Jeet Yet? I’m Starving!
As you are all aware, Covid has really disrupted traveling recently, especially over the holidays with Omicron sweeping through the U.S. and world.
Due to this, we were hesitant to plan a trip back to the states because of how complicated it has been to re-enter Thailand. However, on Nov. 1 the government opened a new Test and Go program that only required 1 night of quarantine with a full vaccination certificate and negative test result. This was great news!
In addition, we wanted to use our annual benefit from Emily’s school, which is a ticket back home. We postponed using this benefit last year due to Covid, but with the news of Test and Go, as well as a stressful semester for Emily, we decided rest and reconnection with family and friends would be our choice for this holiday.
We booked the fastest itinerary to Chicago, avoiding any domestic flights in the U.S.. We packed our bags with only the necessities, which included a butt load of kitchen supplies, and a few pairs of pants and sweaters that we certainly don’t need to keep here in Bangkok. Most of our winter clothes had been left behind in the states, so we didn’t need to pack much. After zipping the last bag, we prepared for a looong trip back to Indiana.
We enjoyed our international flights with Japan Airways – yummy meals, lots of snacks, and free alcohol! We also were fairly spaced out from any other passengers.
While Emily can fall asleep anywhere, anytime; I on the other hand, cannot. I did not sleep a wink during our travels and ended up awake for nearly 36 hours of travel. And since we arrived in the early morning, it was a total of 50 hours before I had a chance to sleep.
Once we arrived in Chicago, we were blasted by the shocking cold. Having not experienced sub 85 degree weather in the past year and a half in Thailand, stepping out of the gate into freezing temperatures was intense. I asked my mom (who came to pick us up) to bring water and blankets because we knew we would be cold. Just as Bangkok smacks you with the heat when you get off the plane, Midwest winters can hit just as hard!
On the drive back to Goshen we were pulled over by the cops. It was at that moment, I knew I was back in America. #acab
First impressions on our drive to Goshen…
Winter in the Midwest is barren. Empty fields for miles and miles.
Everything is a shade of brown or black.
Quiet. No bustling traffic or loads of people.
Hues of gray in the sky. Very little sun or blue sky.
On the way home, my mom asked if we wanted to stop by a panaderia and taqueria before we arrived home. I wanted to kiss her. We only ever had one good taco in Thailand and that was about a week before we arrived. So those words struck a beautiful chord. We got off the highway and found ourselves in Elkhart. We collected various types of pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) at Hernandez Bakery and indulged in several tacos nearby at Rosal Supermarket.
The nostalgia and mouth watering combination of eating and smelling freshly baked churros, elotes, cuernos polveado, conchas, bolillos, and so much more… there is just no better aroma than a panaderia.
The tacos we enjoyed were delicious. I didn’t want them to end. To have proper chorizo on quality corn tortillas after so long was an incredible feeling. It felt as if a part of me was revived. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.
Indiana has its problems, but one thing my hometown can do is make some damn good Mexican food.
Our first couple days were spent getting over jetlag, hanging out with family, and eating.
The places we ate:
Venturi, a Neapolitan pizzeria (and the best Neapolitan we’ve ever had, hands down).
Goshen Noodles, a simple Vietnamese joint (one of three Asian food places in town).
Biebs and Ash, a new smash burger place (one of two new burger shops in Goshen) with crazy good cinnamon rolls.
Common Spirits, a cocktail bar with good wings.
This was also a chance to just devour as much homemade Mexican food as we could. We ate posole, tamales, tacos, pan dulce, and various chicken and soup dishes.
Our first outing was a day trip up to Kalamazoo, Michigan where we met up with one of my best friends, Chris, to eat and catch up. We were lucky enough to have some of the best fries we have tasted at HopCat as well as purchasing other necessary items that Indiana has yet to recognize legally. ;)
One thing that I wanted to be sure I did while back home was to cook as much as I could. One way of doing this for the community was to hold a pop-up where I could sell bowls of khao soi to friends and family. Khao soi is a curried noodle dish from the northern part of Thailand. In order to do this, I had to practice here in Bangkok before leaving with the ingredients and tools I anticipated I would have (or not have) in Goshen.
