Lunch on the Mekong

[Gallowspole]

Sunday is family day, at least until the football comes on, and we like to head up the Mekong River for a lazy afternoon lunch. Head out of Nong Khai on the river road 211 towards Ta Bo and after 11 kms you’ll come to Ban Mueng Mi Yai. Go through and past 2 temples on the riverside with statues of bears guarding the gates. Remember to ask your wife ‘hen mee mai?’ as you drive past (don’t do this if you have kids or the mother-in-law in the car!).

About 1km after the village you’ll see Pepsi and Coke adverts on the river side of the road.

– just turn down one of the sois and voila you’re there. We’ve been coming here for years and always eat at one of the original places although there now seems to be an endless line of salas now lining the riverbank.

In the name of progress they’ve torn down paradise and put up a parking lot, although now I don’t have to worry about coconuts falling on the car.






We always like to sit on the floor in our own little sala although they’ve added larger seating areas for those who once they’re down can’t get back up.






Obviously the views are great with the Mekong and Laos forming the back drop. At the moment the river is quite low, but before the lovely Chinese started damming the river it used to get up to (and occasionally over) the top of the bank. The Mighty Mekong in full flow after the rains was something to see.



OK, on to the food. First comes Pla Lag Goo eh!




Then 2 som tams – one with chilies and one with Khanom Chin for the kid.




Next we have Krung Foi – baby prawns in a kind of batter, served with a cucumber and chili vinegar dip.



They always cook the Pla Pow to order so it usually arrives an hour or so later. This is my favourite fish dish as it has very few bones and the flesh is easy to separate from the bones. Also the chunks of salt help take the ‘phetness’ of the som tam away. Today's one is a fair bit smaller than usual.




And finally, the last dish today was half a kilo of BBQ’d prawns.




As you laze away the time the occasional hawker comes buy selling corn and fruit in season. There is even a young guy with a guitar who will serenade you- he’s really good but unfortunately he wasn’t there today.

All of the above, plus 2 bottles of water, 2 large Changs, and 2 ‘tips’ of sticky rice came to exactly 600 Baht.

[smeden]

nice pics thanks for the tip

[buad hai]

Great stuff. My goal is to live near the river some day.

[Loombucket]

Now that does look like fun, thanks for sharing. I like a nice river or lake to look out on when I eat. Does wonders for my digestion.

[Texpat]

Very nice place, out toward me -- though I've never been.

Lunch sounds superb, 'cept for the Chang.

[BangkokButcher]

Looks like a cracking place for an afternoon out, only just up the road from me as well.

Should make a nice outing for the family very soon.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Gallowspole]

Very nice place, out toward me -- though I've never been.

Lunch sounds superb, 'cept for the Chang.

Tex, I'm sure they could get 4 crates of Heiny in for you but often or not it's Leo or Chang I'm afraid

[Gallowspole]

Great stuff. My goal is to live near the river some day.

Move fast because it's now 450 to 500k a rai for Thais so falang price is going to be Neil Armstrong.

[sabang]

It's great eating tucker by the river, or sea.
Thiose river prawns remind me of a meal we had at Khong Chiam, they've got a couple of restaurants in barges moored there.
A bloke paddles up in a canoe with three of the biggest freshwater prawns I've ever seen- easily 18 inches. Of course we had to have them. Never seen any as big since then.

[peterpan]

The best things in life may not be free but in Thailand they are very cheap. had many good meals by the river or beach, sitting under an umbrella, beer in one hand a fat BBQ'd kung in the other, a beautiful water view, all for the same sort of money that would get you little more than a Mckrap meal in the west.

[baldrick]

I had the little pigs ( gutted , spread and barbequed ) once on the riverbank north of Mukdahan - that was a feed to bloat.