Southeast Asia Files: Dinner and Downpour

After a day spent shopping and exploring in Bangkok’s commercial areas, I decided to go for a walk in Lumphini Park, a large pond- and grass-filled area surrounded by skyscrapers and major arterials. After a couple of hours of strolling and reading it was beginning to get dark so I headed back toward the entrance, hoping to get something to eat from the vendors I had seen setting up shop on my way in. What greeted me at the exit defied my expectations. The parking lot had been transformed into an outdoor restaurant; waiters ran between food booths and tables full of chattering Thais, setting out plates of food, bottles of beer and glasses of whiskey for the dining masses. Having envisioned something simpler I was initially a bit lost and wandered aimlessly past the various vendors, eying the menus’ Thai script and hoping for some English. Soon enough a waiter ran up to me and began speaking in rapid Thai. The look I gave was no doubt baffled because he switched over to English, handing me a menu I could read.

I sat alone at a table with boisterous activity all around me. I felt out of place but in a good, excited way. As soon as my whole grilled catfish (delicious) and papaya salad with shrimp (spicy) arrived, the random bolts of lightening that had been playing through the sky all afternoon gave way to a full on thunderstorm. The tables situated on the outskirts of the overhanging tarps were quickly moved closer to the center of the dining area and the ends of the tarps were rolled and fashioned into makeshift gutters, which the water poured down from in great gushes. The sudden downpour brought the diners closer together and we looked at each other conspiratorially, laughing about the rain.

I waited it out as long as I could, but after nearly an hour the rain showed no signs of stopping so there was nothing for it but to trudge home through sheets and lakes of water. I was completely soaked by the time I reached the condo I was staying in, but the dinner was all the more memorable because of it.

HT Market : Not Just For Asians!

White people. They so often disappoint me, culinarily speaking. I find most of my fellow white Americans to be saddeningly unadventurous when it comes to trying new types of food. Take HT Market, North Seattle’s relatively new Asian grocery, for example. I wander endlessly up and down the vast aisles of this large supermarket, fascinated by the food I’ve never tried and often never heard of, skipping quickly by the generic “American food” aisles and heading straight to the foreign stuff. I will usually go in for a báhn mì and a can of coconut juice and end up with a basket overflowing with new things to try. I can’t help it, everything here looks good to me! I look in the baskets of the Caucasian shoppers, however, and am confounded to see Kraft Singles, Yoplait Yogurt, milk, white bread. I don’t see how they can resist the exotic bounty at their fingertips. “Egg tart? Pickled radish?” they must be thinking. “Naw, I’ll just stick to my block of cheddar and box of Oscar Mayer.” It boggles the mind, it really does.

The new(ish) HT Market is an offshoot of the Vietnamese Hop Thanh grocery in Little Saigon. When it opened its doors earlier this year I nearly jumped for joy. I had been hoping and praying for a Southeast Asian grocery somewhere closer to my neck of the woods than the ID or White Center, and like a gift from above my prayers were finally answered. HT Market is all that I could have hoped for. Located in the Oak Tree Village, in the space vacated by the flagship Larry’s Market, the grocery is a convenient jog up Aurora. Parking is plentiful and free (take that Chinatown!) and the store itself large and spacious. It’s not big on ambiance, though, and has a bit of a warehouse feel with its exposed metal beams and hanging fluorescent lights. It feels a bit incomplete and unfinished, like it is still under construction. The aisles are wide and brightly lit and have the potential to house so many more types of food. There are two aisles, for instance, dedicated to packaged ramen. Sure, there are a quite a few types of ramen out there, but two aisles seems a bit excessive. Likewise I could do without the aisles of American chips, soda and frozen food. More interesting are the areas of the store containing African, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Latino food. Huge blocks of queso fresco and cotija can be purchased alongside boxes of saag, Catholic votives are nestled in amongst fabric softeners and frying pans. HT Market may be Vietnamese, but it doesn’t seem to want to pigeonhole itself. In a city becoming so homogenized and yuppie it is nice to see such an embracing of ethnic diversity.

The bakery boasts fresh baked bread from the Macrina and An Xuyen bakeries as well as most of the Chinese pastry standards: egg tarts (my favorite), hum bow, sweet rolls, sponge cake filled with cream. The deli case offers lunch combos for $3.99-$4.99, and this includes rice, chow mein or fried rice, 2-3 sides, and soup. They have pre-made báhn mì (the delicious, delicious Vietnamese sandwich) and two-packs of summer rolls for $2.50. Fish-filled tanks are on display in the seafood department and packaged squid and eel in the frozen food section. The produce is a little sad looking, with noticeably wrinkled peppers and green tomatoes, but is redeemed by several types of seaweed, cactus, daikon, and bulk chiles. My favorite is, of course, the dessert aisle. I have recently become addicted to a type of Chinese jelly candy, little rectangular objects that come in a pack of eight, in either green tea or sweet bean flavor. There’s the usual selection of coconut juice, Thai ice tea and the like, and a small sake selection in the wine department. This is nothing too thrilling; if you want a large variety of sake go to Uwajimaya or another Japanese grocery. In a back corner of the store is a nice selection of pretty dishes and bowls to be had for cheap. If you are looking to outfit your kitchen and are on a budget this is the place to come.

I hope that, with time, HT Market will continue to expand its food selection and utilize more of its empty space. And it may be a fool’s hope, but I would also like to see the non-Asians of the neighborhood sample from the wealth of good food to be had here. At least give it a try.

HT Market Oaktree

10008 Aurora Ave N

Seattle, WA 98133

(206) 527-5333