My first tryst with Shawarma was way back in 2006. It was my birthday and my friends and I had gone to burrp at The Forum mall for our evening of nashta paani! There I saw a gigantic chunk of chicken vertically skewered on a grill staring at me. I had been open to trying new dishes and this one was a must. I went ahead and and asked about the dish, the word lebanese was so mouth watering when jointly said with the word 'food' that I could not say no.
Few minutes later, there it was, grilled chicken wrapped in pita bread and stuffed with garlic sauce and pickles. From that day, Shawarma for me was a compulsory food to eat whenever I visited the mall.
FAST FORWARD>>> 2011, its Bangkok Time. Yes, I was elated and excited for my very fist phoren trip. Google was my best friend those days advising me on what to do and also what to do that one should not do :D ;) ....
Once in Thailand, I was excited to see the roads, bikes, buildings. I was truly in the metropolis of Thailand. From TV shows and Google, I knew that street food culture was an important part of the thai gastronomy and I was all ready to dig into the new food experiences.
My major concerns was that I did wanted to eat where pork was being served, precisely for three reasons:
1- Pork is haram in Islam
2- The thai people were not very good at understanding English (Not generalising, simply based on personal experience) and there was a fair chance for them to make mistake. (An incident happened with my friend where an international burger chain served him beef when he asked for chicken, so there was no reason for me to take chance)
3- They would use the same grill/oil/utensils to prepare chicken and pork which was a strict no no for me.
So my only way out from this difficult situation was Arab Street. What energy that place had. People form different countries, mostly middle east, running superb food joints. I headed straight to a shop and there i see the Shawarma, this there was a beef option.
It was 4 PM and I was hungry. I wasted no time after shawarma was served and the taste was so different, so good, so delicious. I noticed that before serving shawarma, the cook use to press the shawarma in a sandwich toaster which gave a crispy crust to the roll and the filling this time included pickle, jalapenos , garlic sauce and lettuce. all this for 60 Baht. I tried to eat at different shop everytime I went for my meals. Once to an Egyptian, then to a Syrian, then to someone from some other middle eastern country.
For rest of my 5 days in Bangkok, I lived on shawarma, eating two at a time and thrice a day.
Surely, I was at ease with Lebanese!
Few minutes later, there it was, grilled chicken wrapped in pita bread and stuffed with garlic sauce and pickles. From that day, Shawarma for me was a compulsory food to eat whenever I visited the mall.
FAST FORWARD>>> 2011, its Bangkok Time. Yes, I was elated and excited for my very fist phoren trip. Google was my best friend those days advising me on what to do and also what to do that one should not do :D ;) ....
Once in Thailand, I was excited to see the roads, bikes, buildings. I was truly in the metropolis of Thailand. From TV shows and Google, I knew that street food culture was an important part of the thai gastronomy and I was all ready to dig into the new food experiences.
My major concerns was that I did wanted to eat where pork was being served, precisely for three reasons:
1- Pork is haram in Islam
2- The thai people were not very good at understanding English (Not generalising, simply based on personal experience) and there was a fair chance for them to make mistake. (An incident happened with my friend where an international burger chain served him beef when he asked for chicken, so there was no reason for me to take chance)
3- They would use the same grill/oil/utensils to prepare chicken and pork which was a strict no no for me.
So my only way out from this difficult situation was Arab Street. What energy that place had. People form different countries, mostly middle east, running superb food joints. I headed straight to a shop and there i see the Shawarma, this there was a beef option.
It was 4 PM and I was hungry. I wasted no time after shawarma was served and the taste was so different, so good, so delicious. I noticed that before serving shawarma, the cook use to press the shawarma in a sandwich toaster which gave a crispy crust to the roll and the filling this time included pickle, jalapenos , garlic sauce and lettuce. all this for 60 Baht. I tried to eat at different shop everytime I went for my meals. Once to an Egyptian, then to a Syrian, then to someone from some other middle eastern country.
For rest of my 5 days in Bangkok, I lived on shawarma, eating two at a time and thrice a day.
Surely, I was at ease with Lebanese!
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