Bangkok: Where and What to eat

Hello!

I've just returned frm a short getaway to Bangkok and Hong Kong! I'm not done with my entry on Portugal yet but ahh I can't wait to write abt all the amazing food I've had in Bangkok! Promise to continue my entry on Portugal soon!!! But for now, allow me to show you what Bangkok has to offer.

Just like many other Singaporeans, I've been to Bangkok countless of times! Bangkok was a frequent family holiday destination when I was young because my dad had business connections in Thailand. We used to stay in Ambassador Hotel at 171, Soi 11 Sukhumvit Road (Nearest BTS station: Nana) until my dad bought an apartment in Bangkok. So for my recent trip, I stayed in my dad's apartment which is conveniently located in Silom.
The last time I stayed in Ambassador hotel was probably more than 10 yrs ago and so I'm not quite sure how the rooms and hotel service is like now. But if you'd like to check it out, here's the website: http://www.ambassadorbangkok.th1.org/

Prior to my recent trip with a friend, the last time I visited Bangkok was probably more than 7 yrs ago. Hence before my flight, I did a lot of research on places to visit (mostly cafes and restaurants for good food) And I'm glad I did becos the food places we visited during the trip were AMAZING!!!

Before I zoom into the places I visited in Bangkok, I'm gonna make a list of the top 10 Thai food you must try when you visit Thailand:
1. Pineapple rice -- This would top my list anyday, I love pineapple rice! Pity I didn't have the time to eat it during my recent trip!
2. Basil chicken with rice (Gai pad krapow) -- MUST TRY!!!!! Super yummy, it's basically chicken stir fried with garlic and basil leaves. It is slightly spicy and the basil leaves makes the whole dish really fragrant.
3. Omelette (Khai jiao) -- People would probably think I'm nuts to put this in my list but NOOO you have to try this dish! It's different from the Western/ Chinese type of omelette, the fried egg is really crispy at the sides! Very tasty!
4. Tom yum soup -- Sour and spicy soup, a must try but beware if you cannot take spicy! If I'm not wrong, there's 2 types, the clear soup type and a milky version. I like the clear soup one better.
5. Mango sticky rice/ durian sticky rice -- OMG a piece of heaven in my mouth, best Thai dessert hands down! For those who don't knw what durian is or have nvr tried durian before, I'd recommend the mango sticky rice instead. Durian is a pungent fruit with an acquired taste, most people won't like it if they've nvr tried it before.
6. Sliced pig trotters (Khao kha mu) -- Tastes somewhat like Chinese braised pork but the meat is super tender and the sauce is so yummy! I LOVE IT even though it's mostly fatty meat!
7. Green papaya salad (Som tam) -- Tried it for the first time during my recent trip. I've to say it's an interesting dish, slightly spicy too. It's an ~okay~ dish for me, I don't mind it but I wouldn't say I love it.
8. Pad Thai -- Stir-fry pho noodles with loads of beansprout (haha not a fan of beansprout) It's also an ~okay only~ dish for me, but of cos do not miss out on this Thai delight when you visit Thailand.
9. Thai green curry -- Also an ~okay only~ dish to me becos all curries taste the same to me! Except Thai curries are usually pretty spicy so be prepared!
10. Coconut -- Nvr leave Thailand without eating a coconut! Get it cheap frm a street side vendor! Use a spoon to scrap coconut meat frm the husk and hydrate yourself with the refreshing coconut juice!

Here are some of the places I visited during my recent trip:

Roast Cafe
2nd Floor, Seenspace
Thong Lor Soi 13
Nearest BTS: Thong Lo

Seafood stew

Duck Confit

My friend, Ronald and I took the BTS skytrain to Thong Lo station and walked to this place. It took us abt 15 mins to locate this cafe and we were absolutely starving by the time we have arrived. Walking is NOT recommended unless you are desperate to lose weight before you feast/ you wanna arrive in the cafe drenched in sweat. It is a long walk and the sun was merciless while we were there. Taxi is cheap in Bangkok and I'm sure the taxi fare would only cost at most 100 baht (~SGD$4)

Roast cafe serves mainly Western/ Italian food so do not expect any Thai dishes. I think they're famous for their brunch (I'm not sure???) but anywayz I ordered the seafood stew and Ronald had the duck confit! My seafood stew was so delicious! And Ronald really liked his duck confit too!!!
The cafe offers free wifi too (woohoo plus points!) I'd love to come back here during my nxt visit to Bangkok!

Mr Jones Orphanage

1st floor, Seenspace

Thong Lor Soi 13

Nearest BTS: Thong Lo

We went to Mr Jones Orphanage for desserts after our late lunch at Roast Cafe. Mr Jones Orphanage is located in the same building as Roast cafe and it is a cute little cafe serving mainly desserts and drinks.

OMG CAKES GALORE!