Fortunately I remembered that our local brewery, Goshen Brewing Company (GBCo. for short), has a few Thai/Thai-inspired dishes on their menu. I emailed the head chef, Jesse Shoemaker, to connect and see if he could help me out with kitchen tools and tips about getting certain ingredients. He agreed to help me and also was excited to meet up and possibly cook together.
In the first couple of days in Goshen I met the two people who would be essential to the success of my Khao Soi Pop-up: Jaren, the owner of the local Asian Market, and Jesse, head chef at GBCo.
Emily and I had met Jaren before we left for Thailand in the summer of 2020. At that time I didn’t recognize too many of the ingredients at the market, aside from the couple of Thai dishes I had dabbled in cooking when living in Seattle. We told him that we were moving to Thailand soon and he was very excited for us. I told him that whenever I am able to return, I would make him Thai food (even though his market includes a small kitchen and sells a few Asian dishes). He was thankful and we departed.
Now that we were back, I wanted to reconnect and fulfill that promise. Em and I ended up going to that market several times during our stay. It was exciting to recognize so many more ingredients. He remembered us and we got to talking about Thailand and Thai food. I saw him frequently as I picked up more and more ingredients for the pop-up as well as for the food I would be preparing for our families.
I had much anticipation of meeting Jesse. GBCo. is a very popular spot in the area, and I had never reached out to a chef in this way before. Upon meeting, we soon realized we were kindred spirits when it comes to Thai food. Jesse appreciated having someone to discuss Thai food with, since it isn’t very common in the Goshen area. At that time, we discussed the process of making khao soi, and I borrowed a few kitchen tools for my stay. Jesse’s hospitality was wonderful and really made my Thai food cooking possible.
The day after Christmas Jesse and I started the preparations for the khao soi that I would start selling the following day. After making a 20 hour chicken stock, making the actual broth and noodles was fairly simple. It spent the night in a fridge to meld the flavors together and by the following day, it was ready.
By this point I had about 30 servings reserved which I felt great about. My mom and I spent the mornings prepping the toppings and garnishes. She told me that next time I visit, she would appreciate it if I didn’t cook every day, since she was spending hours with me prepping while she was also on vacation. We will see, Ma.
The next two days I got to see several friends and family enjoy the labors of my work. Khao Soi is one of my favorite Thai dishes. I know the version I made in Goshen isn’t the best I’ve made, considering the lack of fresh, local ingredients I can obtain in Thailand; however, people still really enjoyed it. This was my first pop-up and it felt wonderful! I would like to repeat this process again in the future, for sure. Jesse and I even talked about some options for future visits that would be more in depth and on a larger scale.
In case you’re wondering, I did save a portion for Jaren from the Asia Market to try. He told me he wanted the recipe since he doesn’t know how to make khao soi and showed his thanks. It was great to meet Jaren again and I hope I can make him more food in the future.
As a treat to myself after all this work, I decided to do a solo dinner at Venturi and “dined like a king” as the staff put it.
Now for the most stressful morning of our trip…
It all began because I was still jet lagged and was awake at 1 am. I received a text from a friend who lives in Bangkok but was traveling in India at the time. His text said that because the global cases of Omicron were rising, Thailand was shutting down the Test and Go program immediately and that we had until noon (our time) to apply for Test and Go and figure out our hotel and covid test situations. After learning this from him, I started to see more headlines and alerts on Facebook so I knew this was some serious news. I went to wake Emily up to update her on this sudden news.
