All Cats All Bats

Food… is kind of taking over my life.

As many of you know, I have found under-the-table employment at a supper club my friend runs called Haawm. It is at his house and we serve some of the best Thai food in the city. The buzz surrounding Haawm, is palpable. It is one of the hardest tables to book and people leave extremely happy. I feel blessed to know Dylan and be his only employee. I have worked here since December and it has been a crazy several months. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the best chefs in Thailand and connect with various impressive people in the food industry here. So, when Dylan decided to take a few weeks off to reconnect with friends and family back in the states, I knew I wanted to continue working and learning.

My interest in learning from other chefs in the city led me to stage at another friend’s restaurant while Dylan was away. My friend’s name is Diego and he is the head chef at a very small establishment (15 seats) called All Cats All Bats, otherwise known as ACAB. Staging is an unpaid, short-term internship, working in someone else’s kitchen to learn their ways and techniques of cooking for an extended amount of time. Often we will get chefs at Haawm who come for a day or so to learn from Dylan. Some of the more established restaurants have stages for a month or two. In my case, the plan was to stage for just over two weeks.

I was interested in working here for several reasons. First, if you don’t already know, I am half white and and Mexican. It is rare to find other Latinos in this country, let alone any Mexicans. So having a friend who is not only Mexican, but also makes low-key some of the best Mexican food in Bangkok, I knew he was someone to keep close. Second, like Haawm, ACAB is very small. It’s just Diego and his sous chef, Lek. This means working for and learning from Diego would be as personal as it gets. Third, ACAB is also a speakeasy… within another speakeasy. Let me explain and bear with me.

In order to find this secret spot you walk down an alley that’s off a main road. You walk up to and through a large door that seems like you shouldn’t have any business opening. Then you ascend two flights of stairs to an unmarked sliding wooden door. At that point, you have entered Ku Bar. It is a long room with two or three bartenders who make incredible cocktails.

If you walk past the bar to the far end, there is another inconspicuous large door. You walk through that door and down a flight of stairs. You follow a dark hallway lit by small candles and you find yourself at ACAB. An even smaller, more slender room with a small bar and one large table. Both Ku Bar and ACAB have the same owners, and have a minimalist aesthetic. Needless to say, I very much fancy the food and vibe, and respect what Diego is doing.

Finally, to make this opportunity even more enticing, Diego’s resume is impressive to say the least. After Diego graduated from culinary school in Mexico, he traveled to Bangkok to intern at a restaurant called Gaggan. He then came back to Mexico and had the opportunity to work under Rene Redzepi at the Noma pop-up in Tulum. Once he could put Noma on his resume, he was essentially assured any job he wanted afterwards. This is because Noma has been considered the best restaurant in the world multiple years in a row.

Diego then came back to Bangkok and worked at both Gaa and 80/20. He then decided to help out at a local cafe/restaurant and briefly worked at Cholos. All this led him to the opportunity of head chef at ACAB where he would be able to showcase his skill and allow him to return to his Mexican roots. He was able to bring along a former colleague, Lek, from 80/20 with him to be his sous chef.

His kind demeanor and resume coupled with my desire to reconnect with my own Mexican heritage in the kitchen, made for a perfect combination.

What occurred over the next couple weeks at ACAB was a rollercoaster of emotions. While I am thankful for the experience, it did not end the way I had imagined.

Because ACAB is located on the opposite side of Bangkok from where we live, I decided to find an Airbnb to stay at so I didn’t have to endure the commute each day. Plus, I got to explore another side of the city.

I found a lovely stay called InnSpire Bangkok, a kilometer away from ACAB. It is run by a Thai man named Bop. He is a friendly guy who grew up in Germany which made sense given his thick German accent. Because of the nature of his job, he knew many local spots to get food and we would often go out to lunch before work and check out some of the lesser known, local stalls. I loved these meals. He even made German cheesecake and sausages at one point.

With housing situated, I was ready to start.

