Travelogue Bangkok Day 3: Khup Koon Ka

Bottom clockwise: Somtum, seafood tomyum soup and salt crusted fish

We are such gluttons; we had to stuff our faces with more food for the last time - our last supper, so to say. We literally crossed the bridge from Pratunam heading towards Central / BigC - you really can't miss the street stalls just after the bridge. They are forever packed with people! We were literally sweating like pigs, squished together while eating. I have to say it was the least comfortable place to sit down for a meal but we wanted to do it merely for the experience.

'Khup Koon Ka', Bangkok! Thank you for having us!

I hope you have enjoyed this series of travelogue to the Land of Smiles. If it is not obvious enough, this is the last post to Travelogue Bangkok. =D

Note: In case you were wondering, we left the next afternoon after having one more round of beef noodles.

Travelogue Bangkok Day 3: Can you speak Chinese?

Finally, the chance to taste the real pad thai. How should I describe it? It wasn't as sweet as the ones we have in Oz. However, if I have to choose between the Malaysian Char Kuey Teow and Thailand's Pad Thai, I would have Char Kuey Teow at any given time. Anyway, it was an extremely funny experience which took place in Chinatown, Bangkok. There was such a huge communication barrier between us and the auntie, just the thought itself now makes me laugh.

We hunted for more yummy treats along the streets of Chinatown and stopped at this other Chinese shop which I believe is very popular among the locals. The soup was really peppery, it reminded me so much of the Malaysian pork tripe soup. I loved it! The owners, this time, were rather fluent in Mandarin which made the conversation more enjoyable. 

Remember, men need laughter sometimes more than food. 

Anna Fellows Johnston

We believe company makes the food taste much better. Now, throw in some laughter too!

Travelogue Bangkok Day 3: There is no end...

...to food and more franchise food. =D

 

Mum really wanted to try the Samurai Pork Burger. *ticks off her list of food to try* 

This is because we do not get pork burger in Malaysia.

We were so busy comparing the taste between ketchup/catsup and tomato sauce. They had both! 

We'll leave the burger to mum. 

Travelogue Bangkok Day 3: A local franchise

I never thought I would revisit a mall at Bangkok- but it happened. We were back at Indra Square, hunting for a specific blouse, and also saw a conman trying to chat up another stranger (obviously for some money). The one thing Indra Square has failed to offer me is good coffee. =(

But I truly needed coffee! We settled for a place located on the ground floor, a local franchise, known as 'Ninety-four coffee'. Apparently it is located centrally everywhere in Bangkok and Chiangmai. 

A pork curry lunch set which I thought wasn't bad but was overpriced. The serving was small; it doesn't help that I'm not a big fan of rice too. All in all, we are paying for franchise food which is often more expensive. 

How do you like the iPhone cover? =) Or do you not see it?

Ninety-four coffee
https://www.facebook.com/94coffee

Travelogue Bangkok Day 3: We're on a boat!

Remember the brekkie 'I do not bother posting about'? I managed to find a snapshot of it somehow, to justify my previous comment.  Enough said, we decided to join a half day tour to make our lives easier. 

Damnoensaduak Floating Market- Apologies as this is not the 'money shot'. 

Loved this cheerful old lady- I actually had trouble locating her after. I wanted to buy whatever she was selling because she was so pleasant!

I thought the mango sticky rice was better at Indra Square's foodcourt (that's if my memory serves me correctly). This was almost too creamy for my liking. 

Now, can I say I was literally forced to have a taste of this?!! This thin crepe was filled with coconut cream and grated carrots or something. It was definitely coconut cream! Mum loved it. 

 We literally pushed our luck with this- some spicy flavoured soup with kuay teow. The tour guide was already standing there as we were having our first mouthful. She called herself 'Miss Bangkok' and was waiting to take us up a speedboat she claimed as 'James Bond Boat'. We thought the flavours were different from the previous broths we had, and this was definitely full of heat. 

