- Bangkok: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Thailand [A Cookbook]

I had always thought Leela Punyaratabandhu is a talented and extremely smart writer, and yet this book has managed to show me I've underestimated how much her work contributes to the body of literature on Thai cuisine. The writing is beautiful, fascinating, informative, intelligent and funny all at once. The photographs are gorgeous. The recipes are very authentic and unusual. You feel like you're traveling and eating through the city of Bangkok with the best tour guide who can cook. I own almost every book on Thai cooking and I can say unequivocally that this beautiful volume is the best one to date. The only caveat is that the recipes are very authentic to the point that they may be too authentic for people with casual interest in Thai food. I was looking at the recipes and feeling somewhat fearful for the author. If you're the type that doesn't like to look for specific ingredients online or go out of your cooking comfort zone, this book is too advanced for you. But if you love Thai food and want to learn about the cuisine and the culture from a true expert, your library should never ever be without this amazing book. I have tried only 2 recipes so far and they turned out very good.

This is my favorite kind of cookbook. Beautiful to look at, it's the kind of book you can read for pleasure, to learn about another place and another kind of life, and get a sense of what it is to be Thai, through beautiful descriptions and photographs, as well as recipes you can taste as you read them. The recipes do require some [slightly] challenging ingredients, but you can get them at any Asian grocery store, or on line here at Amazon. The cooking techniques are not difficult, and the end product looks wonderful. If you are interested in cooking delicious Thai food, these recipes are absolutely accessible. If you want to learn something of what it is to live in Thailand, the writing is beautiful and vivid.

This is a beautiful book, but my one negative observation is that it was reviewed by several cooking sites as having 'easy to prepare recipes'. I'm sure the recipes aren't difficult - once you find the 30+ ingredients needed for each. Exotic chilis, spices and other ingredients are almost impossible to find even in some Asian groceries. I'd be ok with that if there were substitutions suggested. If you have access to exotic ingredients - or don't mind mail-ordering them - the book is great.

Ms. Punyaratabandhu writes in a delightful breezy, personal and very informative manner. Her research into the traditional and family dining recipes is impressive. I read cookbooks like novels, and Southeast Asian food is my favorite. I have a large bookcase of Asian cookbooks and am delighted to have this book join my favors. This book has many recipes that I'm eager to try. A. Lot of them I've never seen before, and there as are some familiar ones that are refined by the author and/ or changed to reflect a more traditional take on the food. A few of the recipes look a bit challenging, and the author acknowledges that they may be, and then she goes on, in explicit detail, on exactly how one can deal with the complexity. It makes all the recipes more approachable and doable. Great Book!

I cannot get enough of this book. I've never been to Thailand, but Leela's writing makes me feel like I'm missing my own home. This is my favorite kind of cookbook, the kind you can sit and read, and it has amazing recipes to boot. I wanted a book with complex recipes and I got it. I've made the Black Pepper Roasted Chicken (my favorite), the Pork Belly Green Juice Curry (broke my blender. Worth it) The Beef Green Curry, (outstanding) and the Shrimp Ramen (an easy recipe that I made way more complex by making shrimp stock, but worth it anyway) Please buy this book, it's one of the best cookbooks I own.

Beautiful book with stories about (for me) a far away country and culture whose food I love.

I bought this for my husband for the holidays, and we are really enjoying the writing and cooking our way through this book. Delicious! Beautiful!

I love the recipes, the layout, and how beautiful this book is designed

Great recipes and great background stories about the recipes! Good Job Leela! Grab her first book as well.

Beautiful photos and charismatic writing. Fan of her blog so had high hopes- this book is my new favourite recipe book! So far everything I have made from here has been spot on (shrimp dip, morning glory salad, pad Thai, going ob woon Sen, tapioca pudding). If you are familiar with thai food then go for this. A few recipes for things that you might not have heard of and lots of charming anecdotes:) It is up there with Andy rickers and David Thompson's books.

Memories of Thailand come flooding back whan the wok's in action. This book is one of 140 in my wife's collection of cookery/recipe books and one of the most used.

Good and on time

Still reading through the book. Does anyone else read their cookbooks like I do? Enjoying the recipes, but don't have a favorite yet.