TrueVisions signed a three-year deal with Siam Sport Syndicate which will see TrueVisions broadcasting 204 TPL matches per season up to and including the 2013 season. Good news for us and good news for each of the 18 TPL teams who receive four million baht per year from the deal. On top of this, NBT 11 will be broadcasting 68 matches in 2011 and T-Sport will be showing 34. All this means that for the first time every single TPL match will be televised live. Hello couch, bye bye life.

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2. Adidas F50 adizero, B7,690.
3. Umbro GT CUP, B1,990.
4. Nike Control 360, B6,500.

“After the intensity of Black Swan, it’s sort of jarring to see Portman in something as vapid and and inconsequential as this. Kutcher? It’s not quite so jarring.” Stephen Silver, The Trend

“Portman will get past this speed bump with well-earned swiftness. The affable Kutcher, however, seems stuck in a cycle of depressingly empty comedies.” Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

“Sadly, an obsession with raunchy one-liners trips everything up, turning a clever conceit into something closer to a sleazy, cheesy affair.” Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

“Remember the Seinfeld episode in which Jerry and Elaine try to become friends with benefits, and set up unsustainable ground rules for their new arrangement? Imagine it rewritten by the Romantic Comeditron 2000 as a profanity-laced schmaltzfest, and you’ve got this tone-deaf dud.” Nick Schager, Time Out New York

 How did you go about selecting places for this book?
We took every recommendation that people gave us and tried it–we must have gone through at least 150 places. Some of them were disappointing, but most were really excellent, and it was hard to whittle it down to 50. Some of them were no-brainers, but some others required going two or three more times to figure out if we really liked them or not. All the members of my family have tried every one of these stalls at least once.

What were some of the challenges of researching and writing this book?
There were some days we had to eat at five or six stalls in succession, especially toward the end when we were on deadline. That was really hard. I think I still bear the stretchmarks as testament to that experience.

Any interesting encounters or street vendor stories?
They all had interesting stories. One vendor was actually really, really wealthy, and had sent all his children to study abroad in England on the money he made from roasting chestnuts. Another said he invented pad pak boong fai dang (stir-fried morning glory with chilies). Still another was a police officer supplementing his salary by running a fatty pork leg on rice stall.

You grew up abroad. Was it an adjustment to approach street food?
Absolutely! I grew up in a small Italian-American town next to Pittsburgh. We were big on wedding soup, calzone and cavatelli. So when I first came here, I used to never eat street food, ever, unless forced to by a friend or family member. It was too hot to sit out there, and it was intimidating–the ordering, the knowing what was good, the worries about hygiene. It was very late into my time here (I’ve been here on and off since 1995) when I started trying it, and I was blown away by how good it was. It’s still very hot at times though.

You also have a blog. Tell us about it.
Bangkok Glutton started out as a collaboration with my best friend, Karen Blumberg, who lives in New York and is really into photography and eating. It was also a good way to keep track of places we had tried out for the book. Most of the time it’s really fun – I can write anything I please, and sound like an idiot, and get things through that a proper editor would never, ever allow. But sometimes it’s work. I try to post at least once a week, but sometimes I’ve got all sorts of crap to do, and I have no idea what to write on Friday. This will be one of those weeks.

You used to be a financial journalist. Why the switch over to food?
Have you ever read that stuff? I used to report on the bond market. That should explain it all, right there. Telling yourself that it’s really a story about bettering people’s lives by expanding their capital-raising options only gets you so far.

How did you go about becoming a food expert?
Because I’ve always been into food. After I got married, we took a year off for our “honeymoon,” moved to Paris and enrolled in a French cooking school, L’Ecole Gregoire-Ferrandi, which is affiliated with the French government. In order to pass, there was a written part and then there was a cooking part that remains, to this day, the hardest thing I’ve ever done, including giving birth. I barely passed, but one of the chefs, who was kind of a jerk, kept shaking his head and saying “La honte, la honte,” [“the shame, the shame”] over and over again. That is when I figured out that I maybe wasn’t meant to cook, but instead should devote my life to eating. Which is what I’ve done. I practice every day.

Are you also an avid home cook?
I cook a lot. I get grumpy if I go a long stretch without cooking. It’s just a way for me to work things out in my head, like running on the treadmill. Cooking and reading/writing about food are almost exactly the same thing, which is why I like to read cookbooks before I go to bed. I don’t cook Thai food though. I cook what I was taught, French stuff or, if I’m feeling adventurous, Italian or Moroccan. I really should expand my repertoire.

Read the full interview at tiny.cc/vfqtz

Bangkok’s Top 50 Street Food Stalls will be available later this month at Asia Books and B2S for B390.

Sui Sian

The Landmark Bangkok, 138 Sukhumvit Rd., 02-254-0404. BTS Nana. Dim sum available daily 11:30am-2pm.
The dark wood décor with deep red accents sets a elegant baseline to your Chinese New Year, which may be just what you’re looking for, instead of the usual, bustling insanity. Your urge to speak in hushed tones in this serene atmosphere will dissipate quickly when enjoying their fantastic dim sum deals which cover all the classics and accompanying rice, noodles or soup. Their year-round all-you-can-eat option (B420) covers 20 classic choices at lunchtime, and for the holiday, Feb 3-4, they’re doing an extra special set at B888 per person that also includes soup, noodles and a Peking duck for the table.