Because it is only Diego and Lek in the kitchen, you might imagine the space is likely rather small. And you would be correct. The entire kitchen is one of the smallest I have ever been in. After you are done prepping or using a space, you immediately put away everything you were using because unused items cannot be out and about. There is no space for it.

Some of the more unique aspects about this kitchen are as follows. The first being a hand-built charcoal grill with a rotating arm that changes the level of where the food lies on it. It was built by two different people who saw it as a pet project. The beast of a machine accounts for why the kitchen gets absurdly hot during working hours. I was warned about the heat working at ACAB and with it being the hottest month of the year, I knew it would be ridiculous. It would get so hot at times, it would always be a relief when orders would come to an end and we could open the tiny slit in the door that would let cool air into the kitchen towards the end of the night. It is the only kitchen where you will find chicharrones being made with tweezers and tongs over a charcoal grill.

Secondly, because there is very little storage/extra space, once the dishes are washed they dry right above the sink.

Last, the two gas burners are topped with a plancha that allows a lot more space for pots to cook as well as a nice flat top for warming tortillas. All other aspects are usually found in normal kitchens but just on a much smaller scale.

Going into this stage, I didn’t have any experience working in the back of house outside of dishwashing and at Haawm, so I knew this would be a new and educational experience. I have spent most of my working career in and out of restaurants but mainly as front of house staff or delivering catered meals.

The uncertainty of how a shift will turn out was exciting. It might sound strange, but I looked forward to feeling overwhelmed with orders, to “86” an item, to call out an order and have the staff call back with how many minutes until it was ready, to not know who would be walking through the door at any point. Thankfully, ACAB is such a small establishment that rushes are hardly felt and Diego and Lek are too chill to be bothered by stress. This, I appreciated. ChillerZ Paradi$e over here.

My first day was a crash course to say the least.

My first task was to prepare shrimp, and I was immediately taken back to Day One with my Thai food teacher, Hanuman Aspler, when he asked me to prepare shrimp for a curry. I am a midwest boy from Indiana, who didn’t have the slightest clue how to prepare shrimp, let alone even really eaten much seafood by that point. Now, sheeeit, prepping shrimp is second nature.

My flashback to Hanuman was rudely interrupted with two differences that these shrimp presented. First, these shrimp were so darn small that the shell hadn’t had time to separate itself from its skin, so they were a pain to peel. Second, some of these shrimp were still alive. Very slow moving, but alive. I didn’t notice at first since the ice they are kept in basically immobilizes them but it wasn’t until after I took their heads off that their ligaments were still moving around slowly. This definitely gave me a mental block whenever I had to complete this task.

The reason for them needing to be as fresh as possible is because Diego makes a dish called aguachile which is similar to ceviche with raw shrimp. However, in aguachile the shrimp isn’t cured as long in the citrus as it is in ceviche for it to be “cooked”, so it needs to be prepared and eaten right away.

Another process I learned about that first day: Chicharrones. We have all eaten them at some point or another but prepping them is a whole other adventure. The amount of time and effort that goes into getting that crispy, crunchy bite of pig skin is unreal. The process isn’t something that you can do all at once, it is something you have to do in stages and come back to several times.

The basic steps we followed at ACAB were to cut the skin into the right sized pieces, then burn the hairs off, tenderize and cure the skin. Later you soak it in vinegar and boil the skin. Next, you scrape the excess fat away before you dehydrate the skin overnight. Once dehydrated, you can cook the skin.

At many restaurants, they simply fry the skin and let it puff up. At ACAB, we cook the chicharron by utilizing the charcoal grill and adjusting the height so the skin can slowly crisp up. With a pair of tongs in one hand and tweezers in another, the dance begins by moving the pig skin as different parts begin to crisp and want to curl into itself. You do your best to keep it flat while making sure that all of it is evenly crisp otherwise sections will be chewy and inedible. It was a beautiful thing to watch both Lek and Diego figure out each piece and how it needed to be cooked. Throughout my time, I would work on different aspects of making chicharrones since it was always in a different stage.