Ronald and I ordered the strawberry passion fruit sponge cake and chocolate banana cake and to be honest, we weren't impressed. The cakes were average aka waste of calories!!! They're not the dense and heavy kinda cake, more of the light and fluffy kind but even then, they weren't all that fantastic. For the strawberry passion fruit sponge cake, Ronald and I agreed that the passion fruit icing on top of the cake saved the day. And the chocolate banana cake was just meh, don't think they used high quality chocolate for this....

But well, it's a really really nice cafe! Love the deco cos everything's so cute! But the desserts were really just meh and a waste of calories!

Took Lae Dee

87 Sukhumvit Soi 5

Sukhumvit Road

Nearest BTS: Nana

Basil leaves chicken with rice (Gai pad krapow)

Fried macaroni

I've been to Took Lae Dee since I was a kid! I think my dad found this place by chance since it is located near Ambassador Hotel. It's not a fanciful restaurant, just a simple eating place located in front of Foodland supermarket. It is opened 24 hrs and they serve a wide variety of food ranging frm Thai cuisine to Western food. The prices are reasonable and a simple meal would probably only set you back by abt 165 baht (~SGD$6)

Since my first visit more than 10 yrs ago, I fell in love with the fried macaroni there and it has been a must-go place for me everytime I visit Bangkok! Even though fried macaroni is not a Thai dish but I strongly recommend that you order this becos it's so yummy!! I think their secret ingredient would be carnation milk (kinda saw the chef pouring a bit into my dish)

My dad likes the mackerel steak with garlic fried rice. And their basil leaves chicken with rice isn't too bad too! The portions aren't huge so I tend to order 2 portions whenever I'm there (Or maybe cos I'm a pig....)

To get to this place, you can take the BTS to Nana station and it's only a 5 min walk so it's pretty convenient.

Sweet Hound Cafe

1st floor, Siam Paragon

Nearest BTS: Siam

Mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream

Red velvet waffles, omg doesn't it look good?

Sweet Hound cafe is a dessert place located at the side of Another Hound cafe in Siam Paragon. I've heard so much abt the red velvet waffles in this place and was excited to try them for myself! And I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed at all! The presentation was simple -- red coloured waffles served with sliced strawberries and cream, along with berry compote and butter. I've nvr been a waffles kinda person but the
red velvet waffles at Sweet Hound was simply amazing. It was served hot and crispy and there are cranberries embedded within the waffles too! So yummy!!!!

Ronald ordered 2 desserts (PIG) -- the mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream and plain waffles with honey. He enjoyed both desserts alot too!

I'm definitely coming back here for the red velvet waffles during my nxt visit to Bangkok!

After You

Ground floor, Siam Paragon

Nearest BTS: Siam

(Other outlets including Silom complex, Central Plaza Lardphrao etc)

After You Siam Paragon

Their extensive dessert menu

Shibuya honey toast

After You Silom Complex (Nearest BTS: Saladeng)

Ferrero toast

Ronald and I visited their Siam Paragon branch on our 2nd day and even at 4pm, there was a queue! We waited for abt 15 mins before getting a table! Took a long time to decide on what to order becos everything in the menu looked really good! I read online that their Shibuya honey toast (165 baht, approx SGD$6) was good but I didn't really wanna order that. After all, it's just thick toast drizzled with honey and ice cream, how fantastic can it be? But Ronald convinced me to do so becos he said that if they can't even get the basic right, then there's no point trying the more complex looking desserts.

So we ordered the Shibuya honest toast and the waiter told Ronald it was gonna take abt 20 mins but it arrived in less than 5 mins. Yay for efficiency. The presentation was nothing spectacular, just thick toast with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and cream. I wasn't expecting much but then I took my first bite and OMG WHAT KINDA SORCERY IS THIS??? It was sooooo yummy!!! The toast was warm and crispy at the sides but soft in the middle (Beware: There's loads of melted butter in the middle of the toast, I'm no fan of butter but this was yummy!) Simply heavenly when paired with the ice cream. Omg so damn good.

Pity we were too full for another dessert so we agreed to check out their outlet at Silom Complex the nxt day! Their outlet at Silom was crowded too and we had to wait for abt 10 mins before getting a table. But compared to the branch in Siam Paragon, the one at Silom Complex was much bigger and looked nicer!

We ordered the Ferrero toast this time becos I really wanted to try it! It was slightly more pricey than their Shibuya honey toast (195 baht) but it was totally worth the money. So yummy too!!!

I'm definitely going back to After You for more of their toasts during my nxt visit! Wish they'd open an outlet in Singapore haha!

Som Tam Nua

392/14 Soi Siam Square 5

Rama 1 Road

Nearest BTS: Siam

Fried chicken

Som tam (Green papaya salad)

Grilled pork neck

Read alot abt this place online and heard that there's always a long queue and it's famous for their som tam. Went there at abt 6pm and got a table within 10 mins. Even though there was a slight queue outside but when I got into the restaurant, I realized that there were many empty tables??? HMMM.....
Ordered their famous som tam and chicken wings. It's my first time trying som tam and omg it's actually pretty spicy! Quite an interesting dish, spicy and nutty. The chicken wings and grilled pork neck weren't anything fantastic, tasted pretty ordinary to me.

