I go to Bangkok so often (every year) that I tend to forget to take any pictures of the sights of the city. Its one of those things you take for granted you know. So to make things more interesting, I have started to make my annual visits a themed one. This visit, my focus was on the food and a good spa. I found my spa, now I just had to make sure I found my food! 😀
I also made a pit stop for a bit of religion 🙂 This is the popular Erawan Buddhist Shrine that many people visit if you are of the correct religious persuasion. Many Buddhist shrines and temples dot the city of Bangkok but this is one of the most popular.
This trip to Bangkok, I also did something rare – I arranged to meet up with an MWS reader who resides in Bangkok! 😀 It was one of the highlights of my trip because I did not know what to expect, what she looked like or even if we’d be sitting in uncomfortable silence. So was it awkward?
Not. One. Bit! 😀 At least not for me!
This is the lovely ST with whom I’d arranged to meet for dinner the day I arrived. She came with her friend, Deun (I hope I spelt it right – Thai names are a bit hard to translate into English) and they both were the most gracious hosts! Dinner was at a little local Thai restaurant that I would never ever have discovered on my own because it was down a tiny little soi (street) and as a tourist, I rarely walk down little side streets.
Clockwise from Top: Exterior of the Restaurant, 2 kinds of fried chicken wings and spicy squid, Stirfried beef with vegetables
There is no English name for this restaurant and when I ran the Thai characters through Google, it turned up as “Rice Masters” which I’m unsure if its correct or not. If you read Thai, please confirm 🙂
ST and Deun explained that this was a little restaurant that served food cooked in the style of South Thailand so it was different from what I’d find along the streets of Bangkok (Central Thailand) The food tasted very homecooked and tasted pretty much perfect to me.
Top: Fried fish with ginger and fresh herb garnish Bottom: Khao Yam (rice salad)
These were 2 of my favourite dishes from the evening. The fish was absolutely delicious, especially with the flavoursome fried garnish of ginger, peppers and herbs. I would have polished off every bit of it if there wasn’t so much more food to try! The Khao Yam rice salad was very very interesting. There was some rice with lots and lots of fresh chopped herbs, vegetables and some dried shimp flakes. Pour over a flavoursome sauce and mix it all up for a super appetizing treat!
Malaysians may notice the similarity of this dish to that of nasi kerabu popular in the Northern states, which was not lost on me. I’m sure our foods from the states close to the border of Thailand do share some similarity. But it was absolutely delicious!
The Restaurant is at Soi Thonglor 17, Vadhana, 10110 Thailand and you can view directions below. Do note it closes at 8.30pm. I must make my way back the next time I go!
Since the restaurant closed relatively early, ST and Deun suggested having a drink or dessert somewhere and we ended up walking not too far away to an interesting little bakery and cafe called Mr. Jones Orphanage at Seenspace 13. I took a look at the outside of Seenspace at Thonglor 13 and its such a happening place for the young! It was super crowded and busy even till very late. Made me feel ancient 😛
Mr. Jones Orphanage is a bakery and cafe done in the theme of an orphanage (I know, its a little strange). So the interior was almost deliberately scaled down to child sizes, teddy bears and toys adorned every surface. Be sure to go upstairs. The wooden staircase was tiny and when you get upstairs, you have to almost bend double because there’s no place for an adult to stand up! It was done up like a little attic room, with scaled down tables and chairs. Very very unique 😀
Cakes, sweets and desserts were displayed in elaborate centrepiece style ostensibly out in the open so it was almost as if you could just reach out and swipe one. Don’t, naturally. Just order it off the menu or from the display and the waiters will bring it to your table.
Menus were presented in a most fascinating manner on hard blocks of wood with very quirky names. As you can see from the “Grown Up” menu (alcoholic cocktails) interesting names like “No School Tomorrow” almost called for you to try it (I did, it was delicious!)
Clockwise from Top-Left: Chocky Mud Pie, Orange Juice served in a tin cup, Reminder at the bottom of the cup, Macarons
Deun told me in an aside that although it was a nice and interesting place to hang out, and the cakes looked simply amazing, they didn’t taste very good (I love honest people!) so we only indulged in a Chocky Mud Pie which wasn’t very tasty around the edges but when you hit the motherlode of molten chocolate in the middle, it does taste a lot better. Not a must visit, but a very interesting visit nonetheless. Orphanages – who’d have thought they’d inspire a cafe?