Cooking and serving Mexican food, doesn’t necessarily lead you to think that there would be a big mortar and pestle, but I am here to tell you I have never seen such a big mortar and pestle in all my time growing up or in Thailand. You could pound it twice and boom you have a curry paste. (I am exaggerating, of course.) As might be expected, I was stoked to use it. I was asked to make a som saa, or bitter orange, paste that goes under the garnish for the chorizo stuffed chicken wing.

I also scored, marinated, and cooked mushrooms for the tostada dish.

I knew I would be working with the charcoal grill at some point during my stay at ACAB, but I was blindsided with how open Diego and Lek were to have me use it on Day One. I roasted romaine for the caesar salad and cut and smoked lengua for tacos. The amount of smoke created during this process for the lengua not only seemed to be a health hazard, but made it clear that there would be no savior if a fire was actually started. Billowing smoke would be an understatement. It became clear why this particular step needed to be done before guests arrived. Even with an industrial vent, smoke filled all of ACAB. I am here to tell you, every molecule of smoke made in that process is one hundred percent worth it. Diego’s tacos de lengua are some of the best I have ever had by far. During the process of smoking the tongue, I gave myself a gnarly two inch long burn by touching a lid that was atop the coals. Newbie mistake that wasn’t repeated.

Aside from the main tasks described above, I had the chance to taste several salsas, marinades, garnishes, and toppings. All of which were fiiiire.

After being on my feet for 10+ hours without much of a break, my body was past exhaustion. I had never worn shoes (that weren’t sandals) that long in my entire time living in Thailand. It would take me a few days to get my feet used to standing for that long, especially standing next to a burning charcoal grill for long periods. Lek would keep his hand inches from the charcoal for what seemed like eternity to check the heat level, while I had maybe .69 seconds before I had to take my hand away because of how scorching hot it was.

Even before getting my first burn, I warned Diego about how I am prone to getting burned and cut while I cook. I even brought extra band-aids which I went through several during my stay. Yes, even on day one.

Once service was over, Diego and I went up to Ku Bar and had some cocktails made by Mee, the head bartender, while listening to a live DJ. Why does a place that can barely fit twenty people need a live DJ? Because everything here is a vibe and it just makes sense.

Day 2

The experience of working at Haawm vs. ACAB is completely different. Although what they share in common is that they are both a ChillerZ Paradi$e.

At Haawm, everything is predictable. The number of diners only varies by 1-2 people a night so the prep is very regular. It's the same menu for an extended amount of time. There's a sense of comfort and routine that I enjoy very much. There is also an entertainment aspect of Haawm that is unique.

At ACAB, it functions as a normal restaurant where the space is small and reservations are made so there is some predictability with how the night will go, but in terms of how much food people will order it isn't. Diego prepares a certain amount for each dish and when things sell out, they sell out. The fluctuation is much more present since you can get slammed with orders and there are lulls at times. Because the amount of food sold each day changes, so does the prep. This brings excitement to the day. For staging, it was great because I knew I would be prepping totally different things day by day.

On the second day, I did a variety of things, most quite different from the day before. I cut, washed, and dried lettuce for the Caesar salad. I removed the hair off of hairy eggplants and made the hairy eggplant salsa from scratch. I made and roasted sourdough bread crumbs. While I did not prepare the lengua, I was able to complete the last steps which involved peeling the top layer off, cutting it into pieces, and smoking it to finish it off. All the while Diego, Lek and I were talking about food and techniques and enjoying the mood.

One aspect about working in restaurants that I have come to enjoy very much is the Family Meal. It is a meal for the staff that is usually made and served right before service starts and you never know what it’s going to be. Ku Bar makes it three days a week and ACAB makes it the other two days. While this time usually was spent with most on their phones, mentally preparing for work, I enjoyed the creativity the meals had with food scraps, left overs, and random ideas Lek wanted to make. It usually was a stir fry of some sort with rice, something simple. Nevertheless, I enjoyed how everyone came together to eat and check in before work.

