Dinner @ Casa Tina's

Dunedin, Florida - I walked along Main Street and came across this Mexican restaurant - Casa Tina's which served very authentic Mexican food.   It was only Wednesday and the restaurant was packed with customers but the waitress manage to find a table for me.   I had Beef Burritos and it is a reasonable portion.

Beef Burrito

The Beef Burrito tasted very good with the juicy and tender beef within.  The rice served with black beans was also very tasty.  I finished the whole plate.

Vietnamese food again....

Clearwater, Florida - I just had to try the Basil Fusion Bistro's Ban Mi.

Ban Mi

I tasted the Ban Mi and it tasted so good then I remember, oops I had to take a pic of this meal.  So that's half of what's left of the full loaf.  The beef was tender but it does not have as much sauces within as in Vietnam.

Dinner @ Lucky Lobster Co

Dunedin, Florida - A very short walk from my hotel is a Lobster house called Lucky Lobster Co.  It was quiet on a Tuesday night and on the menu I ordered a Lobster Pot Pie.   The waiter could not explained what this dish is too but I ordered it nevertheless.

Lobster Pot Pic

It is a pie with a french crust on top and it was tasty but little pieces of Lobster in the creamy pie.

Basil Fusion Bistro on Clearwater

Clearwater, Florida - I found this Vietnamese restaurant along Cleveland road called ' Basil Fusion Bistro' managed by young Vietnamese family.   The menu was a simple list of Vietnamese specialities and I order straight away fresh spring rolls and a bowl of Pho Bo (Vietnamese beef soup noodles).

Vietnamese fresh spring rolls

As you can see from the pics, it does not have the usually Vietnamese standard of having the rolls tightly wrapped neatly.   It was loosely wrapped that when I dipped into the sauce bowl, the fillings kept falling into the sauce.

Pho Bo

This bowl of Pho was not tasty but it felt good as it reminds me of home.  It was expensive at USD 8.25 with little thin slices of beef.

Cafe Alfresco on Dunedin

Dunedin, Florida - After my exercise workout, I took a short walk down main street for dinner.   Came across this restaurant - Cafe Alfresco.  I ordered the Monday's special which was a roasted half chicken and it came with a medium size bowl of salad.

Roast chicken special

I just ate the roasted chicken which was tender and savoury and left out the mashed potatoes.   The American portions are always big for me.  I just could not finish the mashed potatoes.

Tony's Pizza on Clearwater

Clearwater, Florida - I walked down a few blocks to an Italian restaurant, Tony's Pizza.  I ordered Hawaiian  pizza and it took a while to arrive.  In the meantime, the waitress brought me a plate of caesar salad which I did not order.   So, I asked whether it came with the Pizza and she said yes.  So, I ate it till the manager came and said 'hey...you did not order it, you shouldn't eat it'.   I told him that I asked the waitress whether the salad came with the Pizza and she said yes.  A very rude manager and I will not be coming to this pizza joint again.

Hawaiian Pizza

I could only eat 2 slices out of 4 as it was too much for me.

                                                                         

Jim Thompson House & Museum

Bangkok - As I stepped off the plane, the sudden gust of warm air hit my face made me realise it was going to be a very hot and humid day.   It was a public holiday in Thailand and so too in Singapore - Vesak Day; so no alcohol was served in Bangkok as a respect to Buddha in a majority Buddhist country.  It did not bother me much as I rarely consume but notices were on many outlets and hotels.

The traffic seems clear on the highway until we hit Sukhumvit Road, the traffic came to a crawl.

I decided to go to Jim Thompson Museum and it was just 2 BTS station away at National Stadium BTS; and a short walk down a alley.

After paying the entrance fee which came with the guided tour. There were many tourist waiting around in the garden for the guided tour in their language.   I hang around till the 4.40pm English tour and it was very educational.

Beautiful gardens

Beautiful manicured gardens surrounded the houses.   Jim Thompson being an architect he took great pain to combined six teak building, some were 200 years old, dismantle and brought it to this current site.  Unfortunately, he did not live a ripe old age as he disappeared on 26th March 1967 while on a visit to the Cameron Highlands.

The red paint on the outside walls is a preservative often found on many old Thai buildings.  As we proceed into his main house, unfortunately no photo taking was allowed except 2 small houses that was not connected to the main house.

One of the small houses with exhibits

Another house with porcelain items

small pond

It was a good short tour of Jim Thompson house and worth my time spending here.