HOT, HOT, HOT

Thai food is delicious, but beware of the hot sauces. When a local warns you that a delicacy is hot, it will raise blisters on a naive Western tongue. Hallmarks of Thai food are the lavish use of coconut milk, peanuts and seafood. Mee krob is a crisp tangle of deep-fried noodles with a sweet-sour-salty sauce, while tom kha gai is a classic coconut-chicken soup. Tom yum goong is giant prawns sauteed in a pepper sauce.