Somebody Feed Phil (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Bangkok - full transcript

Hello. How are you?

♪ A happy, hungry man ♪

♪ Is traveling
All across the sea and the land ♪

♪ He's trying to understand ♪

♪ The art of pasta, pork
Chicken, and lamb ♪

♪ He will drive to you ♪

♪ He will fly to you ♪

♪ He will sing for you ♪

♪ And he'll dance for you ♪

♪ He will laugh with you ♪

♪ And he'll cry for you ♪



♪ There's just one thing
He asks in return ♪

♪ Somebody feed, somebody feed ♪

♪ Can somebody ♪

♪ Somebody feed Phil? ♪

♪ Somebody feed him now ♪

Bangkok, capital of Thailand.

The Venice of the east.

First thing off the plane in Bangkok,
we're at the floating market.

Oh, my. Oh...

- Your chariot awaits.
- This is the floating market?

Yes.

I usually don't get in anything
under 150 feet.

Hello, sir.

- I take it you've done this before.
- No, no, no.



- No?
- Sit down, please.

Sit down, please.

This was a tiny wooden rickety boat

with a plank about this big
for me to sit on.

Luckily, I was born without a behind,
so I fit perfectly.

Whoo...

Okay.

I'm not the greatest swimmer.

Okay. We're okay.

We're not going to die. Okay!

My friend Chow, everybody.

Thai-American journalist
and street food expert,

Chawadee Nualkhair,
is the perfect guide for this place.

This is one of many floating markets
in and around not just Bangkok,

- but all of Thailand.
- This is a way of seeing Bangkok

as people lived it maybe
50, 60 years ago even.

So if you were shopping for the day,

- this was a trip to the supermarket.
- A trip to the supermarket.

You just float past boat after boat
after boat selling amazing food.

This is ultimate drive-thru.

Do you like bananas?

- They are grilling bananas.
- I like everything. Let's do it.

- Want to?
- Yeah, why not? I'll try everything, yeah.

- Kob kun krub is "thank you."
- Kob kun krub.

This is my first bite of street food
in Thailand.

It's a good one.

The grilling makes kind of like
a French fry, like, mushy on the inside.

- Nothing wrong with that.
- Nothing wrong with a French fry.

And, you know,
we like anything on a stick.

Here's a woman, she's in her boat...

as she makes you pad thai.

She could be on land.

- Land is right there.
- Well, yes.

But she likes the boat.

- Kob kun ka.
- That's beautiful!

- Look at that.
- The noodles, why are they pink?

Because of the tamarind juice
that's in the sauce.

Oh, genius.

I'm not exaggerating,
the best pad thai I ever had.

- Absolutely delicious.
- Mm.

It's really good.

Such a romantic way to have lunch.

It's like a fairy tale.

Moving on.

What? What? You're excited.

There's boat noodles.

Yeah, do it! Do it! Do it! Yes!

Boat noodles, perfect for today.

Kob kun ka.

It's got like a cinnamony,
clovey kind of aftertaste.

It's pretty impressive,
the level of cooking on the boat.

I can't imagine anyone not liking this
except my parents.

"This is the restaurant?
This is a restaurant?"

This is a wonderland to me.

We have zero like this.

This is why you travel.

- There's monkeys by the shore...
- Oh, my God!

...and it's good luck to feed them.

- You get a lot of merits if you...
- It's making merit.

- Richard.
- No way!

That's my brother, the producer.
That's how I used to feed him at home.

If he didn't catch it,
he didn't eat that day.

Meanwhile, you're looking
at the little shrines and temples,

and there are huts and shacks
on the water that people live on,

and they take their boats to work,

or their boats are work,

and it's all part
of this majestic daily life.

- She'd like to give you this.
- What?

It's made out of pendennis leaf.
It's very... aromatic.

- How sweet is that?
- Yeah.

Aww. You are the best.
I gotta give her something.

We gotta give her...
I can't take it for nothing.

- Free. I give. Free.
- No.

I'm gonna give these to my wife.

Kob kun krub.

How do you not fall in love?

There's a lot more to see here
if I can get out of the damn boat.

Oy.

This floating market
is adjacent to a larger market,

and then we get out
and walk through there.

Oh, what's this?

This is actually
one of my favorite desserts.

It's khanom tua pap.

These are sticky rice flour crepes
cooked on a griddle.

They're filled with shrimp and coconut
and mung beans and sesame.

This is hard to eat.

Okay. Do you see that?

It's like pizza.

- The yellow is mung bean?
- Mung bean.

Mung bean.

- This is kind of...
- That's what my wife calls me.

It's kind of chalky.
It's not my favorite, that one.

What do you think?

