Spotted in Chatuchak Market this past weekend! That’s what I call talent! (And a lot of free time, but makes for great entertainment, and more cups of Thai iced tea sold.)
PS. He’s NOT standing on a lazy-susan.
This smart doggie apparently knew how to solve simple multiplication problems. The correct answer was chosen from the cards on the sidewalk.
But then he got tired and walked away.
Street musicians in Bangkok, most likely from the countryside. Reminds me of NYC, but with more flavor! Kind of like the food here.
On a side note, separate from the Korea trip, I found a Starbucks mooncake here in Bangkok last Friday! Glad to know they are trying to cater to local tastes.
Well, my good friend Danny was an obliging host. I told him that I liked “uni” and he made sure to order some fresh sea urchin for me. I thought it was coming on top of rice. Instead it was still in the shell. I refrained from freaking out, with much sympathy for the poor little critters. Ah, they were still moving and they couldn’t run away.
Yes, I did eat some, but being the weenie that I am, only after Danny picked the orange squishy stuff out of the shell for me. I just couldn’t bear the idea of removing the guts out of a live animal and eating them.
Cringing at the thought right now…
Along with the live sea urchins, we also had scallops. Hm, they were still equally alive. Snapping their shells open and shut as if they were screaming, sensing their eminent doom on the grill. The scary part is that though they were screaming, no sounds came out. Then, like jerks, we killed them over hot flames while they were still alive, and ate them.
Here’s a closeup of how the Pop Rice machine works. So cool. I would like to have one in my future home. Maybe my dog Bandit can fetch the rice cakes like frisbees as they fly out of the machine.
On the way to the East coast at a roadside stop, we found this neat machine that makes rice cakes! The arm dispenses some rice into the cavity, which heats up the rice until it explodes out and across the plexiglas box — at seemingly dangerous speeds!
These rice cakes are lightly sweetened and a really good car snack (along with walnut cakes).
This is a walnut cake machine in the Insadong area of Seoul, Korea. Not confined to Seoul, we were able to find another one at a rest stop along the highway going East…
The walnut cake vendor starts by putting pieces of walnut into the little cast iron cavities. Meanwhile, the machine squirts batter and red bean paste into the negative of two sides of a walnut shell. Cute…and tasty too!