Mr. Jones Orphanage
Seen Space, Thonglor Soi 13
Off Sukhumvit Soi 55
Bangkok
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 10am-12am
The next day saw me headed down by bus as usual, to Bangkok’s Chinatown. When I mentioned it to Deun, she warned me about the traffic, but when I told her I took the public bus, the look on her face was priceless! LOL! Like her, as a local in my own city, I rarely take the public transport since I have my own wheels. But as a tourist, I tend to rely on public transport and public buses are one of the cheapest ways to get around and to see the sights 😀
Getting off the bus, one of the first stalls I came across was one selling traditional desserts. I spotted this mung bean soup dessert (“tau suan”) on the menu and I just had to have it! I love it and its not very easy to find it here in Malaysia anymore.
The one I had in Bangkok came served with a generous topping of sweet coconut milk which made the dessert sweeter than it was, and much more creamy. Cost me THB20 but brought back lots of memories of childhood when this was a little treat at a street vendor on some weekends.
After doing all I had to do in Chinatown, I hunted down this restaurant that my family had told me I had to try for their delicious Crab Tang Hoon (glass noodles). My brother has this blissful look on his face everytime he talks about it and I never found the restaurant on my previous trips so this time, I had to do it!
Clockwise from top-left: Hua Seng Hong Restaurant menu, Crab with glass noodles THB1050, Braised Fish Maw soup THB300, Greedy PB!
This was an expensive crabby dish but one I thoroughly enjoyed. There was a relatively large meaty mud crab stirfried with loads and loads of garlic and topped with stir-fried glass noodles. As you can see from my greedy expression, that was the size of the claw – huge! I have a tip for you if you choose to try this. Remove the crab from the pot and then toss the glass noodles in the bit of sauce at the bottom. It tastes absolutely divine, and you would be hardpressed not to slurp up every bit of it 🙂
Do note that if you sit inside where its air-conditioned, they tack on THB60 to your bill. I didn’t know till the bill arrived which I thought was rather sneaky but it was a terribly hot afternoon and I really wanted somewhere cool to sit in. If you aren’t fussed, opt to sit in the outer section which is not air-conditioned.
Hua Seng Hong Restaurant
371-373 Thanon Yaowarat,
Samphanthawong, 10100, Thailand
Later that evening, I took the MRT to Or Tor Kor Market (Kamphaeng Phet Station Exit No. 3). Or Tor Kor Market is a wet market selling all sorts of local Thai produce from food to fruits and snacks. It is very clean and everything is well laid out. I read that the best of Thai produce is sent down here to this market but Deun warned me that prices was about double of what I could get in downtown Bangkok and she was right!
The fruits look amazing. Mangoes and apples were about the size of my head and everything was so clean and well ordered and even well packed! I saw tourists buying durians and the vendors were busy packing them into boxes and then wrapping them with plastic so it didn’t smell and I must say, they know how to pack their stuff. It was near closing time when I arrived so it was quite quiet and I didn’t really see many things there. Maybe I’ll go back next time in the day, when its busier and more stalls are opened. I’m told I can eat all the street food I want there and giant prawns!
Instead, I took the subway pedestrian tunnel across the road to the popular JJ or Chatuchak Weekend Market. Again, it was in the evening and I had no intention to shop, so I mostly checked out the street food on offer 😀
Clockwise from Top-Left: Thai Summer Rolls, Coconut shells for coconut ice cream, Coconut Ice Cream topped with nata de coco and sweet pumpkin slices, Spicy seafood salad
I love Thai Summer Rolls and I usually buy them from the food market in Siam Paragon but when I saw a little stall selling this, I could not resist. The rice sheet rolls are stuffed with minced meat and vegetables and served with a spicy green chilli sauce. I don’t like sharing when I have these! 😀
I’d read a lot about this famous Coconut Ice Cream stall in Chatuchak market. Its just outside the MRT Station (Kamphaeng Phet) when you exit and as you wait, you are served complimentary ice cold coconut water. You choose 2 toppings of your choice and enjoy. Yes, its pretty good and perfect on a hot way or a warm evening.
