Yellow Chicken with Rice on Thanon Convent.

The thing that I love most about my job- more than shaping young minds, or the challenges of teaching- is my schedule. I have time after my job to relax and pursue other interests- and on Wednesday, I even have an extra long lunch in which to see what Bangkok is like during the work week.

On this past Wednesday, Bordeaux and I met in Sathorn, an attractive urban neighborhood. We headed down to Thanon Convent, a tree-lined street that is lined with cafes and street-food stands. We weaved among the queues of office workers, to a stand selling kao moek gkai: yellow rice with chicken. We were tempted by the sight of the yellow rice, which the chef scooped out of a giant metal drum. We placed our order, and a minute later the waiter set down two heaped plates in front of us. Of Southern Muslim origin, it is very similar to a biryani. The chicken was juicy, and the rice was richly spiced with tumeric and a suggestion of cinnamon. It came with a dish of sweet-spicy chili, a salad of cucumbers, and was garnished with a topping of carmelized shallots.