The name caught my attention as I was browsing the pages of Lonely Planet Thailand guide. And soon enough, it ranked on top of my bluelist of places to visit. Since it is near BTS Asok station, in the vicinity of Bangkok's more affluent district, I figured out navigating on foot will be a breeze.

Despite the unforgiving Bangkok heat (after a 90 baht street food full-brunch and freshly-squeezed orange juice at 15 baht a glass which I could continually rave about on and on and on for its wicked taste that left me wanting for more) W and I hired a tuktuk for 60 baht from Khao San to check out the Grand Palace half a kilometre away (see related post). Two hours later and after leaving my wallet almost empty with the 350 baht entrance per person, it was about time we hit the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. But after W and I crossed one block near the temple's entrance, a Thai met us with a bad news-the temple was closed because it was Buddha Day (read: Buddha is sleeping, thats what he said). So the next best thing we could do, he advised, would have to be visiting the other temples nearby which were open and charged no entrance fees. And as if an appeal to the wallet, the tuktuk driver offered to drive us around for only 20 baht. My street smart alarm sure did go off. This is a scum, I said to myself. Whatever happened during that trip deserve a whole entry which I will do next to warn tourists not fall on the trap. Anyhow, after the tourist trap which left me drained for the most part of the afternoon, we took the bus to Siam Paragon and took the BTS to Asok.

Cabbage and Condoms is easy to find. From where we got off at Times Square in BTS Asok Station, the restaurant is a block away, along the back alleys.

You will be greeted by mannequins dressed in, guess what? Yes. Condoms. And yes, it is a good place to be orientated on the flavors of Thailand. Relatively pricey though. At any rate, it's fun to be there seeing condoms (including a condom designed for the tongue) from different countries, in different designs and colors. To add spank to the season, Santa Condom sure will do some wanking this holiday! Pardon my french.



more: The motto of this place is 'Be fed and be sheathed', run by a sex education-AIDs prevention organisation. Using familiar vegetables the chefs create sufficiently complex flavoured dishes for those 'wading' into Thai food. Dishes such as yam wún sên (mung-bean noodle salad) provide a source of raw vegetables. Instead of after-dinner mints, diners get condoms (lonelyplanet.com)

more at: www.cabbagesandcondoms.com