Man Ho

JW Marriott, 4 Sukhumvit Soi 2, 02-656-7700. Dim sum available daily 11:30am-2pm.
This will be a popular hangout for Sukhumvit hi-so family get-togethers this Chinese New Year, thanks to its elegant décor (wood paneling, large round tables and waitresses in quipao/cheongsam) and enormous, bright windows with views over Sukhumvit Road. They do two options: a B490 all-you-can-eat dim sum during the week, and a slightly fancier set for B720 (all week) that includes roast duck and shark’s fin soup (boo!). They also specialize in abalone and bird’s nest dishes.

Maria

50-52 Ratchadamnoen Klang Road, 02-221-5211. Dim sum available daily 11am-2pm.
Maria is like an old relative you see once a year for Chinese New Year. The rest of the time, you wonder if he’s dead: the doors hidden behind lotto sellers are always closed, but Maria is ever ready to welcome visitors. Step inside and find yourself in a large space decked out with simple 70s-style décor that can accommodate more than a hundred people all at once. The experience is old school and comforting, with lots of dim sum trucks and waving and pointing. A can’t-miss dish is the kha muu mantou (stewed pork knuckle served with steam Chinese buns). No set menus, but dim sum starts at a mere B40.

Silver Palace

4 Silom Soi 3 (Soi Phiphat), 02-235-5118. BTS Sala Daeng. Dim sum available daily 11:00am-14:00pm, 18:00pm-22:00pm
A two decade-old institution, Silver Palace is conveniently located in the heart of Silom, which also means that it’s crazy busy, thanks in part to its affordable prices. The vibe is of a laid-back and boisterous food hall, typical of this type of establishment: a large room, lots of round tables and maroon table clothes. We’re a little sad that they don’t do their B299 dim sum buffett anymore, but individual baskets range from B50-80, so no big deal. On Feb 2, spend over B2,000, and you get a 50% dining voucher for your next visit.

China House

48 Oriental Avenue, 02-659-9000. Dim sum available daily 11:30am-2:30pm
If you don’t mind having a slightly belated Chinese New Year celebration, consider spending Sunday afternoon at the atmospheric and fancy China House, where the dim sum brunch at B1,154 (or B1,650 with booze) is one of the more affordable offerings. If you want to celebrate with a date rather than grandma and grandpa, you’ll love the Wong Kar Wai-esque, smoking den feel of this place. As for the food, the dim sum are solid and fresh, being prepared a la minute, and there is an array of other Hong Kong-style dishes and Chinese classics. Get all you can eat from Mon-Sat for B888 (no drinks included). But for their legendary shrimps in wasabi mayonnaise, you’ll have to order a la carte.

Liu

Conrad Bangkok, All Seasons Place, 87 Wireless Rd.,
02-690-9999. Dim sums available Sunday 11:30am-2:30pm.
Unlike the vast sprawling spaces and starched tablecloths of many dimsum halls, Lui has a low-ceilinged cozy feeling and a colorful décor with delicate traditional furniture and lots of red accents and table settings, all of which work to make it feel more like a standalone than a hotel restaurant. The dim sum set lunch isn’t pricey either. For B980, you get all-you-can-eat privileges for dim sum and lots of table toppers like braised shark’s fine with crab meat, garoupa fish with shredded taro and fried Shanghai yellow noodles with duck. For B1,180, you can get a slight upgrade with more seafood-heavy dishes.

Ahyat Abalone

Ramada Plaza Maenam Riverside Bangkok, Charoenkrung Rd., 02-291-7781/3. Dim sum available daily 11am-2:30pm.
This Bangkok franchise of Hong Kong’s Michelin star-studded restaurant never fails to pack in hordes of dim sum lovers on a daily basis. While its décor could do with some updates (think noisy and chaotic air-con room with big round tables), the restaurant itself is lauded for cooking up abalones to perfection and an impressive selection of Hong Kong-style dim sum, which comes in 30 varieties. The highlights include steamed scallop dumpling (B86), baked char-siew (BBQ pork) bun (B74), baked egg tarts (B68), deep-fried crispy flour wrapped in rice noodle (B80) and steamed bun with custard (B64). If that’s too much to shell out for dumplings, go there on during lunch for a 50% discount off the dim sum menu. Booking is a must.

Crystal Jade

G/F, Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., 02-129-4343.
For more branches, go to www.crystaljade.com. Dim sum available daily 10:30am-6pm
They may be a chain, but Crystal Jade is a hot favorite when it comes to democratic (haha) Chinese in our fair city. Not only do they do dim sum daily from 10:30-6pm, they’re also one of the few places in town you can get xiao long bao, those soup and meat-filled dumplings from Shanghai. And the Paragon branch is the least chain-y and most festive of the bunch, with its columns, dark wood and banquet style eating—perfect for a New Year’s brunch with your parents.

Xinn Tien Di

3/F, Gaysorn, 999 Ploenchit Rd., 02-656-2114. Dim sum served daily noon-2pm.
It’s hidden away on the top floor of Gaysorn, which means it’s often less than full, but it does come with the requisite high ceilings and a brigade of efficient waitstaff and knowledgable captain. We’re fans of the dim sum service here, as their light dumplings are delicately-made with thin skins and juicy flavors that avoid being too pork fatty. The chef also has a deft hand at seafood and their speciality Peking duck, which comes with light pancakes that are green with the addition of tea leaves. Dim sum ranges from B50-100.

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4. Panasonic, B2,990.

Essentials

5/F, Central Chidlom, Ploenchit Rd., tel 02-793-7777.