urbanbelly & spider webs

a new restaurant opened one block away from my house- urban belly .
in one week, i have eaten here 4 times. the above i had 3 times. it's soba noodle soup with bay scallops, king oyster mushrooms in a blue crab broth. i can not even describe the flavor because it's simply addictive.

then there's the urbanbelly pork belly ramen in a pho stock



a total of 6 noodle dishes and one special. each is better than the other. all are good. the other 4 are somen, mussles, chinese black beans in young coconut broth, udon with shrimp, vietnamese corriander in sweet chili lime broth, asian egg noodles stir fried in spicy garlic chili, yu choy & japanese eggplant and rice cake, mango, chicken, and korean chili sauce.

there's 5 types of dumplings, all of which i have eaten. this is the duck and pho spices



the others are chicken mushroom, lamb brandy, asian squash & pork cilantro.

the chef is korean, so he makes his own kimchee. often cabbage, but the last 2 times it was made with daikon radish.



there's a few other sides, like sticky organic brown rice, wrinkle beans & chinese eggplant with thai basil and several rice dishes-short rib and scallion, pork belly and pineapple, organic pea shoots and thai basil, & phat rice.

to me, this is a dream come true. open for lunch and dinner. just 4 long wood tables, you order at the front and get a number so they can bring your food as it comes out. serve yourself water, chopsticks and condiments. SO please don't tell EVERYONE cause i have a feeling it's going to have lines out the door as soon as the word gets out. it is pricy, but worth every single penny.

♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥



that's directions to the 114 year old monk, the same place that we rode the tuskers. when i met him, he gave me a pink bracelett and a coin and another coin with a spider web on it and a mantra in thai. and i'm awaiting rosy to send me the translation of that spider web mantra. i can't find anything about it online. and i've been wearing the classic spider web on my left elbo for many years



i also got a special buddha from wat chalong, it's very small and was the last monk (buddha) from that temple to die. it has become very important to carry these things with me at all times, including my laminated business card i received from gwendolyn hunt. i feel like these things are helping ground me and comfort me. i've been to india 4 times, and i always thought that some spiritual awakening could only come from india.

i was wrong. i knew there had to be a reason for me to go to thailand. i just did not really know why.

now i understand.