Travelogue Bangkok Day 2: Best Somtam 2010 CNNgo.com rates

Sorry, am still at the phase of exploring different programs which hopefully explains all the previous ''not-so-great" pictures and this random collage of our day 2 dinner place!

Another planned dinner, I really wanted to go for the somtam and was willing to be one of the many people standing in line waiting for a table. Didn't it justify our food consumption during tea earlier?

Okay, my long-awaited somtam with salted egg (long awaited meaning 'before I stepped into the country'). There was absolutely nothing I hated on this small plate, from ingredients to flavours. There has been much mixed reviews on this place and one of the comments made was this dish being overly sour but I loveddd the sourness!

Another dish popularly debated online- fried fish pieces which merely meant fish cakes. This was a very last minute order, we saw it at the next table and told the waiter immediately. I did not even know this dish was written up as 'fried fish pieces' until much later. Nothing to comment really, it is fish cakes after all.

Ooo... fried chicken! I love my fried chicken and this was good!

 Spicy pork bone soup (because they do not have tomyum and this was the closest to it). It was really spicy and I suggest people with gastric should have this along with rice or something as substantial.

Grilled fish for another good dose of Thai simple flavours.

Another dish not worth shouting about- the fried noodles with pork floss as presentation.

Finally, the minced pork dish which went so well with rice.

I thought the place was totally worth the money, half the cost of my previous night's dinner with just as many dishes if not more. Despite it being an overrated or overhyped restaurant, I would definitely go there again. It is normal for restaurants to have some top dishes and some okay dishes, don't you agree?

Som Tam Nua, Bangkok

Siam Square Soi 5
่่สยามสแควร์ ซอย 5

Phone: 02-2514880
Opening Hours: 11.00am - 09.00pm

Travelogue Bangkok Day 2: We are such liars

Now, why do I make such a claim? Well, we really don't stop eating pork. =D After much shopping, we had tea at Indra Square's foodcourt. We really just need somewhere to rest our feet, more than anything else.

This is where we found the Angry Birds fishcakes and ate some pork sausages.

Ice kacang Thai style? There was a huge variety to choose from, and we ended up with three if I'm not mistaken. I never know what those bits are called, except for the gingko nuts. We had some preserved papaya in it too. To be honest, I did not like this due to the coconut milk in it. Malaysian ice kacang is so much better with awesome gula melaka, also known as palm sugar

Well, we are in Thailand after all. Please say you know what this is; mango sticky rice- a classic Thai dish.

I know it is possibly hard to distinguish what crepe this is from the picture. All I can say is, we started our tea with pork and ended it with more pork!

Travelogue Bangkok Day 2: No more pork!

After a 'I-really-wouldn't-bother-posting-this" breakfast at the hotel and some street shopping, we went to this little shop lot which serves beef noodles. I do not know the address but it is just around the block next to Baiyoke Sky hotel on its left. 

Beef balls and noodles because the boy didn't like all the other bits of a bull. Haha, it sounds really weird but I'm merely lost for words now. 

This is the bowl with everything in it because mum will eat them regardless. 

This place has been recommended by our close family members and we truly don't regret our choice visiting. It was soooo good, we made time to go there again on our last day. In fact, we literally waited for an hour to have another bowl before flying on a jet plane. 

Okay, I got ahead of myself. More to come still on this travelogue, this is not the end. =)

Travelogue Bangkok Day 1: All for a good cause

Not too far down a dodgy alley was this place; the place where we had dinner...

 

They have the cutest tagline for themselves, 'Our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy'. I loved the concept they have behind the restaurant as well as their handicraft shop.

"Our restaurant was conceptualized in part to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA),a non profit organization inThailand." ~ Quoting C&C

But enough said! It is now time for the food. First, we started off with some skewers. You can have either chicken or pork but we knew exactly what we wanted...

 Marinated pork on a stick.

