Nowhere Like Home
Nowhere Like Home
Gastronomy is a part of every culture and every country. Thai cuisine is well known all over the world. Beside the taste of hot and spicy, the fragrance of the ingredients which perfectly blend, along with the rich taste are the signature that represents Thailand. It has been seven years since I decided to move to Chicago to chase my dream. I have always wanted to live abroad to experience and learn new things that I wish to accomplish in life. Sometime, living overseas alone causes me depression and anxiety, so I always seek good Thai foods to satisfy my cravings. Even though there are many Thai restaurants around Chicago, nowhere can serve delicious Thai dishes and eating culture like back in Thailand. This lack of flavor always caused me the most nostalgia.
Because my favorite dishes taste different, it lower my appetite and desire of going out to eat. Living overseas is not easy when it comes to cook my own Thai food or going out to eat. Many time, I wonder what makes the same dish taste different although al ingredients are cook in the same manner. The worst part of cooking my favorite dishes is some of ingredients are hard to find. There are tons of ingredients everywhere in Chicago, but a lot of them are frozen and canned, which make food taste different. Some of the ingredients that are the main part of Thai dishes will ruin the flavor of the food if there are missing. Sometime, I have to go to the certain Asian stores when I cannot find it in normal supermarkets. Back in Thailand, it was so easy to find fresh, organic ingredients. Morning markets are the place where restaurant owners or people who love home cooking go to choose their fresh daily ingredients. The morning markets start around dawn and end before noon, so people make sure to get there early before ingredients are sold out.
Moreover, Thai late-night restaurants are difficult to find in Chicago. Eating Thai food can relive my tiredness and my nostalgia. Thus, looking for quick and delicious Thai food is hard to find in Chicago when I'm hungry in the middle of the night. In Thailand, there are food carts and restaurants on both sides of the street that serve food all night long. It's so easy to find good food in Thailand or people can just walk to the Seven Eleven stores. In Chicago, there are no Thai restaurants open all night. In addition, Seven Eleven stores in Chicago don't have variety of food to choose from when I'm hungry. There also are late night markets in Thailand where I can find various kinds of food even in local areas. However, most Thai restaurants in Chicago stop serving food before midnight, and there are not too many that serve Thai food until 2 A.M. for people who work late. Although I have tried many Thai restaurants in Chicago, the taste of food doesn't make me feel like I'm eating real Thai food.
Thai food is more delicious and enjoyable when eating with a group of friends or family. Living far away from home make it harder to go eat at the restaurant alone. Thai people have strong friendships and family relationships. Therefore, they always gather and eat together. When I was in Thailand, going out to eat our favorite food was an activity that my friends and I did every weekend. There is one of our favorite dishes that my friend and I love to eat together is papaya salad; it is made from shaded green papaya with fish dressing, chilies, tomatoes, palm sugar, lime squeeze, and garnish with vegetables. I love eating spicy food, so I always ask for extra chilies. My friends and I used to have a spicy challenge which in order to win, the person had to eat the spiciest papaya salad dish and end our meal joyfully. Vice versa, moving to Chicago is a big change for me when culture and language are obstacles. Even though I have friends in Chicago, it is still hard to go out to eat together.
Moving to Chicago has been the best experience in my life. In fact, I can still cook my favorite Thai dishes, go out to restaurants, but it doesn't feel like my tradition back home. Chicago is now becoming my second home where I have many friends and the person I love. Hence, I will settle my life in this city. All in all, I still miss my mother called me for dinner. I miss when my father tried to cook his simple meal for my sister and me when my mother was not at home. I also miss my best friends and the way we used to have the best time together. Many times, I have cried because of my nostalgia, and I wish that I will meet all my loves soon. I strongly believe that I can make my life better than it used to be, so my family and friends back home will be proud of me.
I like the essay about the thai food and your experiences in the united states. It true that the food that we get here are different from the food from home and it is made differently. The spices and flavors in food is something that I miss a lot. The late night open thai restaurant is also an example of the eating culture and I think Chicago has very few of those.
ReplyDeleteI especially agree with what you said. Dine with friends and family, the hometown dishes will be more delicious and enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteHi Noon. I like Thai food so much and I've tasted a lot Thai food when I was in China. Maybe the Thai food are not as traditional as those food in Thailand, I will go to Thailand and try them one day.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Noon! Having dinner with friends and family makes everything special!
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you put a video to show us how things are.