Not as delightful as it could be.

Every great city has a market,

and it's my favorite place to start

- because it's a microcosm of life.
- Exactly.

Usually I go around
and I eat everything savory.

- Right.
- Then the dessert tour,

but here, because they blend
sweet and salty anyway...

So much. Yeah.

You can go back and forth. No problem.

Ooh.

Then you go down a little more,
and then you come upon a sundae bar.

You get the young, fresh coconut.

They pop the top off of this.

They scoop some of the meat
of the coconut, right,

and then mix it
with fresh homemade coconut ice cream.

- And then any topping you want.
- What?

- So this is the toppings bar!
- Yes!

I thought they were just selling...
Come on!

- You've got sticky rice, pumpkin...
- Yes! Yes!

This is... We found it.

- Which one?
- All.

- Palm seeds?
- Everything!

You want tomatoes?

- No, I'm not crazy.
- That's kind of weird.

This should be at every birthday party.

Think I want it at my birthday party.
If anybody's listening, I would like this.

Isn't that genius?

Genius! Oh.

- We're not gonna beat this.
- It's great with the rice.

You know what they say
at the end of Casablanca?

- "Here's looking at you, kid?"
- Nope.

"I think this is the beginning
of a beautiful friendship."

Bangkok can be a little daunting at first.

The heat, the traffic.

There are lots and lots of people,
but they're all smiling at me.

- Hello!
- Hello!

Now this is a very famous place
called the Authors' Lounge.

Somerset Maugham,
Joseph Conrad, Noël Coward,

they all used to hang out here.

Okay. Whoa.

Oh, yeah?

I'll never be the writer that they were.
I can't even drink like they used to here.

- Kob kun krub.
- Mm-hmm.

But I can have tea
at the Authors' Lounge.

Beautiful place.

Thank you.

Do you know the history of this room?

- Yes.
- You do? Can you tell me?

Uh... For, uh...
This is our Marco Polo tea.

Oh, thank you.

- Beautiful.
- Enjoy.

Thank you.

That was quite the history lesson.

Well, history was never
my best subject anyway.

My best subject was actually snack time.

Oh.

No idea.

Wow.

Curry, spicy.

Look at this. Look at this guy.

Looks like an egg
with maybe some crab in it.

Look how much work went into this.

I'm feeling very civilized...

while I eat like an animal.

Come on.

Mm.

Mango, sticky rice.

Mango sticky rice tart.

We have a winner.

I'm inspired by the Authors' Lounge
to meet a real-life author...

so we're heading for a great little place
called the Err...

which is a beautiful cafe

run by this couple, Bo and Dylan.

He's from Australia. She's from Bangkok.

In 2013, Bo was named
the best female chef in Asia.

Err is their newest venture,

with an idealized take
on street food and cocktails.

- I'm Phil.
- Nice to meet you.

- Great to meet you.
- How are you?

I meet Lawrence Osborne there.

He's an internationally acclaimed
British novelist,

journalist, and travel writer,

and he's lived everywhere
from New York to Istanbul...

and chose Bangkok to live

out of every place he's been in the world.

Is this the best place

to gain access to the rest of Asia?

- Yes. It's bang in the middle of it.
- It's right in the middle.

If you draw a circle 2,000 miles wide
around Bangkok,

there are more people living inside
that circle than outside it, in the world.

Wow.

So you're within four hours
of Japan, China.

It's a very good base.

What's happening?

Our signature cocktail, called the Err.

It's fresh passion fruit,
Thai rum, a little chili.

GM Tini is Thai basil, popcorn spirit,

and then our delicious
spicy popcorn on top.

We're not going to survive this,
I don't think. Cheers!

- Nice to meet you.
- To your health.

- Ooh.
- Wah.

Do what your mother says. Wow.

And what's that?

Chicken movie.

Oh.

- Chicken movie?
- It's chicken movie.

- My favorite movie.
- No idea.

- Used to be The Godfather.
- Now it's chicken movie.

- Look.
- What is...? Oh, I see.

- Isn't that wild?
- Yeah, it's cute.

It's got a little cocktail stick
though it.

The chicken passes through,

and they take its skin
right off the machine.

A vaporized chicken.

Yeah, a vaporized chicken.

- Mm, that's wonderful.
- This is awesome.

Who doesn't like chicken skin?

What do you think
my frame of reference is for Thailand?

Hangover 2.

It was The King and I.

There's something in that depiction
of the Thai king and the Thai personality

which is both ridiculous and arrog...
and accurate.

And I heard that the actual king
that he's based on

- was a brilliant man.
- Yeah.

Knew every language, didn't need
to be schooled by a Westerner.