Verdict: Don't think I'll visit this place ever again lol. Sure their som tam's pretty nice but the rest of the dishes were meh and they didn't have tom yum soup or any other thai dishes that I like.

Pratunam Wonton mee and Pork leg rice

4/32-33 Soi Petchburi 19, Pratunam

Nearest BTS: Ratchetewi (Walk 1.1km)

Located just opposite Platinum Mall, the lane beside Shibuya

Went there with high expectations but I was kinda disappointed becos this wonton mee is definitely not my kinda wonton mee. To me, a good wonton mee shld have caramelized char siew (BBQ pork) and be full of flavour, not some random slices of red meat as seen in the picture. And the wonton shld be huge with shrimps in them, not some small pathetic wonton stuffed with minced meat.

The wonton mee at Pratunum may be popular with locals and some Singaporeans but I wasn't impressed. The noodles was tossed with lard oil and I HATE LARD (omg do you knw how fattening that stuff is???) I like my wonton mee with black sauce. The char siew and wonton weren't that fantastic either, it tasted as good as it looked. In fact the char siew tasted just like normal sliced pork to me?

Ronald and I ordered a pork leg to share and we had no idea that the dish was gonna be so fatty? There was hardly any lean meat at all. I'm a real picky eater and I don't eat fatty meat so I barely touched the dish.

Verdict: I'm nvr coming back. If you're a fan of noodles tossed in lard oil, then this wonton mee is for you.

Dean and DeLuca

Unit 8, 1st floor

98 North Sathorn Road

Silom Bangrak

Nearest BTS: Chong Nonsi, Exit 1

The only reason why Ronald and I visited Dean and DeLuca in Bangkok was becos my parents couldn't stop raving abt the interior design of the place. I've been to the Dean and DeLuca in Singapore for both dinner and desserts and in my opinion, the food at Dean and DeLuca isn't that delicious and definitely not worth the money. The desserts on the other hand, are pretty decent and I like their caramel tart alot.

Anywayz the Dean and DeLuca in Bangkok is located in Chong Nonsi which is really close to my dad's apartment. Unlike the Dean and DeLuca in Singapore, the outlet in Bangkok is in a stand alone building of its own and there is a huge dining area for patrons. The cafe offers free wifi too.

We visited the place at arnd 8pm one night and our original plan was to get some cakes and enjoy the aircon for a bit but in the end, we decided to order some food instead. Biggest regret of my life becos the food was absolutely horrible. I ordered seared tuna with avocado on foccacia bread (250 baht) and it was a waste of calories. The bread was tough and the whole dish was just weird. Ronald had some sandwich thing and he also didn't like it very much.

Coconut ice cream @ JJ Market

Chatuchak weekend market
Nearest BTS: Mo Chit OR
Nearest MRT: Chatuchak Park

If you're going to Chatuchak market, plz do not leave without trying this ice cream!!! I'm not a fan of coconuts but this ice cream is DA BOMBZ!!!! Served in a coconut husk, this is the perfect refreshment on a hot day! At only 35 baht (~SGD$1.20), you get a scoop of coconut ice cream with 3-4 coconut slices and 2 toppings of your choice and a cup of coconut juice! So cheap and good!!!

Ronald and I ate it TWICE when we were there! For my first scoop, I had sticky rice and nata de coco as my toppings. And for my second scoop, they ran out of sticky rice so I had hazelnut and nata de coco instead. There are many other toppings for you to choose from, including corn, attap chee etc. Definitely a must-try when you visit Chatuchak market!

Street food

In Thailand, it is not difficult to grab a cheap and fast meal by the street. Many tourists may question how hygienic the food preparation is/ whether it is safe to eat street food, but lemme assure you that street food is safe for consumption and it is cheap and good! Want authentic Thai food? Well, get out there and grab some street food.

Ronald and I had street food twice during our short trip! In the picture above, we had sliced pork kway teow soup frm a street stall just outside my dad's apartment! And it only costs 30 baht for a bowl (~SGD$1.20) Cheap or CHEAP??? And the soup was really tasty!

We tried sliced fish soup with meat balls in Thanon Convent (Silom area, nearest BTS: Saladeng) and it was really yummy too! Gotta love street food!

And that's abt all the cafes and restaurants I visited during my recent trip! Of cos, we had Thai food during our trip too but they're all frm the foodcourt of the shopping malls we visited.
I think I've gained like 5kg during my trip! Really gotta love Thai food and desserts! Hee hee!

Attacking the mango seed even when I'm done with my mango sticky rice hee hee!

Okay that's all for now! Will update on places to shop in Bangkok soon! X