The second evening wasn’t as slammed as the night before. Instead, we were more steady with smaller orders throughout the night. My body was starting to get used to the grind but it ached by the end of the day. I understood the flow of how Diego and Lek worked better after two days.

I am sure for most people in the industry, everything I am describing is commonplace but for me it is so interesting to observe. Diego calls out the order and Lek and I ready the main proteins and items that need actual cooking. Diego prepares garnish, toppings, and plating. Diego asks Lek in what order the food is coming. This helps him set up his station better and can be ready to plate as soon as Lek is done.

What followed after service would be my “first taste of industry life” as Dylan would later tell me. Our friend Thomas Pho, part owner, head chef, and front of house at Mod Kaew Wine Bar, came to visit Diego and I for drinks upstairs at Ku Bar.

Once they closed, we continued our night by getting drinks at a local stall and then finishing the night at Diego’s apartment. We drank and talked until five in the morning. I honestly can’t remember the last time I stayed up till five in the morning for any reason. No, we didn’t go on a coke bender or anything like that, which I am sure would be a much more authentic , stereotypical night out with chefs.

With two days of work under my belt, the next two days were my “weekend” (ACAB closes on Mondays and Tuesdays) to relax and explore the food scene on this side of town.

The places I ate at during my time off and subsequent lunches were as follows:

Hua Hin Photchana - Thai food

Nan Fah - Roast duck with soup

Mont Nom Sod - Toast

Aburi Ishida - Japanese Yakitori and more

James Boulangerie - Almond croissant and cinnamon roll

Som Tum Khun Dang - Isaan food

Jia Uan Duck Porridge - Random Thai food

Maesalong Croissant - Croissant

Unbranded Cafe - Almond Croissant

Ten Suns - Chinese Beef Noodle Soup

Chenggong Chicken Rice Restaurant - Khao Man Gai

Nangloeng Shophouse - Cafe with treats and drinks

Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu - Phad Thai

Karim Roti Mataba - Roti and Muslim Thai Food

Shoshana Restaurant - Israeli food

Sarnies Sourdough - Breakfast pizza and sourdough croissant

Red Istanbul Turkish Restaurant Bangkok (Kebab and Grill) - Turkish Kebabs

Teyaki - Croissants and Donuts

Tai Soon Tung - Brewery

Seo Lang - Pad Kaphrao

One of the most memorable meals I enjoyed during my time off from ACAB was Aburi Ishida. I went with Thomas, Kat, and Diego. All of us aside from Kat were still hungover from the night before. The yakitori was fire and the vibe was on point.

Thomas had mentioned that he has always wanted to go there specifically to try their raw meats. He ordered raw chicken and raw liver for the table. We all were a bit skeptical at first. Once it came, beautifully presented I might add, Thomas dove right in. We all stared as he dunked the pieces in the sauces provided. Once he asked if we were going to have some, we snapped out of our trance and started to prepare our bites. To be honest, the flavor of each was rather mild, but the texture of the raw meats was the most interesting and memorable part of the experience. That and the fact that it might have been the meal that affected the rest of my experience at ACAB.

Shortly after, Diego began to experience what we ended up calling a stomach flu. The days following our adventurous meal, Diego came to work feeling awful. In fact, he even left early one day because of how bad he was feeling. I am sure the heat of the kitchen didn’t help.

Thankfully, we began the week with less customers than normal. We had a steady stream of customers but no rushes nor did we run out of a particular dish. I was able to learn how to properly set up Diego and Lek’s stations for service. I made the mushroom glaze for the king oyster mushrooms that get scored and marinated in it before getting grilled over charcoal. I made escabeche for the tostada. I also made the hairy eggplant salsa from start to finish. Diego had been toying with the idea of seasoning the chorizo differently, so we had time to experiment with that as well as begin the prawn stock for a weekend special, Taquitos Ahogados, or Black Tiger Prawn and mashed potatoes Taquitos with sour cream, fresh cheese, and prawn chilpachole. Finally, I learned to make flan from scratch.