And interested in science.

The Thai kings have always
been interested in science.

I can see why...

Thai people would have been insulted
by The King and I.

But the film was banned in Thailand.

- You can't watch it here.
- I heard that.

It's the one thing you can't do.
You can't discuss the monarchy.

So this conversation right now
we shouldn't have.

Probably not.

Did you take to Bangkok immediately?

No, I hated it at first.

- That's how I felt about L.A.
- Bangkok is not easy to get to know.

It's very big, it's very confused,
it's very hot,

but at night,
you go out at seven or eight,

bang, it's a pleasure garden.

The whole city turns into
this extraordinarily enjoyable spectacle.

For me, this is a very congenial,
comfortable, easy,

and pleasurable place to live.

And very tolerant.

- I see that.
- Thais will leave you alone.

They won't interfere in your life,
won't tell you what to do, won't spy.

And they bring unlimited drinks.

They bring unlimited drinks,
which I don't think can...

In fact, we're not going to be able to...
We'll be taken out of here on stretchers.

On the back of a scooter.

- Confrontation is very rare here.
- I think confrontations are very rare.

I mean, for example, I almost never see
couples screaming at each other.

- What?!
- Just something that doesn't happen here.

It does happen,
but you don't see it on the street.

I'm gonna bring my wife.
I'll show them how it's done.

Speaking of happy couples,
Bo and Dylan come over

and bring me some more food
to help soak up the booze.

So this one is the salted mackerel.

And when we Thai eat the salted mackerel,
we eat with like steaming hot rice.

But to serve that in a restaurant,
the rice normally gets cold and I hate it.

So I ball it, deep fry it, and make sure
it's still hot when you eat it.

- And the rice is inside. Brilliant.
- Yeah.

- What's it like to work with your wife?
- I wouldn't recommend it.

- But she'd say the same thing.
- Spit take!

She looks lovely to work with!

You're the one
that's horrible to work with.

But you're married how long?

I would say too long, normally.

- Five years.
- Are you sure you're not Jewish?

Thais and Jews, very similar.

We make the same joke.

- Yeah.
- Five years going March, actually.

If you like street food,
Bangkok is your heaven.

There's a reason the street food here
is considered the best in the world.

It's an art form
as old as the city itself.

And there's one neighborhood that's been
perfecting it for the last 200 years.

The best way to get there
or anywhere in the city is by tuk tuk.

This is the legendary Yaowarat Road
in Bangkok's Chinatown.

I have absolutely no idea where I'm going,
let alone what I want to eat.

Have I mentioned
you could die crossing the street?

I lived!

Big line.

I'm going to wait on this line
for at least as long as it takes

for me to figure out what it is for.

- Hello.
- Hello.

Would you like organ?

- Okay.
- Okay.

Fifty baht.

So it's a bag of soup.

It's a bag of soup.
I thought it'd be in a cup.

Like a paper bowl maybe.

But this is to take home.

I guess I could wait for it to cool
a little and suck it out of the bag.

All right, that was fun.

I'm actually looking
for something I can eat now.

- Forty baht?
- Forty.

Okay.

So this is one of my favorite movies.

Duck Soup.

Mm!

Come on!

What did I pay, 50 cents?
It's as good as anything.

I think if I lived here,

I'd be on this street
twice a week, easily.

There are two things that maybe
are the best in Thailand

than anywhere else I've been.

One is soup,

and the other is fruit.

Thailand is known for having
the best fruit in the world,

including a notoriously stinky one
called "durian."

It's banned in most public places
because it supposedly smells so bad.

I've heard you either love it
or you hate it, so here I go.

Our fixer here in Thailand, Nok,
helps me spot it.

Here's durian, right?

- All right, I'm gonna try my first one.
- Wow.

We should just get a little bit.

I'm a little nervous.

It's like custard.

- It's like what?
- Custard.

Custard.

It's really good. Try it.

Come on, Phil.

♪ Phil can do it
Phil can do it ♪

They say it's supposed to smell
so terrible, right?

It's nice.

- Really?
- It's nice. Yeah.

Look at the people.
You thought I was going to go, "Ah!"

I was expecting limburger cheese.

I don't know what I was expecting,
but it's very good.

So glad you tried it, right?

I'm so glad I tried it
because now I'm not afraid.

Listen, the worst
that would have happened is...

I drop dead.

That would be the worst.

This is fun now because I...

You know, you see things,
they seem a little strange to me,

and I always heard about durian
that it would be smelly and terrible,

and then I tried it and I liked it,
and now, the whole evening is better.

- Everything is good now.
- That's great!

- That's life.
- It's a good surprise.

Wat Pho.

