Oh yeah, we won! The girls are home for a 4 day New Year holiday this week. We didn't go out on New Years itself, because it is amateur hour around here that night. We did, however, go out last night for a bit of fun. Out of the blue, Roong said that she wanted to go to "Good View" in Lopburi. That in itself was a reason to celebrate. I like going there a hell of a lot more than going to Bannok all the time. "Good View" has real musicians that play relaxed folk music for a few hours, and then they change bands for a little more upbeat music. Anything is better than that awful karaoke at "Bannok". Besides, the food, and the atmosphere, are better, and the waitresses are soooooooo much prettier. The staff has changed since the last time I was there, but the lovely Miss Sai was still standing by the entrance waiting to greet the customers. It was great to see her again, and it was big hugs all around as usual.The girls ordered pretty normal fare to eat at first. Som tom and big fish I think it was. After that, Pukky was still hungry so she took a more serious look at their new menu. They have always had a really nice seafood selection, but they have since added a few new things. The new ones that jumped out at her were the jellyfish and the crocodile dishes. Ok, the jellyfish didn't really sound to appealing to anyone, but Puk and I were determined to try the crocodile. I think it was a revenge thing, because ever since the floods came there have been a lot of crocs on the loose and making mischief in Bangkok. Though secretly, I had hoped that they might put a dent in the stray dog problem here.
Palmiez asked the waiter what crocodile tasted like, and he told her that it tastes like chicken. Umm...dude, chicken tastes like chicken pork tastes like pork, beef tastes like beef, and god only knows what jellyfish tastes like. Pukapow and I severely doubted that big lizard was going to taste like chicken.
When it finally arrived, the first thing the guy did was to set an empty red hot cast iron plate on the table. The serving portion seemed a bit small to me, but I didn't say anything. Then, one of the girls (whose name I can't remember, but whose ass will live forever in my dreams) dumped the dish itself on to the plate. It literally exploded in a frenzy of oil popping madness. We had to sit back for a few moments until it had settled down a bit.
Pukky was the first to attack it. Like she usually does with something new, she stabbed a piece and gave it a serious sniff. She made her "I'm not sure yet, so I better eat it" face, and then had at it. She liked it! That was good enough for me, so I dug in too.
Guess what!? It tastes like f*cking chicken! It reminds me of shark, because it has a very heavy, rich texture to it, but it really did taste like chicken. I was relieved, but also a bit disappointed, because I was expecting something at least a little more exotic for 200 baht a plate. After 10 minutes of coaxing, we finally got Palmiez and Roong to give it a try. Neither seemed very impressed, but they both said it wasn't bad. Whatever, Pukky and I had fun with it.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening, and a nice way to ring in the New Year. Palmiez will finally have her graduation ceremony on Jan. 7, so I am looking forward to trip to Bangkok next weekend. I haven't had a cheeseburger in 6 months. I hope to hell they don't taste like chicken!