On Friday, Emily had the chance to come visit me for the weekend! She stopped by ACAB and got to try the taquitos ahogados before it was put on the menu for the weekend. Because of how slow it was, I was able to spend some time with her upstairs at Ku Bar.

After a few days, Diego slowly began recovering from the stomach flu. Unfortunately, as he was getting better, I was beginning to experience the same symptoms he was having. At first I thought it would be over in a few days like it was for Diego, but little did I know it would get much worse for me. I started spending more and more time in the bathroom and walked around with constant stomach pains. I had a relentless headache that lasted for days. At night I would get a fever and sleep poorly. It started affecting my ability to work and I ended up taking the last two days of the work week off to allow my body to have maximum recovery. I can’t remember the last time I took a day off due to sickness, let alone two.

During the weekend, I felt obligated to follow Emily on some of her adventures. Unfortunately, it just made me feel all the sicker. We took a boat along the Chao Phraya River to enjoy the sites from the water. This exacerbated my symptoms.

The only other thing I felt I could do while she was here was visit the popular area known as Khao San Road since it was so close to where I was staying. I knew nothing of it besides it is where backpackers go. This is what I learned. Khao San Road is not for me. It is the most obnoxious street I think I may have ever experienced. It feels like the Las Vegas strip condensed into one block. There were people from all angles approaching us telling us to eat/drink at their bar, that they had a special two for one deal and so on. The amount of flashing lights was blinding. The blaring music was disorienting. Because of Covid, there weren’t many tourists so the employees were extra hungry for customers to come to them. By the end of the block, we were practically jogging out of there. This also didn’t help my sickness and I immediately went home and crashed.

It was the end of the weekend and I had spent most of the time with Emily in bed, sick. I drove her to the MRT station and went straight back to bed. Besides basically camping out in the bathroom, I spent the following days taking charcoal pills, watching movies like The Power of the Dog, The Lighthouse, and LA Originals, and ordering take out.

With now four days on bedrest, basically unable to leave my room, my body felt better. My headache went away and the stomach pains were muted. I knew I needed to get out despite the heat. I knew of a nearish restaurant that I wanted to try and decided to moto to gauge how I really felt in the real world. I ate at Sarnies Sourdough, and found myself ordering the breakfast pizza and a sourdough croissant.

One of the worst things about being so sick is being away from pizza. I had been craving it so badly. As soon as I was done ordering, I looked to my right to find Feng, or @leopardcrust two seats away. Her pizza has been wildly popular in Bangkok and I knew I had to say hello before I left. After a delicious meal, we happened to check out at the same time. I asked her if the breakfast pizza was her creation. She replied that it was not and was shocked someone recognized her. We spoke a bit longer and departed.

While I did feel much better, Diego and crew had plans all day so I decided I should still rest for as long as I could to be completely better for another week of work.

My first day back was quite unusual. I was so nervous about feeling well enough to go back to work again, that I got about two hours of sleep due to nerves and stomach pains. As I rolled in bed with pains, I kept visualizing how my digestive tract looked like ancient ruins and these new antibodies came to analyze how the tract used to work and so they spent all night tinkering around trying to rebuild my digestive tract. Their experiments and pain were a success and worth a sleepless night. I was solid again in the morning. On the flipside, I woke up with what seemed like a random sore throat. (This is foreshadowing what will become even more trouble for me later.)

The next morning I asked Diego to join me for lunch. I needed human contact. I drove us to one of my favorite restaurants, Red Istanbul Turkish Restaurant. I have always wanted to take a friend to it. I have befriended the owners Diamond (Turkish) and his wife, Goy (Thai) back when they had a much smaller stand nearby. Diamond is one of the burliest, most intense looking individuals I have ever met. He is the definition of buff, swole, and ripped and has a wicked beard and mustache to match. He is quite intimidating until you speak with him. I introduced Diamond to Diego and they immediately took a liking to each other. I mentioned who Diego was and when Diamond found out he was Mexican, all of the sudden, this man who I have known for almost a year, who barely spoke English, responded back in perfect Spanish! We were shocked! His Spanish was better than his English. I have told him in the past I am half Mexican but maybe it got lost in translation. We continued the rest of our lunch speaking to him in Spanish and thoroughly enjoyed the food. I hope he can make a trip to ACAB soon.