This was unexpected, to say the least, for us but also for thousands of residents who were currently traveling outside of Thailand. Even though we knew we should have applied for our Thailand Pass (the documentation that shows you can re-enter the country) before leaving the country, the rules were constantly changing so we were waiting a bit to see how things developed. We had no choice at this point. We rushed to find the proper paperwork and hotel reservation to quickly submit our documents for the Test and Go program. Unfortunately it was night time in Thailand so many of the phone calls we tried making went nowhere, or the hotel teams weren’t taking new bookings. It was a whirlwind, to say the least; although, we made it in time with a couple of hours to spare.
Unfortunately, the chaos didn’t stop there. We had to wait for our application to be approved. The next day we both received an email that read “Your application has been rejected.”
NOOOOO!
One of the documents Emily had submitted didn’t have the exact language necessary to qualify, even though it was the correct booking. The window for reapplying was now closed, so we could not resubmit our correct documentation.
Emily quickly found the correct document, and had no choice but to send it to all of the emails she could find - ALL the Thai embassies in the U.S., the Test and Go support, her school, even some of her colleagues - to find out if there was any way to appeal this rejection.
Thankfully, a couple of hours later the L.A. consulate replied that we had been approved by the Test and Go Support team. Phew! We felt so lucky to have been approved after our rejection, because in the days and weeks afterwards, we heard too many stories of friends, colleagues, and other expats who were not as lucky.
But for now, we could breathe again and return to enjoying our holiday with family and friends.
In the days leading up to Christmas, I wanted to make Thai food for my family.
I spent the next three evenings making Thai food for my mom and her family, my dad, and Emily’s family.
The dishes I was able to put together to share were as follows:
Som Tam
Laap Gai Issan
Stir fried Oyster Mushrooms
Stir fried Pumpkin with Shrimp and Egg
Jasmine Rice
It was such a pleasure seeing the reactions from them as they ate real Thai (and Thai/Chinese) for the first time. Despite some of the dishes being spicy (like Som Tam), they weathered the storm and claimed they loved it despite the chilies. It was special to share this bit of our international experience with our loved ones.
Christmas day is always busy. Because my parents are divorced it’s always been split between two places, and now adding Emily’s family makes for a full day.
We opened presents with Emily’s family on Christmas morning. Then we stopped by my Mom’s house, and there was a Smash Bros showdown with my brothers. Finally, we made it to my Dad’s house in South Bend to hang out and enjoy the Christmas evening. I got to try out my brother's VR set and played a couple more games together. It was nice to spend time with siblings and parents that we haven’t gotten to see in a while.
While Covid didn’t allow us to feel comfortable seeing all of our friends, we were still able to visit and chat with a few close ones. Since our friend Austin was in town, we got to meet up with him several times. We took time to visit Debbie Gunden, for those who know who I am talking about. A sight for sore eyes to say the least. We also caught up with one of my favorite people in the world, Niles and his wonderful wife Corine (who is expecting). He showed us around his new (and temporary) factory where he jokes about having me be his company’s future full time chef. :P It was also nice to see and catch up with Amanda as we saw her serving at Biebs and GBCo..
While I was working on preparing the khao soi, Emily decided to go to Michigan City to spend time with one of her (and our) best friends, Cassie Yeater.
She was also able to visit with Alita and Sara throughout our stay as well.
Later on, Jesse invited us to come to GBCo. to try all his Thai/Thai-inspired dishes. He wanted my opinion, by which I was honored. I wouldn’t claim to be any sort of expert on Thai food because I am still at the beginning of my journey into it, however, we have lived in Thailand for a year and a half now and I know how things generally taste.
We ordered-
Phad Thai
Thai Pork Wraps (a combination of Ma Hor and Miang Kham)
Thai’d Chicken Sandwich
Stir Fried Brussel Sprouts
Green Curry with Beef
Shoyu Ramen (the month’s special, for fun)
He sat down and ate with us as we tried all the dishes. I was stoked. Over the course of my time in Goshen and having spent several hours with Jesse at this point, I felt like I could be honest with him and give him feedback.
