Wrong culinary decision

I was issued with a small laminated card which displayed essential addresses in Chinese characters. It also lists some recommended restaurants.

I usually like dumplings, so armed with some pieces of paper with food translations, I thought I'd venture forth to "The Dumpling Restaurant". But the information on the card turned out to be wrong. Despite enlisting the help of several people, The Dumpling Restaurant was a mystery.

So I chose a restaurant with the biggest neon signs. I should have noticed that here were not that many local people eating there. It was one of those places that had booths, so you couldn't see other diners.

The waitress thought it quite funny when I produced my translation sheets. I thought I ordered roast pork and vegetables and rice. What arrived (apart from some rice) was a HUGE bowl of fishy (eel?) chili soup, which was impossibly hot and oily, plus another plate of overcooked vegetables swimming in oil. I could manage only a few mouthfuls and paid an outrageous price (65 kwai) for the experience. (Most locals can eat out very well for about 10 kwai).

But the worst part of this learning experience was that all stages of my discomfort was relayed by the waitress across the restaurant to the kitchen at the top of her voice, to hoots of laughter by both staff and other diners.