Thailand & Guests

When we were traveling in California we still lived a pretty normal life. We had a kitchen, we went grocery shopping, we drove a car, we washed our own clothes and we shared new recipes on this blog. Here in Asia our life is very different. We haven’t cooked a single dish ourselves, since we haven’t had a kitchen. We live in hotels and bungalows, eat in restaurants and on the street, and take a tuk tuk when we need to go somewhere. As much as we love our usual daily routines, it is very relaxing living like this. Without our daily chores we have been able to focus even more on ourselves and on spoiling Elsa with all our love. The only downside is that we can’t share any new recipes with you, even though we get so much food inspiration here. We will just have to save it for the next time we find ourselves in a kitchen.

This leads us to some great news! Since we still want to share healthy and inspiring recipes with you, we have asked a couple of our favorite bloggers (which have a similar food philosophy as us) if they would like to do a guest appearance on Green Kitchen Stories. We visit these blogs often and always find them mind-blowing and beautiful, and we are certain that you will find their recipes and photos inspiring too. We won’t reveal the names of the bloggers just yet (since everything isn’t 100% decided yet), but we already know that we will have a very impressive line-up! So check back soon for our first guest.

We’d also like to tell you a little about our traveling plans for our final three months here in Asia. We have just spent two weeks in a village in Thailand called Cha-Am. And on New Years Eve we took a plane to Saigon, Vietnam. We will travel around here for a month before returning to Thailand where we will spend our last two months. It might seem a little strange going back and forth to Thailand but it is a visa-issue-thingy. During our last months in Thailand we intend to rent a house or a bungalow with a kitchen, so hopefully we will be back with some Asia inspired recipes by then. If you know of any places we must visit or food that we must try in Thailand or Vietnam, please let us know.

Finally, we would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! Thank you so much for making it such an incredible year for us. You have given us so much strength and energy through your loving comments, tweets and e-mails. Without you this blog would not have made it through the year.

