By now the whole world is watching Thailand struggling with its epidemic floods, inundating a third of the country. To the rest of the world who thinks entire Bangkok is under water: “I am in the dry, got plenty of water and beer and I am doing fine!” Still, Bangkok’s inner city center is still unaffected by the huge floods other suburbs do endure and this is because of very rich and powerful sources but even those sources cannot withstand the power of nature; the floods are coming to town!

We all know, and speculation aside, the west and east of Bangkok is flooded and in order to get the water faster into the sea parts of Bangkok, if not all had to be sacrificed and get the waters through their streets and soi’s, all of us need to bite into the apple and not only the poor villagers out there. Blame the government for not intervening earlier and keep the dams drained when it was still possible. All other previous governments did not take this issue too serious and by allocating Billions of Baht the issue is not solved alone. Tens of agencies failed in previous years to establish proper measures to keep flood ways in check. Greedy developers paid millions to officials to build resident estates in flood plains and even the government it self was building an international airport in such a danger zone and natural flood area.

Thais themselves take all this as a reoccurring event, just this time it is much larger than other years. Many of my work colleagues have their houses flooded and entire families displaced to higher grounds. Millions of sandbags were carried into the city and at times two meter walls were built to protect shop fronts and entire estates. Business in the entire city has slowed down but when visiting larger shopping malls in down town it seems business as normal. Reading all the messages in various news outlets and following  Twitter it seems invertible that central Bangkok will be flooded soon; question remains by how much and for how long.

There has been a lot of discussion about the causes of Thailand’s floods: environmental degradation; forest clearing; filled-in water ways; the inauspiciousness of a female Prime Minister; a hydrological plot to destabilise Yingluck; dam management; the revenge of Mother Nature for the excesses of modernity; etc. etc.

Some of these deserve further discussion, in particular the vexed issue of managing water releases from dams (a particularly complex issue given that dams serve multiple purposes) but we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that the primary cause of flooding is very high rainfall. The following graphs, which compare the 2011 monthly totals (January to September) with the 30-year averages for those months are revealing. In Chiang Mai the nine-month total was 140 percent of the average; in Lamphun 196%; in Lampang 177%; in Uttaradit 153% and in Phitsanulok 146%. These are only a few locations (and all of them from lowland sites – rainfall is heavier at higher elevations) but they give a clear indication that 2011 has been an exceptionally wet year and that this has been widely spread across the Chao Phaya catchment.

Thailand’s worst floods in half a century reached the edge of downtown Bangkok on Friday. About 20 percent of the capital is now submerged in floodwater contaminated by rubbish, dead animals and industrial waste, raising fears about outbreaks of disease in the densely populated metropolis of 12 million people. Aid workers say at least two people have died from leptospirosis, a bacterial infection often spread through rat urine, and the risk of other diseases is expected to rise in the coming weeks whenever floodwaters recede, leaving standing pools of water behind. As many as 200 new cases of diarrhea are being reported daily, along with a total of roughly 100,000 fungal infections and widespread infections from cuts, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Health. Illnesses, including the flu, are appearing in evacuation centers, which now house 100,000 people at 160 locations and are likely to be occupied for weeks. The slow-moving water is now just a few kilometers away from business and tourist districts, despite reassurances from the government that central Bangkok would be spared. The floodwater arrived at the Lat Phrao intersection on the northern edge of the city centre early Friday, prompting the closure of the Central Plaza shopping mall. A spokesman for the Bangkok metro said that three subway stations — Lat Phrao, Phahon Yothin and Chatuchak Park — were at risk and might have to be shut down if the water rose to 40 centimeters (16 inches) outside. The floods — caused by unusually heavy rains and failure to release enough water from dams in the early part of the monsoon — have killed 442 people and damaged the homes and livelihoods of millions around the country. The authorities have issued an evacuation order for eight Bangkok districts out of a total of 50 in the capital, and for certain areas in four others. The 12 districts have a combined official population of 1.7 million people — far more than government shelters can accommodate. Worst-hit residents have complained that their homes are being sacrificed to save downtown Bangkok’s shopping malls, luxury hotels and the houses of the wealthy elite, triggering protests and the destruction of some flood barriers

Thailand’s prime minister has expressed optimism that central Bangkok will be mostly spared from the city’s flooding, as defences held despite high tides. Yingluck Shinawatra told residents in the capital that the country would “recover soon”. Floods have inundated over than a third of the country’s provinces since July, killing more than 370 people. Correspondents say Ms Yingluck, who came to power in June, has appeared at times overwhelmed by the crisis. Whole towns have been submerged, with some two million people affected across the country since the flooding began, following heavy monsoon rains. 
 
Officials have been trying to protect the commercial centre of Bangkok after flooding spread to northern districts of the city earlier this month. City residents were urged to evacuate after the authorities warned them that Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River could burst its banks over the weekend due to high tides, which are expected to last until Monday. Prime Minister Yingluck said she hoped the sandbags protecting the city would hold up. “It depends on the level of the sea and sometimes it’s about the stability of the way we put the sandbags,” Ms Yingluck told reporters. “Hopefully, the sandbags are quite strong enough. So if the sandbags don’t fall over, it should be OK.” On Friday, the Bank of Thailand slashed its growth forecast for the current financial year to 2.6%, down from an initial projection of 4.1% growth. Bangkok contributes almost 41% to the country’s GDP, and analysts have warned that any substantial damage to the capital could hit Thailand’s growth further.

 http://helpforthailand.com/ for more information and donation!