It's one of the largest, oldest
religious shrines in Bangkok.

It was established in the 1700s
by King Rama the First.

It was the country's
first public university,

and it's even the birthplace
of Thai massage.

The architecture alone,
it's so magnificent!

And the sunlight glinting off the gold
and the rooftops of these temples.

You're in another world.

It's the reclining Buddha,

which is one of the largest shrines
of any kind, anywhere.

You can see photos of it,

but there's nothing like
standing in front of such a thing.

Chow said I had to see this place,
so I asked her to join me.

Do you know why
it's a reclining Buddha?

Because he's the most chill deity
I've ever seen. Right?

Exactly. I feel like it's a very
sabai sabai Thai attitude, like,

"I'm gonna chill here, you know.
No worries."

I think the teachings of the Buddha
are about centering yourself,

being happy with yourself,

and shutting out all the distractions
that might make you unhappy,

like social media.

Like, you know...

Yeah, I noticed he didn't have phone.

This is exactly how my parents
decorated our backyard when I was a kid.

Tell me about the monks.

Is it everyone is a monk
for a period of time?

Yes, traditionally, Thai men go
through a month where they become monks,

they shave their heads.

And then people stay monks.

I do know of one person
who stayed a monk.

Is it a friend of yours?

- Yeah, his name was Norman.
- Norman the monk.

Now I'm off to meet Lawrence for
a different kind of religious experience:

dinner at his favorite place in Bangkok's
Ghost Gate District, Jay Fai.

It's the name of the place.
It's the name of the lady.

The lady is in her 70s,

and she's been working there
almost her entire life.

Oh. Hello!

How are you? I'm Phil.

- Jay Fai Kaa. Jay Fai Kaa.
- Jay Fai.

Are those prescription?

Beautiful!

I love this lady. How about the goggles?

Right? It looks like she's Snoopy
going off to fight the Red Baron.

Wears them to protect her eyes.

- From the smoke, right?
- Yeah, from the smoke.

The smoke comes from the wood fires
that heat the wok

that cook the dish
that has made her world-famous.

This is Jay Fai's crab omelet.

- Oh, that's a lot of crab!
- That's a lot of crab.

Come on! I think I'm in love.

Huge amount of crab. I think
it has the meat of two or three crabs.

I have never been so interested
in the cooking of anything in my life.

They submerge it.

Fantastic. Look at that.

She's like a pilot.

It's incredible.

- What's that?
- She's pouring more egg on the outside.

- More egg?
- So as it's cooking on the underside,

she's putting in more raw egg on the top
to insulate it and make it moist.

A Thai word you have to learn
if you love food: hom.

- Hom means?
- Which means "It smells good."

It sure does. Hom.

- Hom.
- Hom.

Hom.

Hom.

At the end of the day,
what you get is a...

uh, basically a football filled with crab.

Ah!

Look at that.

That is a crab omelet.

Oh, my God, this...

- That's about like half a pound of crab.
- I'm taking her to L.A.

Wow.

One of the more delicious things
I ever ate in my life.

I know I say that a lot.

This was one of the more delicious things
I've ever eaten in my life.

And it's the freshest, lightest,
most delicious crab.

Yeah. Bangkok is just by the sea.

The seafood in Bangkok is fantastic.

Today's lesson:

take the long flight to Bangkok for this.

Then she brought the soup.

Tom Yum Kha.

- Ooh.
- Ooh.

Wow. Am I gonna bathe in it?

Every Thai restaurant in America
has Tom Yum soup on their menu,

but they don't have Jay Fai making it.

This is like a lobster tail in your soup.

- First of all, that smell.
- Yeah. Mm.

This is what we eat here
when we get colds.

I would try the broth first
to see how hot it is.

Tom Yum is usually pretty hot.

Yes.

Well, deal with it!
Deal with it! Deal with it!

I'm doing it, man.

Oh, man. Oh, Jesus.

Really good.

- It's really good.
- Ah!

Now we're in Bangkok!

Feel sweat running down your back?

This makes me so happy.

There was so much soup.

I have a giant tank of it.

We didn't put a dent in that bowl.

- I gotta share this with the crew.
- Yeah, let 'em eat it.

Hey, guys.

You need a bowl? Here you go.

Everybody get a spoon. Grab a spoon.

Everybody gets a shrimp!

I'm like Oprah!
You get a shrimp, and you get a shrimp!

It literally fed...

one, two, three, four, five, six, eight...
like, eight people.

And I still have more!

Let's get you a shrimp.

And I got for you, too.

No, no, I got it for him. Here it is.

Oh, he's got it.

Jay Fai, everybody!

Love. How do you say love? Love?

- Rak.
- Rak.

