Sex Food in Bangkok: Aphrodisiacs

Derived from the Greek Goddess of Love Aphrodite, the word aphrodisiac refers to a food, tonic or potion that is belived to inspire that loving feeling. In essence, its something edible that gives your libido a super-charge, so increasing the desire to rip each other's clothes off.

Here is a breakdown of both the bizarre and better known aphrodisiacs that can be found in Bangkok. In the interest of you finding lip-smacking satisfaction, we've twisted the definition of what constitutes an aphrodisiac ever so slightly. After all, isn't it true that a humble bunch or flowers or some expensive jewellery can make a lover go weak at the knees just as easily as a candlelit oyster supper?

Aphrodisiacs are big business in Thailand. And the country's own repertoire - alcoholic virility boosters (yaa dong), black magic potions, snake bloods and various mainstream tipples - hold a special place in the nation's heart. The reasons are many...

Not least is Thailand's abundance of plant life and forests. With a long history of using herbs (samun phrai) to treat everything that ails you and a homespun passion for superstition and animism, Thais have for millennia looked to natural agents to help them - and the object of their affection - get frisky. Today, while city folk look to modern medicine, those from rural areas, especially working classes, still go barmy for potions, tonics or brews said to help things look up in the bedroom department.

So important is a love life to the Thais that the 'tools' they use to gain one stretch beyond the digestible to the spiritual, with love charms, phallic amulets, lover's shrines and fortune tellers all getting a look-in in their quest for lustful encounters.

Yaa Dong

One of the most popular is traditional tipple 'yaa dong', rice whisky in which herbs are steeped to make tonics with near-on mystical powers. Served in little shot glasses costing no more than 10 baht, for generations this medicinal booze was the beverage of choice for those looking to deal with life's thorny problems, everything from back-pains and fatigue to fertility problems. Those with names like 'Murmuring Lady', 'Never Flaccid' and 'Moaning Mistress', left little to the imagination. Many became legendary. Others shrouded in secrecy. One concoction was even rumoured to produce erections so potent they could make monks leap over the temple wall in search of romance!

Today you're more likely to find people reminiscing about 'yaa dong' than using it. However, those looking to up their sexual prowess can still find this old school arouser gracing the shelves of impromptu street stalls in some areas of Bangkok. Try Khlong Toey Market, Chinatown, Soi Rangnam or Soi Cowboy - but steel yourself for giggles from the locals. There effectiveness? Debatable, but drink enough and you'll certainly get frisky - probably a result of the whisky more than the herbs soaking in it.

Bird Nest and Shark Fin Soup

Chinatown used to be a source for many of the mysterious herbal ingredients that end up in 'yaa dong', and thus a hotspot for aspiring Casanovas. However, the days when an old Chinese gent would furtively pull a bear's paw from a drawer and wink at you are gone. You may still find snake's blood gracing the shelves though, or a man peddling phallic images or amulets alongside promises of "your wife will never be disappointed again".

Easier to find, though, is Birds Nest Soup. Made from the nests of sea swallows - seaweed glued together by swallow's saliva and the spawn of small fish - this delicacy is renowned for limbering up the libido. Like it or loathe it, you can also find Shark's Fin Soup. Now, to lop off a poor shark's arms and legs seems a despicable act but, like it or loathe it, it's there. One traditional Chinese recipe reads: "Boil shark fins (sha ch'i) in water over a period of several days until meat is pure white and skin peels off at a touch. Eat and await love's call..."

To ensure you can perform from here to eternity, also try heading for the small amulet market that bisects several small sois near Wat Mahathat, in Rattanakosin (Old City). Here, amidst Buddha images and the like, you can find phalluses to ward off the droop.

Modern Bangkok is a a storehouse for all things cool and cosmopolitan. This means you don't have to look hard to find the better known aphrodisiacs.

Sex on a plate

For starters, many foodstuffs with a long-standing reputation for garnering romantic attention - garlic, pepper, onion, basil, chili - are staple ingredients in Thai cuisine. And as in the West, many Thais believe the hype.

Many swear by raw oysters (hoi nang rom). This classic aphrodisiac is not only abundant, but cheap in comparison to prices you'll pay elsewhere. They contain a compound that helps release sex hormones, and are rich in zinc (essential to a healthy libido). But there's also their look and sensuous texture (a hint: 'hoi', the Thai word for clam also means the female's nether regions). Try them at Sofitel Silom's Oyster Bar. Or enjoy some imported 'Fines de Claires' while sampling the vertiginous heights of Distil, a chic 64 storey high bar near the Riverside.

Chocolate: Sweet Surrender

Not unless you're Don Juan reincarnate, or Brad Pitt's better-looking cousin, should chocolate be left out of the seducer's armory. Debatably the King of aphrodisiacs, it contains the same chemicals our body releases when we're feeling loved up or passionate, making it ideal for stoking up flames of passion.

Although Bangkok's climate means you shouldn't let them linger, it's popular. Buy some for a city girl or boy, and you will be thought a shameless romantic. There are gourmet shops, delicatessens and bakeries serving the gamut of dark, white and milk varieties. Try The Oriental Shop (Siam Paragon and Emporium), Cherubin Chocolate Bakery (Sukhumvit Soi 31) and Le Notre (61 Langsuan Road). The latter serves calorific but irresistable treats like the Volute Chocolate, a seductive dome of light chocolate mousse, with chocolate biscuits and melting tea crème brulee.

Romantic Interludes

All conscientous Casanovas are aware of the erotic power of the romantic meal. And Bangkok, while not quite up there with the backdrops provided by Venice or Paris, can cast a bewitching spell on diners. Not convinced? Go watch the twinkling city lights from up high, or majestic temples as you drift along the Chao Praya River on board a converted rice barge, and you will be. Many hotels, too, have timeless restaurants that are ideal for wooing. Check out our Thailand Tatler Restaurant Reviews section for the best in town.

Alchohol can also excite desire (though too much can also impair performance). Why not round off your meal with a sex-themed cocktail like 'Sex on the Beach'? There are a hundred and one suave, sophisticated bars to choose from. BarSu, a grown-up but debonair bar in the ground floor of the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, serves sexy concoctions like the 'Aphrodisiac' or 'BarSu Oyster Martini'.

Fine wine is something the Romans swore by to get the Bacchanalian orgy started. Though heavily taxed it's in bounteous supply in Bangkok. Or perhaps you fancy a pudding that won't put out the fire. Go for some alcoholic 'adults-only' ice-cream at Amaltery in Siam Paragon. Hopeless romantics can scoff from the same bowl, while the more adventurous can take some 'Screamin Orgasm' back to the bedroom ('the ice-cream's on me...!').

The 'Almost' Aphrodisiacs

If the above don't get you both frolicking like it's going out of fashion, try one of the city's 'almost' aphrodisiacs. After all, the things you do or see together can just as readily arouse sexual desire or stir up love as the things you eat or give as love tokens...

Consult our Top 10 Romantic Experiences for ideas, pop to the flower market and bring back your beloved a taxi full of exotic flora, seal your lover's devotion with breast or penis enhancement (courtesy of Bangkok's very accomplished and very affordable cosmetic surgery industry), or try whispering Siamese sweet nothings into your chosen one's ear... Because she's (or he's) worth it.