Clockwise from Top-Left: Stall selling fried squid eggs | Delicious OK!, Fried squid eggs, Waitfor Chicken noodles, Grilled meats on sticks
I spotted this stall selling Fried Squid Eggs and was quite intrigued, but what intrigued me more was the sign that said “Delicious OK!” So naturally, I had to try it to see just how delicious it was 😀 A small pack was THB30-40 (I can’t recall) and it was fried with eggs and garlic and spring onions, and served with a spicy sauce. Was it delicious? It was, actually. It tastes like fried flour and a little like an oyster omelette (or chien).
As for the grilled kebab thingies, here’s a funny story. My friend had bought a couple of sticks of grilled meat and one that looked like chunks of chicken. I ate one piece, and found it rather fatty, with some crunchy bits. It didn’t taste bad, but just a little fatty for my tastes so I mentioned it and after I’d swallowed it, I was told that what it was, was the chicken backside! 😛 I would have spat it out if I had not swallowed it, and although it was an honest mistake, I was pissed! Thankfully it didn’t taste bad but its one of those things that is going to stick in my memory and scar me for life 😛
And on that unpleasant note ends my gastronomic feasting through Bangkok from cafes to the street foods on offer. Until next time, that is 😀 Oh I didn’t shop in Bangkok this time around (I know, shocking!) so no haul posts are to be expected 🙂
Do you have favourite places to eat in Bangkok? I’d love to know of course!
As I mentioned, one of the highlights of my trip this time was meeting ST who is a regular in the comment box. It amazed me that we could chat like old friends about so many things! Here’s the interesting bit – not one word about beauty or makeup crossed our lips that evening! There was so much else to talk about 😀 I would naturally love to meet more regular readers from time to time so this first time will not be my last 😉
Paris B
The one thing I love about Bangkok is the amazing food. You are making me so so hungry. I have a big love for tang hoon and I totally missed out on the crab tang hoon.
Can’t leave Bangkok without putting on the pounds! 😉 The next time you go, be sure to have the crab tang hoon. Since you love it, you’d absolutely enjoy this one!
The orphanage cafe sounds like a disturbing paedophile hang-out place so yeah, I find that a bit strange… The chocolate molten cake seems promising though! I’ll be heading to Bangkok for a conference end of March and it’ll be my first time to Thailand too so I am now looking forward to checking out this food places that you mentioned! Especially that crab noodles, it just looks sooo good!
Do you have any recommendations for places to shop for clothes in Bangkok?
Liz, it doesn’t sound like that at all. Not one bit. It’s a cozy little cafe with unique theme. Some word on the menu is mis-spelled on purpose (just like a child would do) and I find that charming. 🙂
For budget and fashionable clothes shopping, you can try Platinum. If you want made to order thai silk garment, check out The Old Siam. Hope that helps.
Haha actually the orphanage cafe wasn’t disturbing, but was quite cosy. I would have likened it more to a nursery than an orphanage. Funny choice of concept though! When you go to Bangkok, do check out the crab noodles. It’s very good! As for shopping for clothes, a lot will depend on the type of clothes you want.
Platinum mall is a good place to start for cheap clothes. Buying 3 or more pieces will get you cheaper prices but the quality is just so-so. Still, it’s a good place to pick up some cheap and trendy pieces or accessories. Also, I know of people who shop in MBK. otherwise, I like browsing in Centralworld and Siam Paragon. The local Thai designers have nice stuff and although pricier than Platinum mall, is of better quality. I don’t shop for clothes very much now but when I do, I go to Centralworld 🙂
Aww Paris, superb post! Love your recommendations and I almost felt like I was there with you 🙂 Your chicken bishop tale was hilarious 😀 Bravo, you took the bus in Bangkok?! Oh my! The smartest thing I have ever did was to take the BTS and even that, I will usually end up in the wrong train whenever I need to switch to a different line. Speaks a lot of my navigation skills eh. Haha. Oh, but when the traffic got too crazy, the bravest and craziest thing that I did was to take the tuk tuk or those bikes for hire. The bikes will make you cling to your life (not the rider) hahaha. It was a huge thrill but not recommended. I did that when I was young and thought I am immortal.
