Festival THAIme in Dallas

Crack open a coconut and try something new. Thai Culture and Food Festival blew my taste buds away.

There was a shocking amount of culture dancing through the festival, beautiful traditional outfits and, of course, a whole lot of out of this world (or just out of this Dallas world) food.

THIS. Kang Hun Lei (pork belly and tenderloin curry) was one of the best dishes I've ever eaten in my life. And I've eaten some amazing and weird things in my lifetime. I've never had a bite of something that represented the word "savory" more than THIS.

Plastic spooning this $6 mind blowing dish out of a styrofoam cup felt like a serious contradiction. Every bite was an experience in flavor. ANYWAYS you can try it for yourself. The restaurant is called Pandan Thai Kitchen located in Crowley and Keller, and it's worth the drive for that hard to please diner.

I sampled some terrible green tea icecream from WaiWai, BUT it tasted JUST like some of the desserts I didn't like during my trip to Japan so it's probably pretty authentic if bitter desserts is your thing. Their shrimp dumplings were pretty tasty though (the dipping sauce was perfectly sweet and salty).

The festival was held at The Buddhist Center of Dallas, once you walk in the gates, it feels like you've traveled across the world. Slip off your shoes as some monks shuffle by you swathed in traditional robes and step inside the temple to see the beautiful golden, painted walls and shrines.

Once back in the hot Dallas sunlight, a cup of home-made coconut ice-cream scooped on top of a stack of jack fruit was the perfect balance of refreshing and sweet. The creamy ice-cream was from Zato Restaurant, blended with real slivers of coconut served up by the sweetest smiling lady who didn't speak much English. Perfect.

I am a bit of a festival snob, having lived in Louisiana for several years, but this festival was one of the best I've been to in Dallas. The Buddhist Center of Dallas is open to the public, go take a stroll if you're curious. I'll let you know how the coconuts and pork belly measure up to the real thing once I get back from my trip to Thailand in a few months.

Seriously though, that pork belly.