"thai food" news and stories

The worst hangover I ever had was on a cruise ship that had docked overnight in Bordeaux on its way up the Atlantic coast to Normandy. Instead of meeting my friend for breakfast as planned, I staggered off the ship at 11 to die on the streets of France's second-largest city. (The last thing I remember from the night before was singing La Vie En Rose -- in French --to a captivated audience in the Silver Wind's karaoke lounge.) Unable to carry on, I leaned up against a glass phone booth, and in a weird twist of fate, found myself staring straight inside at my French friend, who was in the process of trying to call me. I explained what had happened, and he wasted no time in saying, "Honey, you need grease," before he whisked me off to La Tupina for oil-soaked rotisserie chicken and thick-cut fries. I not only lived to tell this story but went on to sing Piaf in the lounge again that night -- this time, Je Ne Regrette Rien.

If you're about to have one of the worst hangovers of your life, you'd better bone up on the following sure-fire cures. Understand, though, that this is simply my folk wisdom culled from decades of experience. As for pills and vitamins, I know nothing of those things. I believe hangovers are cured with a combination of food, drink and exercise. But mostly food:

Eat something. My friend was right. Have a burger or something fried. But get something full of cholesterol into your stomach, pronto.
Try this Recipe: Marcus Samuelsson's Chorizo Slider Burger

Eat something at a restaurant with a sympathetic chef. At Donatella, in Manhattan's Meatpacking district, Donatella Arpia serves a hangover pizza for weekend brunch that combines sausage, lardo, mozzarella and pecorino. Yes, Ms. Arpaia understands that, in addition to grease, cheese and bread are the next best hope for a cure.

Go heavy on the salt and spice. Michael Ginor, of Lola, in Great Neck, NY, suggests the traditional Thai dish Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles) to get you up to snuff again. If you can't make it to his Long Island restaurant, you can try whipping up this recipe (courtesy of the New York Times) at home. (Good luck doing this with a hangover; maybe have it ready to go the night before.)
Try these recipes: Thai Spicy Peanut Sauce with Poached Chicken ; Pad Thai

Watermelon can take you from sweltering to chilled in the time it takes to eat a slice and spit the seeds (if you're so inclined). So logic (and the nonstop heat) would dictate that you include it in as many dishes as possible this summer. Photographer pellis pureed his melon and combined it with Serrano chiles, lemongrass and ginger (among other ingredients), then added lump crabmeat tossed with cilantro and olive oil, and gave it a squeeze of lime. The result is a spicy cold Thai soup that is just as delicious served hot. (Try the Gourmet magazine recipe.)

Watermelon also makes a gorgeous gazpacho, as in this KitchenDaily recipe. Sure, it's tomato season, but when you've got a 10-pound watermelon to play with, live a little.

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• Can you can-can? Sure you can -- can food, that is.
• But what if you just want a little bit of jam? That's cool, too.
• Red O brings Mexican food to L.A. by way of Chicago. (And it's great -- if you can get a reservation.)
• Meanwhile, Lum-Ka-Naad brings Thai food to L.A. by way of Thailand, and it's great, too.
• Anyone up for Korean barbecue? Meet you tomorrow on Wilshire Boulevard.

When I think of mussels, I think of moules frites (mussels with french fries) served steaming and fresh at a seaside café in Trouville, Normandy. I guess the place where you eat something for the first time lodges in your memory as the quintessential spot to savor it.

But maybe this fall (peak mussel season) it's time for a trip to Washington state. Penn Cove mussels take to the Thai treatment of lemongrass, yellow curry, fresh basil and tomatoes at the Seattle bastion of all things seafood, Ivar's Acres of Clams, says blogger Pabo76, who shot this photo. Over at Ivar's Mulkiteo Landing restaurant, they do a mussels appetizer with red curry broth, ginger and cilantro. If you can't make it to Seattle, try it at home, with this Kitchen Daily recipe.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Have you ever sat down in a Thai restaurant and found yourself confused by the menu and so went with the most seemingly innocuous item? However adventurous or timid an eater you might be, there are certain cultural differences that once explained, would enlighten your ordering.

Pailin Chongchitnant, a culinary student and guest writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, first noticed the drastic differences between Thai and North American culture when she moved from Thailand to Canada. Having been hit with this culture shock, Pailin offers her personal guide to ordering Thai food, to enable you to venture beyond curry and partake in a more authentic Thai dining experience.