Say, "Phom rak khun."

- Phom rak khun.
- "I love you." Phom rak khun.

Phom rak khun. Phom rak khun.

I wish you all the happiness.

Aww...

Thank you so much.

The next Mrs. Rosenthal.

Oh, my God.

Bangkok has incredible food markets,

which are invaluable to street vendors
and five-star chefs alike.

I meet Ian Kittichai,
one of the best chefs in Thailand.

He's currently ranked
as one of Asia's top 50 chefs,

and he's globally recognized

for transforming Thailand's most
traditional dishes into modern wonders.

He's taking me to the Khlong Toei Market,

where he's been shopping for ingredients
since he was a little boy.

- So you'd get up at 2:30 in the morning.
- Yes.

- And go with your mother.
- Yeah.

- Shopping right here.
- Yes.

He's the perfect guy for this giant,
and I mean giant,

outdoor and indoor market

where they sell
every kind of food group imaginable.

I get beautiful chilies there.

- Oh, yeah.
- Then you want to get catfish there.

So you're not just coming here
because of sentimental reasons.

This is a great market.

Yeah, this is like everyone
coming shopping here because of a...

It's the center of Bangkok.

Why are the fruits
so much better here than in America?

- It's much more, um... tropical.
- Right.

The climate, the soil
bring out the flavor,

and it's really juicy.

I'm seeing fruit I never saw before,

and I'm tasting fruit
that is the best fruit I ever had.

- Dragon Eyes.
- Fruit?

Yeah.

We call it the Dragon Eye or longan.

- Longan.
- Yeah.

Take the big one. Yes. Yeah.

So, you pop it up.
Yeah, you just see the top?

- Squeeze here to open it up.
- Okay.

Oh.

It's like a crystal ball.

Like a ball of juice.

Mm.

It's just sweet and really juicy.

But you look at this and you're like,
"How good is that gonna be?"

"Very, very" is the answer.

- The mango. This is the king to me.
- Yeah.

This is like creamy and sweet
and no... no, uh, fiber.

Wow.

I'm talking about melt in your mouth.

But of everything
Ian showed me in that market,

there's one native fruit
that I can't stop thinking about.

You know what that is?
That's a mangosteen.

Then you break this open like this,
and look, there's that white center.

It's in sections, almost like a tangerine,
a little tangerine,

but it's not a tangerine.

If you put it in the fridge,

it becomes almost like an ice cream.

Juicy ice cream.

That's what a mangosteen is,
juicy ice cream.

Oh, motorcycle coming through.

Coming through.

- The scooter is allowed everywhere?
- Yeah.

The scooter is on the sidewalk,
it's in the market, inside the market.

Everywhere.

Do you go by scooter?

- No.
- Never?

It's scary.

I'm so glad you said that.

Afterwards, Ian takes me
to his beautiful restaurant

Issaya Siamese Club,

inside this hundred-year-old Thai villa,

for a dessert called "Broken Bucket."

Thai dessert. Always about coconut.

- Yes.
- Coconut sauce.

And then you have shredded fresh coconut,
sesame seed, sugar, and salt.

That's great.

And then we have
passion fruit sauce. This is...

The king brought it over from overseas,
and then now we grow them in Thailand.

And then we have popped rice.
And then we have crumbs.

And that's just the place mat!

The bucket is chocolate,
frozen into place with liquid nitrogen,

and carrying a dessert crepe inside.

And what's the broken part?

- Are you ready?
- I'm ready.

One, two, three.

Wow.

- You don't mind if I eat this whole thing?
- No, I don't mind at all.

Right in the middle of Bangkok
is the Golden Mount at Wat Saket.

It's got a pretty good view of the city.

Tomorrow I'm leaving Bangkok
and flying up to Northern Thailand.

It's my last night in the city,

and I've booked
a one of a kind experience.

The only way to describe
Gaggan Anand is, uh... superstar.

Gaggan was born in India,

but moved to Bangkok
and opened this restaurant,

which is now ranked number one
in all of Asia.

This place is the big splurge
here in Bangkok.

And to me, an experience like this,
like all good things in life,

they're only good if you can share them.

Now, I just found out it's Nok,
our fixer's birthday,

so we actually hid the cameras here
and we gave Nok a little surprise.

- Hi. How you doing?
- Good.

You ever eat here before?

- No.
- No?

Um...

I heard it was your birthday tomorrow.

- Yeah.
- Yeah?

Yeah.

I think we might have
an early birthday present for you.

Oh.

Come over here. Come over here.

- I'm sitting here, okay.
- Okay.

You're going to sit right there.

Yeah.

Here.

Nok, this is Gaggan.

