccomends Suda, which lists a whopping 170 Thai and Chinese disheson its illustrated menu. And with an order of stir-fried tuna with basil leaves and chili costing only 80 baht ($2.10), one can see why it's a viable alternative to roadside stands.

For more elegant fare, his pick is Celadon at the upscale Sukothai hotel. It serves dishes from all over Thailand. Standouts include grilled beef sirloin served with dried chili and shallot sauce. Hotel buffets don't fare well in his roundup, with both the Marriott and Hilton getting called out for boring food.

And if for some strange reason you crave French or Italian food in Bangkok he recommends Lyon and Zanotti.

Yesterday's New York Times featured a great account of eating a variety of insects in Thailand's Ubon province. Jennifer Gampell writes about tackling crunchy, salty fried scorpions (right), as well as grasshoppers and crickets. She passes on the large water beetles, but apparently takes a liking to a type of fly, fried with lemongrass and served in a spicy salad of chili and green papaya. Meals like this are abundant at roadside stalls in Ubon, Gampell says. The details of exactly what and where she ate are a little cloudy, however, since English names and locations seem, at times, hard to come by.

Last fall, I posted about a Thai art student named Kittiwat Unarrom who used bread to depict the human form. Comments on that post ranged from "Ick," to "this guy... is my new hero." Well, those of you that were grossed out can continue to be grossed out and you admirers can continue to admire. This morning I came across four more photos of work from the Unarrom bakery (it's a family business, I believe) on Ezprezzo.com. An AP story has some more background on Kittiwat.

Durian is a large, spike-covered fruit from South East Asia, sometimes known as the "king of fruits," and famous enough to make the list of 50 things to eat before you die. The fruits weigh anywhere from 2 to 10-pounds and are famous for their unusually creamy texture and rich taste to those who like it, but the most famous quality of durian is its unmistakable odor, described as everything from a combination of onions and sweaty socks to rotting fish and sewage. The smell can extend for up to 1/2 mile, drawing the many animals that like to eat it, including pigs, elephants, squirrels and even tigers, right to the ripe fruits. The ripening process continues even after the fruit has been removed from the tree, developing more pungency and a creamier texture. Due to the texture of the flesh, which is that of thick custard, it is considered to be a delicacy and a treat to many people.

If you're going to Thailand anytime in the near future, or if you just want to seem like less of a jackass the next time you go out to a Thai restaurant, have a look at this "talking menu" of Thai food. Just what it sounds like, this is a list of popular Thai dishes accompanied by audio clips of their names. The guide is part of EnjoyThaiFood.com, an extensive blog and recipe resource for Thai cooking and foodways. The recipes look authentic and simple and the Thai food forum seems pretty active.

Saveur magazine just released its "100 list" for 2006. 100 what? Since any explicit label would be too restricting, the annual list is simply described as Saveur's "favorite restaurants, food, drink, people, places and things", which certainly covers a lot of ground.

Making the eighth list this year are restaurants from India to Mexico City, as well as a variety of restaurants and chefs from Las Vegas, including Daniel Bouloud, Bouchon, Alex and Joel Robuchon. Favorite foods included Costco birthday cakes, Crispy Buffalo Wontons from Ruby Tuesdays (a US chain) and Rich Man's Purses at Gundel Restaurant, Budapest, in addition to duck eggs, spicy Thai kettle chips and Japanese freshwater crabs, while favorite drinks included California dessert wines, Hendrick's Gin from Scotland and cointreau.