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Pizza night tonight! 🍕 Par-baking these crusts now so after the girlies’ walk, all I have to do is add more sauce, throw on the toppings, and pop them back in the oven. #foodstr

Noodles Bar is now open! 🍜 Feel free to order yours 🤪 Today’s special is Tan Tan Men (担々麺 - spicy beef ramen) served with some gyoza on the side. 🥟 #foodstr

Happy Birthday, Mala! 🎈🧸 One day in the heat of the boiling sun, we were on the way to the beach for our swim as usual. It happened upon us that there were 3 very young pups in the middle of the road. We were looking around for mama dog, but there was no sign of her in sight. We called the dog rescue shelter nearby to check that they are aware of these very young puppies because they are feeding and taking care of the stray dogs in the area. Apparently, they had never seen them before. As suspected, they were dumped by someone either the night before or early morning, so they asked to bring them in. When we arrived, it appeared to us that the shelter is taking care of over 350 dogs; some of the pups, some fully-grown, some seriously injured and need special care. God blessed them; all the staff and all the doggies 🙏🏽 We left with heavy hearts that day and keep thinking about them. We wish we could take them all. Unfortunately, that is out of our hands at the moment. So, we decided to adopt one of the 3 pups we found. Here she is Mala (มาลา) meaning in Thai: a wreath of flowers or a garland. She’s the total package—sweet, saucy, crazy, and hilarious. She could run and dig holes all day if we let her. She’s such a furry ball of joy and happiness. You’re the best good girl! We (including your sister) love you very very very much, Fart! 🥹

The plumbing issues are almost fixed, though I still have to keep the meal simple—Phuketian-style red-braised pork. Easy to make and easy to clean up. Fresh-picked mangosteen to cleanse the palate and of course, the girls are very interested in what we’re eating. They always are! Ingredients 1 kg. Pork belly (I’m mixing half of pork belly and other leaner cuts) 4-5 Coriander roots 8-10 cloves Garlic 1/2 tsp Whole white pepper 1/2 tsp Whole black pepper 1 tsp Chinese 5 spices powder 3 tbsp Japanese shoyu 2 tbsp Dark soy sauce 5 tbsp Dark brown sugar 2 star anises 2 cinnamon sticks Water Some chopped coriander ——————— Make the spice paste – Pound coriander roots, garlic, and peppercorns into a paste using a mortar and pestle (or crush them in a bag). Marinate – Mix the paste with the pork, Chinese 5 spices powder, shoyu, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Let it sit for 1 hour. Cook – Add water to just cover the pork, star anises and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low. Simmer – Skim off any scum and let it cook for at least 1 hour until tender. Best to serve with steamed jasmine rice #foodstr #zapcooking #siamstr

Taking a short break before the next chasing round 🏃🏽‍♀️💨

Feeling like Pad Thai #foodstr #siamstr

Made some Hambāgu (ハンバーグ) - Japanese patty steak. It’s a cozy, comforting dish, juicy and full of flavor. I mixed up a homemade sauce, kind of like a soy-based demi-glacé. It came out salty, a bit tangy and sweet, with a buttery finish. This one turned into a double-carb situation… had to have Japanese short grains rice to soak up all that sauce and juicy meat. And since it’s still technically a “hamburger,” I couldn’t skip the fries—though I went with roasted wedge potatoes to make cleanup easier. #foodstr

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We’ve had plumbing issues for a few days now, so I had to keep our meal very simple. Chicken miso ramen 🍜 I put some chicken thighs in the oven, cooked a few noodles, and made miso soup using the bone broth I always keep on hand. The chicken didn’t have much flavor, so we dipped it in homemade ponzu sauce and sweet chili oil. It ended up being a pretty comforting meal once again. #foodstr

Cape jasmine #flowerstr

Why does so-called unhealthy food always look the most appetizing? It always has that glorious aura ✨ like this homemade gnocchi with marinara sauce and some crispy pork belly. 🤤 #foodstr

Yessssss!! I’m doing a happy dance right now!!! I’ve been waiting a whole year for this fruit. The one that looks like garlic but is actually mangosteen, my favorite fruit of all time!!! It only bears fruit once a year, and the season is finally here! 🥳🤩🥳🤩🥳 I drove past a local shop and saw they had just picked some fresh from the tree. I couldn’t help myself—I had to stop and grab a looooot. But before I even asked to buy any, they invited me to eat as much as I wanted. Well, in that case, how could I say no? 🫡😜 #foodstr #siamstr

Kaeng Nang Loi (แกงนางลอย), or stuffed chili curry, is part of Thai court cuisine, which focuses on beauty, balance, and careful preparation. It’s a rare dish to find in restaurants today. Even though it looks simple, I love how it connects the Thai culinary traditions with the country’s rich literary and mythological heritage. This dish is inspired by the Thai epic Ramakien, where a demoness pretends to be Sita to trick Rama. This scene is unique to the Thai version and doesn’t appear in the original Indian Ramayana. In the Ramakien, Thotsakan (Ravana) makes a plan to upset Phra Ram (Rama) and stop him from reaching Lanka. He tells his niece, Benyakai (also spelled Benchakai), to change her shape and look like Sida (Sita). She pretends to be a dead Sita and is floated down the river near Rama’s camp. When Rama sees the body, he believes Sita has died and becomes heartbroken. The image of a beautiful woman floating on water may have inspired the name Kaeng Nang Loi (literal translation: floating lady curry). In the dish, stuffed chilies float in a tasty curry (sweet, salty and a little tangy ending), like the floating figure in the story. #foodstr #zapcooking #siamstr

The girls ran, chased waves and sticks, wrestled each other, swam, and dug holes. Now they’re all tired out and happy. Best kind of day. 😊

It rained all day today. The sky was gray, and it felt a little chilly, so I made something warm—chicken noodle soup with bitter gourd. 🍜 The soup has soft rice noodles, tender chicken, and bitter gourd cooked until it’s nice and mellow. The broth is slow-cooked with herbs and spices—deep and comforting. I know bitter gourd can turn some people away, but once you try it like this, you might change your mind. The secret of getting rid of the bitterness is boiling them for 5-10 mins a few times, rinsing it well each time. Then slow cook until it’s tender and soak up all the broth so you don’t have any bitterness left. #foodstr #zapcooking

It’s about to be mangosteen season!! Yayyyyyy!! 🤩🥳🤩🥳🤩🥳 #siamstr