Bangkok has a lot of quaint restaurants and I have only tried a few so far. There’s one that serves yummy Thai food at Chatuchak Market. It’s a sidewalk cafe and some of the tables are actually olden days sewing machine. My mum would have fainted if she saw how her precious was used as a dining table lol. Another one is a restaurant that only serves salad – an array of Thai salad with creative concoctions. I think it is at Paragon and there’s a cute scaled down ferris wheel displayed in the restaurant with cute animal figurines in it. And because my Thai language is so limited, I usually end up in Swensen’s or S&P and Coffee Bean by Dao (serves awesome ice blended Green Mango) which serves Thai food and comes with an English menu lol. My friends normally take me to dine at the alley or under the bridge so to speak and these are usually yummy food. If I travel on my own, then Chinatown and Chatuchak Market are the place which I stuff my face silly with fried squid egg, coconut ice cream, Thai pancake, tangerine juice etc.
Ok must go Bangkok this year! Must 😛
Glad you enjoyed the virtual journey, Jennifer 🙂 I take the bus so often into Chinatown because of the bad traffic (it only costs me THB14 from Centralworld) that I don’t mind the journey because its cheap! Lol I too, the tuk tuk a few times on my initial visits to Bangkok but its much too scary and I’m fed up of being scammed so I avoid it now.
I don’t remember seeing the cafe with the sewing machine tables, but its so interesting I’m going to make sure I look for it the next time I’m there! I love interesting things like that. It sounds like you’re overdue for a Bangkok holiday!
yes.. take the bus to the Grand Palace. Stops right at the entrance. And we had some free bus ride when we return to Sukhumvit area from Chinatown.
Funny, I’ve never been to the Grand Palace! Haha! I guess my next trip must be a touristy one 🙂
I am going to Bangkok next month and your post comes in just in time. Now I know where to go for a good spa and I’ll definately add Mr. Jones Orphanage into the itinerary! 🙂
Woohoo! Glad to be of service, Celine 🙂 I hope you have a fun holiday and be sure to eat, eat eat!
Wow, looks fun! Have not yet gone to Bangkok – soon!
Next holiday maybe, Sam? 😉 it’ll be terribly cheap for you with the strong dollar!
I have enjoyed your travelogues extensively and have a couple of things to share from my recent visit to Bangkok. I’ve only been past Mr Jones Orphanage but absolutely love Roast, a coffee roaster/cafe upstairs of Seen Space. The cosy timber interiors, well-designed menu and excellent coffee make it worth a visit – its vibe reminds me a lot of the cafes in Melbourne that I miss. Another firm favourite is the Erawan Tea Room a stone’s throw away from the Erawan Shrine you photographed 🙂 They serve terrific Thai food and their pandan iced tea and mango sticky rice are, in my opinion, not to be missed. Do earmark them for your next visit!
Thank you so much for letting me know I’m not boring you all silly by sharing my travel stories, Sher Reen! 😀 I did see Roast and since I love coffee, I shall make it a point to visit the next time I’m there. Also, I didn’t even know about the Erawan Tea Room! Gah! How have I been missing it?! I shall visit these the next time for sure. Thanks so much for sharing your tips!
Another great post Paris! And local people taking you to try local Thai food, I am SOOOOO jealous!! 😉
Tammy, there were one real local and one fake local… hahahahaha
I must say, it was really a stroke of luck! I would never be able to find these places otherwise! 😀
And I thought Bangkok would just be for shopping! Need to plan a trip soon!
It depends on what you’re there for 😉 shopping is aplenty but I guess I’m just bored of that now. But if you haven’t been, then yes, you’d probably go a little crazy shopping hehe
Oh I would love to go to Bangkok…! Super cute these macaroons! They re everywhere! 🙂 I would love to go to any Asian country anyway… Oh maybe one day 🙂
Yes, macarons are really everywhere but I enjoyed the ones from Laduree Paris best! 😉 do plan a visit to Asia, Catherine. It’s so different from Europe!