In the end, I thought his food was tasty regardless of what cuisine it was. He understands the blending of flavors well and is a great cook. I can’t imagine trying to source all the necessary ingredients to make proper Thai food in the middle of the U.S.. I think he does a great job with what he has available. I can’t say it tasted like dishes I would get here in Thailand, but his years as a chef shine through because the dishes still tasted great and I am glad he has a platform where he can showcase his passions to my hometown community.
His food is well loved by the community, and feeds hundreds of people daily. I applaud him for getting people from our small town excited about Thai food. Jesse says the company owes him a trip to Thailand which I would love to show him around. I appreciate all that Jesse has done for me on this trip and I hope to return the favor when he comes to the Kingdom.
On New Year’s Eve, Emily and I visited some family. It is my tia Nena’s birthday and we wanted to come celebrate. Unfortunately she and one of her daughters were working that day and didn't get off until 11pm. My tio Chuy secretly made her birria (goat) and rice. He isn’t necessarily a cook, since my tia is so talented in the kitchen, but boy was it good. We waited until she got home before we all ate tacos de birria and cake. Instead of counting down the new year, we sang Happy Birthday to her.
The following day we visited my dad one more time and took the opportunity to eat what would be the only fast food during our trip. In South Bend there is a Chick-fil-A next to a Chipotle. We had to get both. Is Chipotle Mexican? Not really. Is it delicious? Fuck yeah. The combo was so satisfying. 100% recommend.
For our final day before our early morning departure, my tia Nena asked if we had time to stop by so she could show me how she makes her chorizo. This has been THE thing I wanted to do the entire time I was in Goshen but because she is one of the head chef’s at a fancy restaurant, this time of year is extremely busy for her. The whole process was much quicker and simpler than we anticipated. We even got to taste it right after she finished making it! We were eating chorizo tacos in no time.
My aunt is by far the hardest working person I know. I look up to her on so many levels and appreciate the effort she put into fitting me in for one quick cooking lesson before I left. Tia Nena, te amo mucho.
This was followed by a lunch with our moms at Venturi for a mother’s lunch. They have only met once before and so it was nice for them to meet again.
I told my younger brother Alex that Emily and I would spend some time with him before we left so we decided to take him to the Goshen dam and walk around the trails. It was a beautiful (and freezing) snowy day. We tried finding a place to get a snack and settled at the Electric Brew. Alex insisted he drinks coffee now (he is 12 -_-) but we settled on hot chocolate and a blueberry coffee cake. I think he appreciated the time away from parents to hang out.
We said our goodbyes to my family and went into packing mode the rest of the day. We had a surprise last minute visit from Austin as we were packing. Austin truly made our trip a blessing. We have been best friends since 7th grade and it is always a treat and a good time whenever we are together.
The following morning, we woke up at 3:45am to drive to the O'Hare airport. O'Hare was quite busy when we arrived, considering it was the Monday after the holidays. Luckily, our Japan Airways counter was empty and we were seen through very quickly. We had all the necessary paperwork, and made it through smoothly. Phew!
The flights to Tokyo and Bangkok were fairly normal. We watched several films including Space Jam, Tenet, No Sudden Move, Drive My Car, and several Japanese shows. The flights were fairly empty so we were able to spread out a bit.
Our Test and Go process went well and we are now back in Bangkok, where the weather is not cold, full of color, and the streets are filled with the smells and sounds of street food.
Our time in Goshen was quick but we made the most of it and I got to experience my first pop-up (and it was a success!). Seeing friends and family was great and the best part is that we did not get Covid despite all the odds.
Getting back in the swing of things in Bangkok is happening slowly. Because of the rising cases, Emily’s school is starting back online for a week. I am restocking my pantry and all is well.
Back to the land of bidets and bum guns. Life is good.
“Jeet” - is Midwest slang for “Did you eat?”