- Gaggan, Nok.
- Hi, Nok.

She is the special guest tonight.

Gaggan's latest masterpiece
is a 25-course tasting menu

with a futuristic take on street food.

This is the menu.

It's just emojis.

It's absolutely whimsical,
and then the magic show starts.

We might play with your brain,
we might serve you some brain.

My philosophy about food
is a 5-S philosophy

where we use sweet, spicy, salty, sour,

and the fifth S is most important,
the surprise.

Now I'm excited!

A surprise right out of the gate.

His first dish looks like something

Neil Armstrong brought back
from the moon.

In Thailand they don't like
to eat something black, right?

That's a taboo.
That's why I created a dish.

Oh.

- Surprise?
- Oh, that is good.

Good surprise.

- We made a vegetable charcoal.
- Yeah.

So what we do is we put all these onions,
garlic, ginger, eggplants,

burn them, make a vegetable charcoal.

Mm.

Next! These are mushroom rolls
with green peas.

A classic curry in India.

Mushrooms are heavenly for me.

Mushrooms are one of the greatest gifts
of nature.

This green powder is a chili soil,
so you can take this and push it

and eat it with your hands,
feeling the texture.

- This is so beautiful.
- Work of art.

Mm.

This is Gaggan's take on sushi.

Look at this gorgeous, marbled tuna belly.

Then Nok told me it was her first time
ever having sushi.

I told her,
"There are worse places to start."

Oh, my gosh.

- It's really soft and gentle inside.
- Yes.

Mm.

Mm.

Mm.

Next! The uni, mango,
and wasabi ice cream sundae.

Nok's about to be thrown
into the sushi deep end.

Thing about a tasting menu like this,
it's one bite, one bite, one bite,

25 bites,

so if one isn't your favorite,
it doesn't matter, hang on,

because it's a ride.

This dish: orange and corn waffle.

Be careful, it's a little sticky.

Mm.

Mm.

You like the dish?

- Yeah. I love it.
- Love it.

- You love it?
- I love it.

Can you say to the camera
you love this dish?

I love the dish.

You love this dish?

- I love the dish.
- You love Gaggan?

- I love Gaggan. He's the best.
- You love Phil?

- I love Phil.
- You love corn?

- I love everything on this menu.
- There, we got it.

- On the other hand...
- Yeah.

It's dessert time,

and for Nok's birthday,
Gaggan has sourced fresh strawberries

from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand.

This is elderflower jelly and ghevar,
an Indian-style sweet cake.

And you know what
every birthday dessert needs...

Exotic flecks of gold. Edible gold.

- Edible gold.
- Yeah.

Put silver and gold
because they're heavenly dishes.

That's why in sweets in India
we put gold,

because they were offered to God.

You were born tomorrow, right?
You are Aquarian.

- We're born in the same month, actually.
- I'm Aquarian, too.

Do you believe in all that stuff, Gaggan?

Sometimes. Especially having sex

- with the right star sign.
- Really?

Yeah. My compatibility in bed
with certain types are only good.

And with others are not.
My wife knows it.

Did I just say that on camera?

Yeah, say whatever you want.

I think, to me,
the best thing in life, we love surprise.

That's what he's good at.

I'm so glad that I get to sit here,
enjoy this special meal with you...

- Yeah?
- ...instead of Richard.

That's the best thing
that's ever been said on the show.

Ha-ha.

Richard.

What would you like now,
chocolate shake?

Hello!

Hello.

It's nice to see you.

Nice to see you, too.
What's doing there?

It's the morning for you, right?

- Yes.
- It's night for me.

The crack of dawn.

So, tell us about Thailand.

Thailand is very beautiful.
You know, it's very...

Bangkok is a big, crazy city
with lots of traffic and very noisy.

And, uh, amaz... Are you all right there?

Yeah, I'm fine. Go ahead.

You know we're filming, right?

Oh.

Dad, you know what you would like here?

Soup!

I've had at least four or five
different kinds of soup

that are some of the best soups
I've ever had in my life.

And Ma, you know what you'd like?

- The fruit!
- Oh, yeah.

Maybe the best fruit in the world.
Lemme show you something you never saw.

You ever see this?

Yes.

- What?
- Tell me what it is then, Ma.

It's a fruit, and you open it up.

You're like a genius.

- Have you done...
- Is that a cherimoya?

No. This is called a longan.

Ooh, it squirted me.

- Look at that.
- Oh.

It looks like a crystal
or an eye or something.

Look at that. That's a pomelo.

Like a grapefruit, only like a basketball.

I'm getting hungry!

Good. You should have fruit for breakfast.

Okay, look at this. You ever see that?
Do you know what that is?