Wow,that’s absolutely outrageous! Those dishes are mouthwatering gorgeous! I’m glad you enjoyed your trip this much and got to try all kinds of food. That’s the way to live! I love your foodie posts as much as I love your beauty ones and I’m looking forward to the next. 😉
Thank you so much, Mari. I love food and I love sampling food when I travel. As you said, its what living is all about – new and wonderful experiences 🙂 I’m glad I didn’t bore you and I hope to share more if/when I travel again. Haven’t made my plans for this year yet!
Thank you for the wonderful write up about your BKK trip! I love BKK, in fact who doesn’t? 😉 love it for the wonderful Thai food and shopping! My last trip to BKK was a few years back and it has been difficult to travel with 2 young kids. My holiday destination has to cater for my kids so BkK has to make way for Phuket with its beach and sun 🙂
Do shAre with us with more stories of your future trips! Or even just food porn! :)) Yummy!
Thank you again for sharing! :))))
Hello AhCapp,
If you come to Thailand again with your family, I would recommend Khao Keao Open Zoo (translates: Green Mountain Zoo) somewhere near Pattaya. The zoo compound is huge. Best fun is to rent a golf cart and drive around the zoo. You can stop anywhere you want. Being an open zoo, you don’t see the “cages” obstructing between you and the animals (except for some monkeys. Cheeky creatures they are!). You can also feed lots of animals, including deers, rhino, giraffe, elephant etc. 🙂
Hi AhCapp, thank you for letting me know that you enjoyed this post! I will be sure to share more travel and food posts as I go along. In fact, there’s a (almost) fortnightly food post here on the blog that I hope you’ll enjoy too 🙂 As for BKK, you are right. Who doesn’t enjoy it right? The food, the shopping, the massages… Ah bliss! Oh I hear Phuket is nice too, but I haven’t been! Maybe I should visit eh? 😉
Mr. Jones Orphanage looks so interesting!! I would go just to check it out. I’ve been to the Chinese restaurant on Yaowarat road! In fact I went there 2 nights in a row! The food is superb, I would say the best Chinese food I’ve had outside of Malaysia 😛 I know I shouldn’t be encouraging this but I had the sharks fin soup. My favourite dish is the chinese ham with gingko and dates, should try next time ^_^
I didn’t have space in my tummy to try more of the food at Hua Seng Hong but I did try the soup 😛 I will definitely go back to try other dishes next time. But I fear I’d be sucked into the crab tang hoon again! 😉
Btw I love ST’s white lacy top. More food and travel posts please! 😀
Thanks Applegal, I like it too! 🙂 It’s from Promod. 🙂
Been wearing it quite a lot and it’s getting battered now…
You know what? I did too! ST’s top I mean 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the travel& food posts. 2 big passions of mine and I’m happy so many people share in my passions other than beauty! 🙂
Helloo Paris! You rock Thai food better than I do! :p And your attention to details such as location, opening times etc… wow… Very useful for recommendations. I am usually very blur on things like that. HAHAHA
Your crab claw glass noodle reminds me of this old funny Thai advert and I just have to share here. Every time I watched it (and other Cheer Beer series) I had tears from laughing too loud!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLzto-nmJHM
Next trip you’re here and if you have time, I’d like to take you somewhere a bit further from city centre (if you anchor the centre at Central World, that it) for more yummy Thai food next to the river. This one won’t close at 8.30PM. 😀
And yeah it’s funny we didn’t talk about beauty stuff. Would you rather we did? :p Duen and I had fun talking with you. Before we met, it’s a really strange feelings like I’m going on a blind date with a woman (erm… that doesn’t sound quite right…), except that I knew how you look like but you didn’t. First time in my life and it was worth it. 😀
p/s: The happening pub outside Mr. Jones still haunt me till today. The crowd is so young and I feel a huge generation gap with them…
Hi Ting! I love Thai food! Well in recent times anyway 😀 And that ad was so funny! OMG! 😀 I was pretty much like that (minus the drama) when I saw the size of the crab claw haha! Actually, I wasn’t fussed about discussing beauty – what more can you talk about that hasn’t been said right? More fun to talk about everything else 😀 It was so much fun and I’m glad you and Duen enjoyed the evening too 😀 p/s I’m going to hold you to your promise to go for more yummy Thai food next time! 😉
Geong Hee Huat Chai, Paris! OK. I have my promise down here in black and white. hahahaha! So I have another 12 months or less to plan for it, haven’t I? 🙂
Haha indeedy! 😀 Geong Hee Huat Chai, Ting! 😀
bkk looks like a really fun place and to think that i have never been there is a shame!