Foamy Leek & Sunchoke Soup + Sri Lanka

Italian Potato Salad

Vietnamese Banana Blossom Salad

Big Love … November + London

40 Comments

  • Pingback : Appel biscuits |
    [...] bij blogs als deze. Zo reisden ze al samen met hun 1-jarige dochter van San Francisco naar Thailand wat een prachtige reeks foto’s opleverde. Ik zou zeggen: neem een [...]
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  • Linda
    just lovely, and I just left you a comment that I am going to Thailand later in the year, and here you are, already posting pics!! I love it! Just beautiful! xo
    Reply
  • Tessa
    As gourmet vegetarians, you should come to Samui and try Dining On The Rocks at Six Senses Samui - we have probably the region's only ten course molecular gastronomy pure vegetarian tasting menu!! I'm working for this hotel so I'm totally biased but it's amazing!! Sorry for the "plug"!!
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  • lina
    vilka fantastiska bilder! å saknar er så. men snart ses vi i thailand, cant wait! puss
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  • liliana
    Thailand fascinated me since I arrived at the airport is the country where I would want to live. I recommend you visit Koh Chang island, especially in tree house. Pamela wonderful cook, you'll feel better good luck.Liliana
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  • Caroline
    After a few months reading your blog, I just want to wish you a happy new year ! Enjoy your 3 months in Asia, and thanks for sharing your pictures and stories ! You make my day with these wonderful colors while snow is falling outside !
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  • anni
    hur har jag kunnat missa den här fantastiska bloggen? glad att jag hittade hit! :)
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  • Jamie
    Hooray for being in Asia! I've been to both Thailand and Vietnam (non-Contiki or packaged tour of course), spending much more time in Thailand. Ayuthaya is a definite highlight (ancient capital of thailand); Kanchanaburi (1 hour from Bangkok) is also a grand town (I spent 5 nights there exploring and didn't feel like I spent too long). If you make your way to northern Thailand, Chiang Mai is a goer. They offer a different types of food than the South and I loved it. Let me know if you're heading up north and I'll try and find my favourite restaurant :) Happy travels!
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  • Kanako
    Great blog - I just stumbled onto it today! I myself was in Koh Samui for 10 days recently and I cannot over-recommend The Spa Resort (beach location)'s Radiance Restaurant. The Spa Resorts is a detox spa, so their restaurant has an extensive raw foods menu which has won several awards.
    Reply
  • Shelley Mathews
    Hello! My daughter and her friend traveled to Thailand and stayed there for five weeks with friends of our family about 5 years ago. She still talks about the banana roti she and her friend ate on the street when going to the night market in Banghok. If you would ever be willing to try it and help me make some semblance of it to surprise her with that would be lovely. I live in Seattle, Washington. We can get most ingredients in this area but she just has no idea what was in it or how it was made. She just knows she loved it and ate it almost every day they were there!!! Thank you :)
    Reply
    • Green Kitchen Stories
      Hi Shelley, we actually tried the Banana Roti during our first two weeks in Thailand. It is not eaten together with savory dishes, like in India, but is more of a dessert. The easiest way to describe how to do it is to start out by making a large and very very thin pancake which first is fried in peanut oil with banana pieces in the middle. Then it is folded together four times and fried on both sides so that it becomes crispy. After frying it is cut in small pieces and topped with sweetened condensed milk. It tastes very sweet and is full of gluten, sugar and fat, so it's not really anything for this blog. But we reluctantly have to admit that it does taste pretty yummy (especially the egg & banana version) ... /David
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  • Madeline
    Thank you so much for sharing these photos! Travel photography is something that not everyone is good at...and these are a delight :)
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  • Josephine Malene
    Hi Guys, happy new year. If you plan on going to Hoi An in Vietnam, you simply must visit my favorite restaurant: Morning Glory. It is the best and cheapest food I've ever tasted, and they have cooking classes as well :)
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  • Hilary
    Happy New Year! I love your blog, and am excited to hear about your travels! I am also traveling in Vietnam at the moment, and was just recently in Thailand. I really loved going to the Mekong delta (we did a wonderful homestay there), and Hoi An is also really beautiful. I'm in Sapa right now; it's really great here, but quite cold! As for Thailand, you must go to Chiang Mai! It feels very magical, and the weekend night markets are really fun (and have tons of good food)!
    Reply
  • Kim
    Love the photos, and so glad to hear your traveling is going well. Can't wait to hear more about your travels :) and I'm looking forward to seeing the guest blogger line-up - how exciting! Best -
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  • Coco
    Happy New Year to you!!! Such stunning photographs, the one of Luise and Elsa sleeping is so sweet! Cant wait to hear more about your travels and hear from your guest posters ;)
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  • k8
    your images of thailand bring back memories of my two trips there, *sigh*. this first time i was there i spent about a week in northern thailand and was able to take a 3 day cooking class in chiang mai. cooking classes are all over the place there and i imagine it would be possible to find a vegetarian one or arrange for a private class through any of the better guest houses. they take you to the market in the morning for fresh ingredients (which helps to know what to look for when you get back home) and then you spend the rest of the day cooking and most importantly EATING! it was great fun and i still make my curry pastes from scratch according to those recipes. beware of handling the chili peppers... ;)
