MEAT PT. 2
Hello!
By far the food smell that I associate most with Bangkok, is the smell of either meat cooking or being freshly cooked. Meat is an absolute must in almost every Thai meal, so you are likely to find it anywhere and everywhere.
As you walk down any main street in Bangkok, you are likely to pass many many food stalls. If you pay attention, well, even if you don't pay attention you'll notice that most of these sell meat. I would say that close to 80-90% of all food stalls sell some kind of meat, either it's pork, or chicken, or beef, or duck, or fish. I would say that maybe fish and chicken might be the most popular options.
In other words, if you don't want to get hungry, I recommend staying in your house or dorm all day because if you leave your safe-hold, you will smell the aroma of meat and get hungry. The smell of meat affects everyone, no matter if you're vegan or vegetarian.
I can say this as a fact because my older who is vegan actually came to visit me a couple of weeks ago. As we walked down the street, inevitably there were food stalls grilling and cooking their meat. As we passed by a stall, we saw a fish grilling on a grill, and then suddenly the smell hit us. It was a mixture of that burnt smell that comes with grilling, and the smell of the fish slowly roasting and cooking. I swear I got hungry then and there.
As we passed by, even my sister who is vegan said, "that smells good." To joke with her a bit, I then followed up by saying, "wow, a vegan admitting that meat smells good." "Well," she started, "it's not that I was saying that the meat smelled good, it was more of that burnt smell." Sure...I thought and decided to leave it at that. As a meat-lover, for some reason I felt proud that my sister had admitted that the fish had smelled good, and I decided to let her off the hook.
I shouldn't even have to say this, but naturally, the smell of cooking or freshly cooked meat is an absolutely pleasant smell. Even though I have never met anyone who doesn't like the smell of meat, I'm sure there might be people out there who for some reason might find the smell disgusting, however, I, my vegan sister, and I'm sure that millions of other Thai's find the smell of meat to be absolutely alluring.
As I mentioned earlier, I smell meat anywhere and everywhere. Since it is a staple in many foods, you can find cooked or uncooked meat everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. On the street leaving my dorm, in the night markets, next to the street, on the sidewalks, on the streets, literally everywhere.
They sell a variety of meat also, from already cooked kebabs of pork, beef, or chicken, to whole fishes, to slivers of duck cut from a whole cooked duck hanging on a hook. You can find anything you want in these street food stalls.
Since I am walking the streets of Bangkok whenever I smell meat, from now on, even in the U.S, I will associate cooking meat to walking the streets of Bangkok. I will be reminded of swerving trying to avoid bumping into people in the narrow sidewalks. Since food stalls are so prevalent in Bangkok and they erect themselves basically on the sidewalks, they leave little room for anything or anyone else. When I smell meat in the U.S, I will be reminded of wandering the streets of Bangkok, wondering what my next meal will be.
By far the food smell that I associate most with Bangkok, is the smell of either meat cooking or being freshly cooked. Meat is an absolute must in almost every Thai meal, so you are likely to find it anywhere and everywhere.
As you walk down any main street in Bangkok, you are likely to pass many many food stalls. If you pay attention, well, even if you don't pay attention you'll notice that most of these sell meat. I would say that close to 80-90% of all food stalls sell some kind of meat, either it's pork, or chicken, or beef, or duck, or fish. I would say that maybe fish and chicken might be the most popular options.
In other words, if you don't want to get hungry, I recommend staying in your house or dorm all day because if you leave your safe-hold, you will smell the aroma of meat and get hungry. The smell of meat affects everyone, no matter if you're vegan or vegetarian.
I can say this as a fact because my older who is vegan actually came to visit me a couple of weeks ago. As we walked down the street, inevitably there were food stalls grilling and cooking their meat. As we passed by a stall, we saw a fish grilling on a grill, and then suddenly the smell hit us. It was a mixture of that burnt smell that comes with grilling, and the smell of the fish slowly roasting and cooking. I swear I got hungry then and there.
As we passed by, even my sister who is vegan said, "that smells good." To joke with her a bit, I then followed up by saying, "wow, a vegan admitting that meat smells good." "Well," she started, "it's not that I was saying that the meat smelled good, it was more of that burnt smell." Sure...I thought and decided to leave it at that. As a meat-lover, for some reason I felt proud that my sister had admitted that the fish had smelled good, and I decided to let her off the hook.
I shouldn't even have to say this, but naturally, the smell of cooking or freshly cooked meat is an absolutely pleasant smell. Even though I have never met anyone who doesn't like the smell of meat, I'm sure there might be people out there who for some reason might find the smell disgusting, however, I, my vegan sister, and I'm sure that millions of other Thai's find the smell of meat to be absolutely alluring.
As I mentioned earlier, I smell meat anywhere and everywhere. Since it is a staple in many foods, you can find cooked or uncooked meat everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. On the street leaving my dorm, in the night markets, next to the street, on the sidewalks, on the streets, literally everywhere.
They sell a variety of meat also, from already cooked kebabs of pork, beef, or chicken, to whole fishes, to slivers of duck cut from a whole cooked duck hanging on a hook. You can find anything you want in these street food stalls.
Since I am walking the streets of Bangkok whenever I smell meat, from now on, even in the U.S, I will associate cooking meat to walking the streets of Bangkok. I will be reminded of swerving trying to avoid bumping into people in the narrow sidewalks. Since food stalls are so prevalent in Bangkok and they erect themselves basically on the sidewalks, they leave little room for anything or anyone else. When I smell meat in the U.S, I will be reminded of wandering the streets of Bangkok, wondering what my next meal will be.
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