Project BKK this year! 😀
Looks really yummy PB! 😀 Makes me wanna take a trip up to BKK just to shop and eat!
Anyways, the ‘tau suan’ that you have mentioned in your post, it’s quite a favourite breakfast for us Kuching people. I have that for breakfast almost every weekend. But ours does not come with coconut milk. We just have it with that long deep fried flour thingy – argh – forgot what it’s called – ‘yew char kuey’ right? We usually have an option of ‘lek tau suan’ or ‘bu mee’ (hakka for black rice – literal translation – but it’s actually black sticky rice topped with coconut milk – coconut milk is optional though). How I miss those times!
Note: Been living in KL for more than 10 yrs now, hence the missing of kuching delicacies!
Time to plan a visit, Sharon! Bangkok is full of lovely eats 😀 I used to have lek tau suan back in my hometown too when growing up 😀 We too have it without the coconut cream which is what I prefer, because it makes it less heavy and yes, I love it with hot yew char kuey! OMG I’m salivating at the thought haha! 😀 I remember the pulut hitam dessert too – so good! Sometimes as a treat, my parents would take us out at night for these desserts so I have lots of fond memories. Not easy to find these old fashioned desserts anymore it seems 🙁 Next time I go to Kuching, I’m going to have to pick your brains for food! 😀
This is a wonderful post, PB! I love how both of you are rocking the short do! 😀
Oohh, you’re making me miss BKK so much! I’ll try to visit the first two makan places you featured the next time I’m there – the food looks amazing! 😀 I used to go to Hua Seng Hong every time i’m in BKK for their yummy dumpings and crab fried rice, but the last time I was there, the staff were unusually snooty towards us and the crab that arrived at our table was rancid so we decided not to return to the shop again. Guess it’s a one-off incident for my case – your crab dongfun does looks uber yum!! 😀 I didn’t realise they charge 60B for the aircon too… how sneaky! I’ll remember to sit outside the next time I’m there if i’m not feeling generous! 😛 And oh I super miss sotong eggs and the coconut ice cream from chatuchak!! T_T
My favourite place to dine at in BKK? Two places I can remember off my head – the chain restaurant Sizzler (best pork ribs ever!!) and a chu chao restaurant somewhere near Asia Hotel. I visit those two places multiple times whenever I’m in BKK! 😀
Haha I didn’t notice that we both had short hair! 😀 Rancid crab? Yucks! I guess I got lucky because it was my first time there and the crabs aren’t cheap. But oh so good 😛 Pork ribs you say? I’m so onto Sizzler the next time I go 😀 Time for you to plan your next BKK trip, Jenn!
OMG…that Crab Tang Hoon!! *wipes drool off keyboard* I had pretty good seafood at Somboon before in Bangkok, but it doesn’t look even close to what you had…I’m so bookmarking this for my next trip!
The difficulty I have in Bangkok is the language barrier – I’d love to try the hidden culinary gems, but if the name and/or menu is printed entirely in Thai (like the first restaurant you went to), I’m gonna be in trouble 🙁
Hmm I haven’t come across Somboon but I’ll look it up 🙂 You have to go and try these food or at least the crab tang hoon. Seriously waistline bustingly good! 😀 I have a huge language barrier in Bangkok too. I can barely speak anything but I’ve perfected the art of looking over at the next table and pointing 😉 As for the Thai one, I think they may have had some english words on the menu or some pictures. Worst come to worst, order the pad thai – super yummy, not oily and not sweet!
That looks like fantastic culinary trip, plus what fun meeting up with your reader! 🙂
Oh yes it was great fun and I think meeting up was the most fun bit of all! 😀