First of all; my sincere apology to my readers for being absent for that long; this was out of my control. I had some serious issues with my hosting company Network Solutions but that has been resolved now. VIP Gold Member seems not much of worth these days as I was struggling for almost a month to get access to my site again.

Almost everyone I know likes Crème Brulee’s in all its flavours and size. Probably the most known one is the Vanilla Crème Brulee but I am sure there are Brulee’s around in all kind of flavours including savory and other weird combinations.
When I was introduced to the Prucia French Plum Liquor by Khun K. of CFF here in Bangkok I right away pictured a Plum version of this delicate dessert. I mean not using any plum puree but using exclusively the liquor made of French Plums. Making the base mixture and adding the liquor to an extend to get out the flavour was not a challenge but to retain the texture was. In the end I think I found the right balance.

Tomomi Murakami:

Q. What was your impression when you first tried Prucia?
Prucia has a rich, sweet flavor and aroma. I thought it would go well in cocktails.
Q. What do you think of the bottle design?
When I put the Prucia bottle behind me at the bar it stands out. Customers often ask me, “What is that?” Women especially. I suppose it’s eye-catching enough to be singled out among all the other alcohol.
Q. How do your customers usually drink Prucia?
As a cocktail, they ask me to mix it with champagne, or pour it Mojito style with a shiso garnish. Besides cocktails, many customers order it on the rocks. Many of them like it and order it again the next time.
Q. What made you decide to enter a Prucia cocktail in The Cocktail Award?
I knew from the start that I wanted to use Prucia in The Cocktail Award. I thought the flavor would go well in cocktails. I asked a lot of people for suggestions on how to name my cocktail. There were many suggestions, but in the end I chose “blossom” to evoke the image of a flower that bears fruit. That is how I decided on the name “Prucia Blossom”. I wanted to give it a beautiful color, so I used Yogurito Strawberry to create a soft pink. I plan to spread the word about Prucia cocktails.

Prucia French Plum Liquor Website: http://www.prucia.com/en/index.html

Yamagoya Ramen is not an easy place to find like so many other places here inBangkok. It took me two attempts but it is worth the search. Advertised as in Tong Lor Soi 13 one needs to venture into a side street where Yamagoya is tucked away.

Reading a post in Kat’s Blog “Spatula, Spoon and Saturday” awakened my curiosity to check out Yamagoya Ramen. Kat, a Thai Blogger living inMelbourne,Australiadid a wonderful post on Ramen I love to devour with great passion.

Needless to say the Ramen I had was wonderful and rich; the miso broth was not overly salty and well balanced in its taste. Pork was finely sliced and the soft boiled egg just perfect in texture. I am not a big fan of Angel hair noodles; I rather opt for the thick and juicy Udon type of noodle. However said this I perhaps change my mind and taste soon as it is much easier to eat with those types of noodles than slippery Udon.

Yamagoya Ramen (Thong Lor)
Address: Soi Thong Lor 13, Sukhumvit Rd.,
Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110 Thailand
Phone number: 02-185-3796

Onigiri is almost fast food considered in Japan; no wonder; it is easy to consume, cost very little is a meal for itself! First time I ate Onigiri was of course in Tokyo, there Onigiri was almost the size of a large Tennis ball, covered with Nori and with a variety of fillings. This rice dish comes in a wide range of size and shape, found in many Bento Lunch boxes all over Tokyo.

Onigiri (??? or ???; ????), also known as omusubi (???; ????) or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori (seaweed). Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume (umeboshi), salted salmon, katsuobushi, kombu, tarako, or any other salty or sour ingredient as a natural preservative. Because of the popularity of onigiri in Japan, most convenience stores stock their onigiri with various fillings and flavors. There are even specialized shops whose only products are onigiri for take out.

In Lady Murasaki’s 11th-century diary Murasaki Shikibu Nikki, she writes of people eating rice balls. At that time, onigiri were called tonjiki and often consumed at outdoor picnic lunches. Other writings, dating back as far as the seventeenth century, state that many samurai stored rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves as a quick lunchtime meal during war, but the origins of onigiri are much earlier even than Lady Murasaki. Before the use of chopsticks became widespread, in the Nara period, rice was often rolled into a small ball so that it could be easily picked up. In the Heian period, rice was also made into small rectangular shapes known as tonjiki so that they could be piled onto a plate and easily eaten.
From the Kamakura period to the early Edo period, onigiri was used as a quick meal. This made sense as cooks simply had to think about making enough onigiri and did not have to concern themselves with serving. These onigiri were simply balls of rice flavored with salt. Nori did not become widely available until the Genroku era in the mid-Edo period, when the farming of nori and fashioning it into sheets became widespread.
It was believed that onigiri could not be mass produced as the hand-rolling technique was considered too difficult for a machine to replicate. In the 1980s, however, a machine that made triangular onigiri was devised. This was initially met with skepticism because, rather than having the filling traditionally rolled inside, the flavoring was simply put into a hole in the onigiri, and the hole was hidden by nori. Since the onigiri made by this machine came with nori already applied to the rice ball, over time the nori became unpleasantly moist and sticky, clinging to the rice. A packaging improvement allowed the nori to be stored separately from the rice. Before eating, the diner could open the packet of nori and wrap the onigiri. The limitation of the machines that required using a hole for filling the onigiri instead of rolling the filling with the rice actually made new flavors of onigiri easier to produce as this cooking process did not require changes from ingredient to ingredient. Modern mechanically wrapped onigiri are specially folded so that the plastic wrapping is actually folded between the nori and rice to act as a moisture barrier. When the packaging is pulled open at both ends, the nori and rice come into contact.