Happy Chinese New Year! Year of the Rat

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Chinese calendar is made up of 12 years, each year representing an animal: This year is the year of the rat! The Chinese use animals like western countries use the Zodiac system, many Chinnse believe that you’ll have the same characteristics as the animal your birth year represents. Personally, I was born on the Dog year, and according to the wiki web site, this means I’m:

Honest, intelligent, straightforward, loyal, sense of justice and fair play, attractive, amiable, unpretentious, sociable, open-minded, idealistic, moralistic, practical, affectionate, dogged. Can be cynical, lazy, cold, judgmental, pessimistic, worrier, stubborn, quarrelsom

*So all this time they haven’t been lying to me: I am a handsome man!

Starting to plan my Chinese new years party, I call upon my friend who is half Thai/Chinese for some advice. She tells me that due to a Thai princess that died last month, celebrations are going to be very light, or non existent in China Town (Bangkok) this year. I’m still going to head down there to go get some Chinese dinner so I’ll let you know what’s it like.

I also asked her what 5 Chinese dishes I should check out tonight and she kindly replied with the following:

1. Kapor Pla - Thai Fish Maw Soup
2. Kuay jab - Boiled Chinese pasta square
3. Bua loy Nam Khing - Bua loy in ginger (it’s a kind of thai dessert but very famous and YUMMY!)
4. Keaw - a soup with won ton dumplings
5. Kao lad - water chestnut

I’ve not tried any of the above as far as I’m aware off so tonight I’m on a mission to find each dish and check them out myself… I’m looking forward to it!

Chinese food here in Bangkok is very different to what we get from the Chinese takeaway at home. The most noticeable is Peking Duck. In the UK, they fry the duck and shred it, which you then place on a pancake, add some plum sauce, cucumber and roll them up - they are very delicious! However, here (and in Hong Kong if I remember rightly) they roast the duck so the skin is crisp, serve the skin with pancakes, cucumber and hoisen sauce then after you have finished, they fry the medium-rare duck meat with either a sauce or other ingredients such as garlic/pepper. I got to say, I much prefer the UK version! I’ve tried explaining this a few times to restaurants here in Thailand but they just don’t get it.

By the way, if you are looking for a quality Chinese restaurant in Bangkok, check out Shanghai 38 in the Sofitel Hotel, Silom - I eat here at least once a month and they serve proper fine Chinese food. (The prawns in mayo, although don’t sound that chinesse, is the best dish on the menu!)

I’m getting hungry typing this post

I would love to hear what you have planned for Chinese New Year?