A Very Special Friday Foodporn: Next's Tour of Thailand

By Robyn Nisi

After a long afternoon of repeatedly refreshing my browser several weeks ago to get into Next's ticket system, my tenacity paid off last night. Enjoy.

Street snacks: roasted banana, prawn cake, sweet shrimp and garlic, fermented sausage, and steamed bun. The banana packed flavor, and the shrimp was wrapped in a mint leaf that set the stage for an incredible meal.

Hot and sour broth, pork belly, tomato, ginger. The chunks of pork belly were like little treasure chests of flavor. Good stuff.

Chili, shallot, garlic, salted duck egg, green mango, white radish pickles. This is where things got dicey for me, as it was full of heat and spice landmines. The chili sauce and radish pickles were the high points.

Catfish, caramel sauce, celery, coriander root. I expected much more from this dish, given the flavors. Next!

Beef cheek, curry, peanut, nutmeg, kaffir lime. This was the real centerpiece of the meal. The beef tenderly fell apart when stirred; the sauce was creamy and spicy. After this experience, I'll be very disappointed if I ever order panang again from the corner Thai place.

Watermelon and lemongrass palate cleanser. We were sad to see this arrive, as it meant the savory courses were over. The place was starting to fill up with other customers, so while our courteous server disappeared to other tables, the palate cleanser made up for the lag time.

Coconut, corn, egg, and licorice. One half-shell was filled with a coconut ice, the other filled with a custardy jumble of indistinguishable (yet tasty) elements.

Dragon fruit, rose. By this stage in the meal, my companions were losing steam and left their fruit half-eaten. I was smitten at the first bite, which was full of sweet rose; however, the fruit's sour taste kicked in and subsequent bites weren't as remarkable.