No idea. What is it?

This is one of the best things
I ever ate in my life. Look at this.

- This is called a mangosteen.
- What is it?

A mango what?

Mangosteen.

It's like a Jewish mango. Mangosteen.

You know what I saved for last, Ma?
Guess what I saved for last.

Mango.

Best in the world!

Oh, that looks delicious.

It is. I wish I could feed you
through the screen.

Richard loved them.

You haven't mentioned Richard today.
Why don't you care about Richard?

Who says we don't care about Richard?

Not once have you asked me
about Richard.

We're very fortunate and lucky
to have two nice boys.

What?

What?

I don't know if you remember,
but whenever I would ask

what Dad would like for his birthday,

- he would say...
- You boys together.

"All I want is two nice boys."

- Right.
- And he's still saying that.

- He still says it.
- Still hoping.

He still doesn't believe he has them.

I say goodbye with a kiss of mango. Look.

- Thank you. That looks delicious.
- Goodbye, and have a good trip back.

Thanks, Mom and Dad.

- Bye.
- Bye.

Bye-bye.

We head up to Chiang Mai,
Northern Thailand's largest city.

It's like a country retreat.

Quiet side streets and even more temples.

It's blissful, serene.

They call it "the rose of the north."

Great if you're seeking
a little inner peace.

It's sunrise at Wat Suan Dok,

a 14th century royal temple
that's filled with Buddhist relics.

More than a hundred monks live here.

It's a Buddhist cemetery

where some of the king's family
of Chiang Mai are buried.

It's just me, some roosters,

and a couple of sweet dogs...

until I meet a Buddhist monk
named Boonchai.

You're supposed to make an offering.

This is called "making merit."

And you offer the monks food.

And people all over this country
make merit every day.

They feed the monks. Why?

Because the monks are
literally praying for all of us.

And some of us
could use more help than others.

For example,
I have no idea what I'm doing.

So...

You put that things down here.

So, can I offer this to you?

- Have a seat first.
- A seat?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Ah, yes.

It is possible for you
to just do like this?

- A little bit or as before.
- Like this?

Before. Before. Like before.

- This?
- Put it here first.

- Yes.
- And then...

It is okay for you now?

- This? Yeah.
- Okay.

- I can do it.
- Okay.

All right,
so I'm not very good at sitting.

But luckily, I'm not the first person
to test Boonchai's patience.

You know, in the daily life, it happens.

They are coming and asking this question
and that question, you know.

- You mean outside people?
- Yeah, outside people.

- And even inside your own group?
- Yes. Yes.

- People can be annoying?
- Yeah.

Who's the most annoying monk out there?
We'll take care of him.

Before long, you find yourself
opening up to Boonchai.

We're always filled
with many thoughts and worries.

- Right.
- And stress.

- Right.
- And anxiety.

I will just invite you to try meditation.

Boonchai shows me
what's called a "waking meditation."

You put your hand like this.

- Yes.
- Okay.

- Open your eyes, need not to close.
- Okay.

And then, turn your right hand first,
like this.

One. This is first step.

And then, the second step is...

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth.

Six.

Seven.

The right... the left...

The right one. Yeah.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

Eleven.

Twelve.

Thirteen.

Fourteen.

- Wow. Fourteen steps.
- Fourteen steps.

Next, Boonchai shows me
a walking meditation...

Every step.

...where you have to concentrate
on every step.

When I start a new anything,

the moving meditation,
the walking meditation,

I actually feel a little stress

because I want to make sure
I do it right.

Okay.

Let's see if I remember.

Does it work?
I guess you have to practice.

The difference between
Southern and Northern Thailand

isn't only reflected in the slower pace.

The food up here is different, too.

All right, are you ready?
I'm going to change your life.

In the middle of downtown Chiang Mai,

on the side of the road,

there's a shack called Khao Soi Kad Gorm.

This is Ian Kittichai's favorite khao soi.

What is khao soi?

This is khao soi.

Egg noodles.

Fresh, locally-sourced meat.

Chilies.

A broth that simmered for 24 hours

that turns into the creamiest
coconut curry.

All topped with crispy rice noodles.

A little acidity
on the pickled mustard green.

Shallot gonna give you a heat.

You get a texture from crispy noodles.

And then, mix it in.

- We have two version.
- Yeah?

- One, the chicken.
- Yeah.

And one is the beef.

Wow.

Mm.

Mm.

Damn.

At the first taste of it, you go, "Oh."

And by the third taste of it, you're like,
"When can I come here again?"

One of the best things
I ever ate in my life. That's all.

I know, I said it about the crab omelet.
Put this right next to it.

So, now, here come the beef.

Hello.