After lunch we made our way to ACAB to start our day when we noticed a lot of construction workers in the building. A techno bar is being built on the second floor of the building so we didn’t think too much of it. When we entered the kitchen, Lek looked befuddled. He told us that the power was out, which was a first for ACAB. All the refrigeration had stopped working and the smell was horrid. Everything went bad. We spent the first part of the day emptying out and deep cleaning moldy containers. The raw shrimp was even cooked from the heat! Because the power had gone out, we could only work until it got dark out. This meant that we would be closed for the day and had to work fast to restock all of what was lost.

Just some of our lost prep due to the power outage.

Also that day, the owners asked us to help move some equipment from ACAB to their truck on the street. Four of us took the elevator for this endeavor instead of the roller coaster of stairs since the items were heavy. Unfortunately, on our way back inside, the four of us got stuck inside the elevator. After about five seconds, we all knew that it was about to get extremely hot. A minute in and our clothes started to dampen. We took turns standing in front of a tiny breeze of air coming from the top corner of the elevator box. Lek called a few people to come help us but eventually a woman came and reset the elevator. It seemed like forever but we were finally out of there and finished what we could to restock our pantry and make up for lost product.

After we finished at ACAB, we drank a bit at Ku Bar before Diego, Marta, Kat and I made our way to Tai Soon Tung for some craft beer. The vibe was great and it was literally across the street from the famous chef, Jay Fai. After several beers, We went to Diego’s and went into ChillerZ Paradi$e mode. That is all I will say about that.

With two days left for my stage, I was not expecting that today would end up being my last day of work.

After getting lunch with Diego, I mentioned to him that my throat was quite sore and I was feeling exhausted. I was still feeling sick, but my symptoms had changed completely.

As if I am a bad luck charm, after we prepped for service, we had a day with no customers. I was assured this wasn’t common but I still felt bad.

Because of my throat, and the fact that ACAB was empty, I asked if I could take off early. They let me and I happened to get home as soon as Emily was coming to visit for another weekend. She noticed I wasn’t feeling well and asked if I could take an ATK test before she settled in.

What would you know? Ya boi got Covid. I was shocked to be honest. It didn’t make sense. Was the stomach flu actually Covid? Who did I get it from? But I am super boosted!

Emily wanted no part of it and literally grabbed her things and went back home.

I was confused and was kind of paralyzed as to what to do. Everyone else I had been around seemed fine and healthy.

I texted Diego and told him the news. Because I had just a few days left and I just tested positive, I doubted I would be able to test negative and finish my stage. We agreed that I could head back home and finish quarantine there.

I am convinced that because my immune system was already in a long battle with the stomach flu, that even the slightest whiff of Covid, could have come right in and my body wouldn’t have put up much of a fight.

During my quarantine I had a lot of time to think about the previous two weeks. It was a shame that it really ended up being just over a week of work rather than just over two. It was in those last few days I was going to make a family meal and learn a few Mexican dishes off-menu that Diego wanted to show me. I dislike not finishing things in general.

Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the likes of Diego and Lek. I respect those guys so much and am honored to have worked alongside them for the short time that I did. I hope to do another stint at some point and help out at future pop-ups. It also prepared me for future stages I may want to do.

While I can’t say I now know how to make such and such Mexican dish, I did learn a lot. I worked on my Mexican palate and confirmed that Mexican and Thai foods have so much in common but are done completely differently. I am aware of more Mexican dishes and the components that make up the dishes.

With a future summer visit to Mexico in the works, after a long hiatus, I am stoked to finally be going back to even more about Mexican cuisine and learning from family members.

This stage, while it took some turns for the worst, ultimately was an amazing experience and I look forward to how it will shape me in the future.

Summertime ‘22: Chicago (& Michigan City)

Hua Hin Happenings