  

And how can I possibly visit Thailand and not get a dose of this?

Thai spicy shrimp soup, seasoned with chilli, lime, lemongrass and galanga

Deep fried pork with pepper and garlic 

This was not what we expected. If I'm not mistaken, we were thinking that the dish would be thinner strips of pork meat.

Steamed whole sea bass with chilli, lemons and vegetable

Bah! Another flavour you cannot afford to miss in Thailand. Simple yet totally appetising.

Steamed prawns with glass noodle and celery. 

This was a rather disappointing dish. It really didn't taste bad, but we were (or I was) just misguided by the illustrations in the food menu. Why can't I remember the other famous tagline 'Photos are for illustration purposes only.'?

Glutinous rice two ways. 

At the end of the meal, each patron gets a condom to keep. I still have mine - haven't removed it from my bag. Again, another pretty expensive meal for the three of us as the bill came up to 1454 baht. 

Well, this has summed up my first day in the hot country. It didn't help that it was the hottest month of the year.  

Cabbages and Condoms

Sukhumvit Soi 12

Bangkok

Travelogue Bangkok Day 1 : Another franchise

I can be such a sucker for franchise food and beverages. 

For tea, we had a Java chip frappucino *hearts* and a hot chocolate (if I'm not mistaken). Isn't it cute to see Thai writings on the cup? 

Two facts on Starbucks if you do not know already...

1) Starbucks in Adelaide closed down a few years ago.

2) There are two outlets of Starbucks opposite each other on one of the main streets of Bangkok.

Travelogue Bangkok Day 1: Tony Roma's

It's official, the release of our second travelogue. Good afternoon sunny Bangkok! Savadika! 

Bro has been extremely excited before our trip- quote: "We get pork ribs in Bangkok!!! You must try it!" To clarify, we do get pork ribs anywhere else except for Malaysia. *shucks* Herb butter is always good,

I just don't appreciate it as much as most people do.

Famous for ribs- we ordered two sets of executive business lunch sets. 

Sausages and ribs with roasted garlic and rosemary sauce. I had to order it... *Ooo... sausages.*

Chicken wings and ribs with red hots sauce (a blend of chilli pepper, crushed red pepper, black pepper, chipotle peppers and Tabasco sauce). 

Had to say, I love the sauces but wasn't pleased with the coleslaw. I can't believe how expensive food cost in franchises around Bangkok when street / local food are so much cheaper. Having said that, I am one of those people that pay for these food. 

This is the stuff that legends are made of.

Tony Roma

Nailert Building

Ground Floor

87 Sukhumvit Road

Bangkok 10110

Korean Lunch Special

It was one of those days where leftovers for lunch was not appetizing. Cold spring rolls or sandwiches did not sound appealing either. So what do you have on a cold day like this?

Hot and spicy Korean ramen, of course!!! A unanimous decision which was made in less than 5 minutes. And we were in luck as Arirang has just recently started to offer ramen on their menu.

 

Mmm... I know it looks like a 'gourment' version of Nong Shim packet noodles but it tasted so good - there must be some secret ingredient as the Nong Shim noodles that I make do not taste as delicious! The best bit, there's an egg hidden underneath all those noodles! Served with a side of kimchi, this hot and spicy ramen costed $8. It really hits the spot during a cold day! 

Arirang

93 Barrack Street, Perth WA 6000

www.arirang.com.au

Angry Birds Invasion

 They have finally invaded planet Earth!!! And into edible food too! Look at these 'pau's/ steamed buns. =)

On another occassion, I found them on sticks too. This time, they were little fish cakes which ended up in a deep fryer.

 By the way, the cute little paus aren't just dedicated to Angry Birds. Say hi to Hello Kitties and Doraemons.

Oh, Winnies too!

This tiger costs a little bit more (like 10 cents?! Haha) due to the intricate workmanship. 

Did I actually eat any of these steamed buns? No. They are wayyyyyy too cute. =)