In the kitchen with my mom - Yam Pla Thu (Mackerel Salad)

Making Yam Pla Thu

Yam Pla Thu,  a Thai style salad made with mackerel fish or in Thai called Pla thu. Thais use Pla thu for so many dishes. They have it deep fried or use it in soups, chili sauces, salads, etc. The Thai salads aren't as regular salads either instead of using leafy greens it's made mostly of herbs, chilies, fish sauce and lime for flavoring. Here are the ingredients she used:

• steamed mackerel (Pla thu)
• lemon grass
• shallots
• red and green chilies
• Kaffir lime leaves
• lime
• minced coriander
• mint leaves 
• spring onions
• fish sauce
• soy sauce and oyster sauce or what my mom normally calls her "delicious sauces"

Hmm, for the measurements this is difficult to say as my mom never measures anything when she cooks, it's all instincts. The food she makes tastes a bit different each time but it's always a delight to come home to her delicious meals. 

She starts off with slicing the lemon grass and  shallots then spring onions, lime and chili 

I always love the fresh scent of lemon grass

Everything gets sliced thinly

 The fish that is used in the salad is normally bought already steamed and gutted and then it's deboned. Meanwhile my cousin was frying the rest of the mackerel to have with steamed rice and some leftover chili sauce.

Different textures steamed and fried!

We forgot about the kaffir leaves so I followed my cousin into the garden to get some fresh ones. I was surprised how far it was from the kitchen. The kiffir leaves were chiffonaded along with the mint leaves. All the ingredients are added to the bowl and my mom adds her delicious sauces along with fish sauce, sugar and some squeezed lime before mixing it all together. It's tricky sometimes when she asks me to pass her the delicious sauce because she calls all of them delicious sauces.

Huh, never knew that the kaffir lime plant had thorns.

Adding the "deliciousness"

Fresh and green

Yam Pla Thu

Guess we could have fried a little less mackerel and added some more to the salad. Either way it was deliciously spicy, especially when we accidentally bit into the finely chopped green chili that was camouflaged with all the other herbs. But of course for me, my mom and my cousin it's always a pain and pleasurable surprise.

Thai style dinner set up

A great thing about working in a hotel is you get to see various events because there is always an event for something. Easter, Chinese new year, Thai new year,Valentin's day, Christmas, New year's eve, weddings, Songkran festival, Loy Kratong festival, private events, etc. Anything that will entertain and excite the guests. Luckily I was assigned to take photos of the set up and the arrangements, which I was more than happy to do, with no hesitation. An opportunity to leave the office and do something I enjoy, also a great chance to stop staring at the computer and stop going through paper work for a while.

The event was for a Skal dinner, an organization of tourism leaders around the world promoting global tourism and friendship. This time the Skal dinner for Koh Samui was organized at the hotel I work with, Melati Resort & Spa. The setting was hosted in our Thai restaurant, "Kan Sak Thong" which translates to Golden teak. They offer exquisite Thai cuisine with modern twists and attentive, friendly service.

I didn't really know that I was going to be taking any photos until an hour before the event so wasn't really prepared at all. I didn't use my own camera either and used the one from the other department which was a Canon EOS 1100D with a kit lens. So the settings took a while for me to get used to, making it a bit more challenging adding that i'm just a beginner.

Local combination of coconuts and orchids as a table centerpiece

Bamboo used as a holder for the white orchids

 

Everything in the restaurant is full of color even the cushions and in the background you can see how beautiful the teak logs are.

Ranat, a Thai keyboard percussion instrument. 

The ambiance looks better and better the darker it gets. 

Ditch the tags!

 Why type out the food tags when you can write directly on the coconuts, this is definitely an interesting approach.

Incorporating nature to the scene

 Nature has its own beauty without having to modify it. The coconuts were set on the table and all the sudden they create a wonderful display.

Care to join?

This table looks a bit more private with the light curtains and adds a nice decoration

Sign up

 This was where the guests would leave their business cards and sign their names for the billing process.

More nature inspired decor

Not everything has to match!

The Chef making sure everything is spot on

This hotel has such a creative team. A fruity coconut tree with oranges and watermelon skin used as the coconut leaves.

A mixture of traditional Thai elements, nature and vibrant colors. 

The night wouldn't be complete without the pleasant service provided

A table with a view of the resort

- Salmon roll with truffles

- Shrimp wrapped in thinly sliced zucchini and carrots topped with a sweet and sour sauce

- Stuffed beef with truffles, bell peppers and a bit of mustard

- Thai style prawn salad with chopped lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, cashews and dried chilies mixed with a slightly sweet and spicy chili sauce.

Yum Talay - Thai style seafood salad with mussels, squid, prawns, chilies, lime juice and fish sauce 

I was only able to take the photos for the set up and some of the food as I had to finish up a few other things but the next day we got very good feedback from the guests that joined. It was quite the success that was well deserved.

The Scent Hotel, Koh Samui

Today I actually knew where I was going, instead of just wandering around. I went to The Scent Hotel, a lovely small boutique hotel with only 14 rooms, a quiet little place. This charming beach front hotel is decorated with a vintage touch. The rooms are decorated in European, Chinese and local Thai-Chinese styles. I've been here a couple of times mostly for the food. They offer a pleasant mixture of French and Mediterranean cuisine where you can enjoy alongside beautiful Bangrak beach.

The hidden entrance

The Scent is easy to drive pass without noticing, it's right on Bangrak road but with only a small gap as an entrance and walls covered with vines on the side, it's quite narrow and doesn't look like much but once you're inside you start to see the beauty and how unique this place is.

Follow me inside

The Scent has a unique check-in experience than other hotels as they will offer you a selection of scents that are made by the Hotel itself. Once you choose the one you prefer they will set all the in-room amenities with this scent in the room also the essential oil, making your stay more personal and enjoyable.

Aloe Vera

Imagine waking up everyday to this view

Koh Phangan is visible from Bangrak beach especially on a clear day like this one.

Coconut trees are everywhere in samui

An empty bird cage can look quite intriguing

A small amount of garden space but with a beautiful selection of plants and flowers

Beachfront brasserie

Nicoise salads are a great combination of flavors and textures making it so delicious especially when you like all the ingredients.  Hmm but they missed out the black olives! I just realized that now when looking at the photo again. I guess it was so good that I even forgot about them.

After my appetizer I ordered some pasta, I can't remember the name of this dish but it did say spiral spaghetti something. The shape of the pasta was quite interesting as I never saw spiral pasta like this. It was very tasty in a tomato paste with mascarpone cheese and rosemary which was a delightful added ingredient.

Living in such a hot country it's always good to have a nice cold cloth to freshen up with and the orchid adds a wonderful local touch. I seemed to have an uninvited guest who joined me as well. He knew his surroundings well as he flew up to the table trying to get some crumbs. He wasn't aggressive but never went too far from my table.

Hungry myna bird

Although the dessert menu was very tempting, I was just too full.

Before leaving I stepped down to the beach and took a full glance of Bangrak bay, breathed in the sea breeze and enjoyed a bit of the sun.