Hello.

I don't want to cheat on the chicken yet.

My brother's saying try the beef
while I'm still hungry.

He doesn't understand.

Wow.

I never want this to end.

Say, "Hello."

You?

- You made this?
- Yes.

One of the most delicious things
in the world is a dollar.

If you want a bowl
with the beef and the chicken,

$1.50.

This is not one of those contest shows

where the host sees
how much he can eat...

but it may be becoming that today.

Before I leave Thailand,
I have one last stop.

You like elephants?

Who doesn't like an elephant?

Elephants aren't just
a special animal in Thailand,

it is the national symbol of Thailand.

But elephants aren't always
treated so well.

Protection for them comes in the form
of a woman barely five feet tall.

Lek Chailert founded Elephant Nature Park

to protect and rehabilitate elephants

that have been abused
in the tourism and logging industries.

Her conservation work has earned her
a Hero of the Planet award.

She's certainly a hero to me.

So we drive out to this place,
it's a couple hours away from Chiang Mai,

and you're in a very rural part
of the world.

And then you go in, and they say,

"Lek wants to see you out here."

- Hi.
- Hi.

I'm Phil.

- Hi. Nice to meet you.
- You're Lek.

Thank you. You come along here.
It's okay. Don't worry.

This is...
I haven't been this close to an elephant

since I was six years old
at the Bronx Zoo.

And I'm like, this is unbelievable!

How many are up here?

- Uh... This will be ten.
- Three? Four?

- More are coming.
- Yeah, more are coming.

And suddenly, another elephant
comes up the hill and another one

and another one.

Whoa.

- I'm getting a little claustrophobic.
- It's okay. It's okay.

- It's all right. You come along here.
- Wow. Really?

And this magical thing...

becomes terrifying.

This is a little out of my comfort zone.

Hello, elephant.

It's like I'm in Jurassic Park
and it's not going well.

- Well, they seem very friendly.
- Yeah.

No one's eating me.

I'm speechless.

That's the sweetest kiss I ever had.

So this is lunch time?

- Yeah, this is snack time.
- Snack time.

- They're having watermelon.
- Yeah.

- Can I feed one?
- Yeah, you can feed... You can.

Look at me. Hi.

- What's your name?
- This is Famai.

Where do you put... Oh, look it... Look it.

- Oh, sweetheart.
- This is a monster.

Here comes little cutie elephant.
Little Dumbo.

Absolutely adorable. Heart-melting.

So now my level of terror subsided a bit.

Hello.

After I got a little acclimated,

we walked out together to the river.

Over there. You get over there.
You get over there.

- Famai.
- Stampede!

It's like the world's greatest car wash,

with-with giant...

freaking elephants.

And I'm splashing these guys
like Lek tells me to do,

and it's awesome.

Awesome!

Awesome.

And you know what they love doing
right after this?

What are you doing?
I just gave you a bath!

I think I'm at a safe distance.

Not quite.

This is someone having a good time.

It's funny to call something this big
cute, but that's very cute.

You're a happy girl! Yeah!

I don't know if it gets happier than that.

Than seeing an elephant
truly enjoy themselves with mud.

And to be right there,

it's not quite in the wild...

but it sure feels that way.

So now, I'm one of the herd.

Oh. Oh.

Oh!

Well, you can't get too friendly too fast.

Gotta buy 'em dinner first.

There are moments in your life
where you can't believe where you are.

And there are people in life
you never thought you'd meet.

Kob kun ka. Kob kun...

These are some of the happiest, gentlest,
sweetest faces I've ever seen.

Why is everyone smiling?

Maybe because usually
where they're going is worth it.

And they're usually going to food.

There's stuff you've never seen before,

tasted before,

worth coming here for.

So what's Thailand?

Sweet,

savory,

salty,

sour,

and spicy.

Sometimes all brilliantly in one bite.

There's very little bitterness.

The people of Thailand
can make you believe

that all things in life are possible.

That maybe even a donkey
could get along with an elephant.

♪ So come sit at his table ♪

♪ If you're happy, hungry
Willing, and able ♪

♪ To see how breaking bread ♪

♪ Can turn a stranger
Right into a friend ♪

♪ He will drive to you ♪

♪ He will fly to you ♪

♪ He will sing for you ♪

♪ And he'll dance for you ♪

♪ He will laugh with you ♪

♪ And he'll cry for you ♪

♪ There's just one thing
He asks in return ♪

♪ Somebody feed, somebody feed ♪

♪ Can somebody ♪

♪ Somebody feed Phil? ♪

♪ Oh, please, somebody ♪

♪ Somebody feed Phil ♪

♪ Somebody feed him now ♪