Thai Temple – Tampa, FL

A few weeks ago, our neighbor, Vimmi, told us about a Sunday morning market at the “Thai Temple”.  I had somehow never heard of it, yet when I looked up more info online, it was rated as the #10 best attraction in Tampa on Tripadvisor and everyone on Yelp raved about it!  Growing up in Tampa (and loving Asian food), I’m not sure how I could have possibly missed the memo. 

It takes place at grounds of the Wat Mongkolrata Buddhist Temple, which is just between Brandon and Tampa overlooking the Palm River.  You can tell the food is worthwhile because there were people directing the traffic for parking!  The location is beautiful.  The first thing we noticed was the ornate temple and golden Buddha statue.  There are picnic benches shaded by oak trees overlooking the river – a nice peaceful site to enjoy a Sunday morning. 

Dozens of tables were set up with volunteers serving a variety of meats, curry dishes, noodle soups, kabobs, salads, egg and spring rolls, drinks, and desserts.  They also had stands set up selling fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  Some of the foods were ones I had never even heard of before.  We sampled a small sweet fruit called a longan (which translates to “Dragon Eye” – the texture actually was a bit like an eyeball).

Vimmi got a vegetarian noodle soup and some amazing fried bananas.  

I had Thai tea, and Lance and I split pork egg rolls, shrimp spring rolls, and a coconut dessert made with sticky rice.  Everything tasted so fresh and authentic.  I really loved the peanut dipping sauce for the spring rolls.  Lance also bought some chicken wings and sausage to bring to work for lunch.  

Be prepared with cash since there are no credit cards accepted.  Although you really don’t need much because it’s all very reasonably priced!  Lance and I together barely spent around $15, and that included the extra food he bought to go. 

I’m only regretting that I didn’t find out about this market sooner!  I’m sure I’ll be a regular now – especially once the weather cools off a bit.  If anyone is free on a Sunday, let me know because I’m already ready to go back again! 

The Wat Mongkolrata Sunday Market is located at 5306 Palm River Rd, Tampa, FL 33619 and is open 10:30am – 2pm (but get there early!). 

Green Mint Asian Grill & Rita's Ice - Clearwater, FL

My friend Thu and I spent the afternoon in Clearwater today.  We read great reviews (and saw mouthwatering photo) for Green Mint Asian Grill, so we went there for lunch. 

It is a casual restaurant located in a shopping plaza off US Highway 19.  They serve a variety of Vietnamese cuisine, including banh mi sandwiches, pho, lettuce wraps, and boba teas.  They have a large chalkboard menu – along with a gallery of photos of the menu items. 

While ordering we noticed a little box at the cashier’s counter.  We asked what it was for, and we were told to put a coin on it and press the button.  A cat peeked out of the box and grabbed our coin – very funny! 

Thu is Vietnamese, and she said one of her favorite things is bún noodle salad.  We both ordered the Green Mint Bún – which is made of grilled shrimp, pork, and spring rolls served over vermicelli rice noodles, fresh mint leaves, bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumbers, pickled carrots & daikons, crushed peanuts, and sweet chili sauce.  It was incredibly fresh and had the perfect mix of ingredients – I think that bún is now my favorite Vietnamese dish as well. 

We also each ordered boba tea – ice blended fruit smoothies with sweet tapioca pearls.  Mine was coconut and Thu’s was Thai Tea flavored.  We took them to go with us and headed to the beach. 

It was a hot afternoon, so after a few hours of tubing and laying out at the beach, we were ready for something else to cool us down.  We stopped by Rita’s Ice on the drive home and got some kid-sized Gelatis – a blend of Italian ice and frozen custard.  Thu had mango and I had lemonade.  The creamy custard mixed with the slush tasted a bit like a creamsicle. 

Green Mint Asian Grill is located at 25821 U.S. 19, Clearwater, FL 33763 and is open 10am – 9pm Monday through Saturday and 11 – 4pm on Sunday.

Rita’s Ice has various locations – we visited the drive-thru at 1010 Court Street

Clearwater, FL 33756 which is open from 12pm – 10pm every day.