Smokey island

Singapore has been shrouded by haze these 2 weeks. The haze is caused by illegal burning of land and forest in Sumatra, Indonesia. The air quality had risen to a hazzardous 400 range this afternoon.
I miss the clear blue skies that we often take for granted. Hopefully there will be some rainfall in the coming days or weeks to improve the situation.

Esarn Thai Food

I had been attending Thai language classes for more than 3 months now. Apart from wanting to communicate better with the Thais during our yearly volunteer trips, T and I also enjoy travelling to Thailand. We love Thai food.

There is a particular eatery which we recently discovered along Thomson road. It is called E-sarn - which means North-East region of Thailand. Esarn is the place where Thai papaya salad (Som Tam) was first created. This region is predominantly agricultural. Majority of the population are involved in farming and agricultural activities. Steamed glutinuous rice (Kow-neuw) is the staple in this region. I enjoy Esarn cuisine very much due to the generous use of fresh ingredients and herbs.
When we chanced upon this restaurant, I was delighted! This might be the place that I'll visit every week :)

These were the things which we had ordered during our visits at Esarn Thai Restaurant.

Thai basil chicken with rice

Thai Tom Yum seafood soup

Grilled beef with Esarn seasoning

Esarn spicy soup & stir-fried vegetables

My favourite - Ruam Mit with red ruby, jackfruit & atap seeds, drizzled with rich coconut milk