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    • Green Kitchen Stories
      We will without a doubt take cooking classes in both Thailand and Vietnam. Going to food markets is one of the best things we know, we have been doing it in almost every city we have been to throughout this trip. And regarding the chili peppers, my biggest concern is that Elsa will find some and do what she always does when she finds stuff – put it in her mouth ... /David
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  • Hjördís
    Amazing photos, like always, I hope youll have a great time and I cant wait for those guest posts and more pictures and maybe some Asia recipies .. And Happy new year to you,
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  • Charles
    Aw, saw a new post alert in Google Reader and was hoping for another fantastic looking recipe, but alas not, although certainly not disappointed with the photos. Looks like an amazing place and seems you're having a lot of fun. Looking forward to the guest posts!
    Reply
  • Ann
    Love your post! I am currently also in Thailand and am missing my own kitchen fiercely! ;) Btw, what camera do you guys use because you take such amazing pictures??? Have fun travelling and enjoy all the new impressions and memories!!!
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    • Green Kitchen Stories
      Hi Ann, thanks for your comment! I use a Canon EOS 5 and have two different lenses, 50 mm/f1,4 and a 85 mm/f1,8. /David
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  • Sarah
    Thank you for sharing your travelling news! Your blog is always an enjoyable read, with or without new recipes. Happy new year to you, too, and save travelling! * Sarah
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  • alexis
    Thank you for sharing your delicious adventures with us and inspiring me to seek out the beauty in the most natural ingredients. Enjoy your time in Thailand!
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  • christine
    Som tam (green papaya salad) and sticky rice is the BEST food that Thailand has to offer in my opinion. Mango and sticky rice comes in a very close second :) It's been fantastic reading about your travels. I'm inspired to get out into the world again myself. Thank you for continuing to write and photograph and share with us!
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  • Steffi
    wow amazing pictures! been to thailand 2 months ago. you MUST visit koh tao, amazing island. not that many tourist like on phi phi and very beautiful for diving & snorkeling. food is great, especially on the street, like everywhere in thailand. enjoy your stay, can't wait for more pictures.
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  • Rachel
    Wow. I love Thai food and dream of visiting Thailand one day. Thank you for the pictures. You are an incredible photographer. :) Elsa is getting so big and wow, she is beautiful. Happy New Year and once again, thank you for the amazing blog!
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  • veganlisa
    Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing all your incredible photos. I always feel like visiting your blog is a brief escape into a very beautiful world. It is especially appreciated when I'm visiting from my cubicle!
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  • stéphanie
    I wish you a happyhappy new year too. It was good to go here. Thanks for love. Take care of you.
    Reply
  • deepali
    Wow! Thailand - the land of smiles... awesome food... but the problem is if u are veggie.. too much meat gets sneaked in or fishy sauces.. ditto with Vietnam.. do try the fruits in both places! they are OUTSTANDING! I mean TRULY OUTSTANDING... though the real fruit season is April to October... also, try out "Eating Asia", they run a fantastic Blog on eating out in SE ASIA... but as a vegetarian myself, i find very little choice, but maybe if u write to them, they can help you with veggie options
    Reply
    • Green Kitchen Stories
      Hi Deepali! You are right that it can been a little bit tricky finding vegetarian dishes here. But at most places they have done their best to come up with different options for us, even if they don't have anything on the menu. /Luise
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  • julian
    The photos are stunning as usual! :D Reminds me when i was there. When I visited Thailand for the first time I had this amazing pomelo salad with chili,coriander and sesame-oil. Silly me I didn't asked the chef if he could show me how to make it… But may be you come across of this salad, or try make your own version of it! So if you do, I'd be happy to hear from you… ;) Best regards from Dublin Julian
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    • Green Kitchen Stories
      Hi Julian, we will keep our eye out for that Pomelo salad. And if we find it we promise to ask the chef how to make it, and we will let you know. /Luise
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    • julian
      Thank you! I'll keep my fingers crossed :D Not just for me … ;)
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  • a.w. tran
    cha ca thang long which is basically sizzling fish over a bed of dill and eaten with vermicelli and other herbs. i've only eaten the dish at restaurants in texas and at home, so i can not give you a personal review of the two restaurants in hanoi that is famous for this dish. i believe the original was created at the restaurant va long, but i've heard many negative reviews, probably from over-commericalism (too oily, too pricey etc.). cha ca thang long is the other restaurant that makes this wonderful dish and seems to have much more positive reviews. try the vietnamese yogurt. also, vietnamese people love che which is a sweet snack often served chilled/iced and contains a variety of ingredients such as sugared beans, chopped fruit, seeds/nuts and oftentimes topped with a spoon of coconut milk. and of course, you probably know you should try the beef noodle soup (pho) in hanoi; bun bo hue (a spicier cousin) in hue; and hu tieu (a lighter cousin) in ho chi minh city. bon appetite! i look forward to reading your post on vietnam!
    Reply

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