I realised many people wenta BBK for holiday in the past few weeks. My colleague went. My friend, Orchard Road, went too. And he managed to blog about it timely. I am going to blog about my short Bangkok shopping trip. But I am no good at telling stories. So please bear with me.
I am no stranger to BBK, this was my second trip to BBK in two years. The previous was a weeklong volunteering and cultural exchange trip with Chulalongkorn University. So it felt really good to be back there. The white shirt, black skirt, uniform was a familiar and eye-pleasing sight. Btw, do you know that those in tight shirt and short skirts are seniors, while those in loose shirt and long skirt are freshmen? I was quite impressed by the amount of respect the freshmen gave to their seniors during the previous trip. They actually bow and greet their seniors.
When you think about Bangkok, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Let me guess, most of you will say "traffic jams". And traffic jams are not something that belong to the ground only. Our plane had to circle above the airport for 15mins before landing on Bangkok International Airport. Traffic jam in the air.
There is a popular restaurant chain in BBK called MK Restaurant. Their menu featured steamboat, which the Thais called it Suki. There was no seafood, mainly vegetables and meat. The sour and spicy sauce was quite special. I saw the locals mixing the sauce with the soup and you got something like tom yam. Definitely belongs to the checklist of "must-try-food-in-Bangkok".
The other must-try food is the Thai stir-fried noodle with bean sprout, egg, green onion and crushed peanut, Pad Thai. The noodle is flat and white like kuay tiao, but smaller in width. You can find this dish in most restaurants and food courts, but I suggest you try those at the street stalls. I tried the "special" version at a stall outside a drug store near the Asia Hotel. It was so nice we went back for more the next night.
Talking about kuay tiao, you must try the Thai Kuay Tiao. In Thai, kuay tiao is actually yellow mee, and not the familiar local kuay tiao. There is this Kuay Tiao stall at Chatuchak Weekend Market Section 21. It is at the left corner of the market, along the Phahonyathin Road. The kuay tiao are served with a drumstick in each bowl, which are really tender and delicious. Together with a bottle of cold sweet chrysenthmen tea, it is enough to get you going again around the market on a hot day.
Food food food! If you have abit of cash, and wanna pamper your tired feet from all that shopping, there is a fantastic Thai-Vietnamese restaurant at the former World Trade Centre (I can't remember what they renamed the place to), the same place where you can find Isetan. If I remember correctly it is on level 6. I can't remember the name of the restaurant either (perhaps it is "Vietnamese-Thai Seafood Restaurant"), but it is quite easy to find. The ambience and food of the restuarant are great. The window view overlook the busy Rama 1 Road, the branded shopping malls across the road and the light rail track. You havta try the pineapple rice and the tom yam kung. The size of the head of the prawn was the biggest I ever seen. Actually I visited that restaurant the previous time I visited BBK. Food for about six to eight people and ambience of a high-class restaurant, you only have to pay about 2000 baht.
And if all that food still can't satisfy your craving, there is another restaurant where you must try, TK 老字号 Seafood at Chinatown. It is at the end of Thanon Phadungdao Road. Look out the the staff in green shirts. Below is a picture of the bbq prawns and lobsters! -drools- The food is nice and the waiters are very courteous.
They will greet the men 阿兄 and ladies 阿姐 in Teochew. The 招牌菜 is 蚝煎. There are lotsa oysters in it. Yum yum! And there is also the claypot 东粉螃蟹. The crabs are so soft you can just bite to crack the shells, the crab meat is sweet. Of coz there are also the usual prawns, shark fin soup, groupers, lobsters, vegetables, and other seafood. For 2000 baht again, you can have eight to ten dishes. It will be good to walk to the 林真香 nearby to buy some local food products, such as pork floss, longan, durian snacks, etc. to bring back for your friends. I ain't in the picture, cuz I was too busy trying out the food, no lah, I was the one taking the picture. heh heh.
They have samples so you can try before buying any. And after the shopping and you feel like having some dessert, I suggest bird nest soup at 南星 Restaurant. It is beside TK. The lowest grade and cheapest bird nest ginko soup is only 200 baht.
Shopping. One place, Chatuchak. Tourists love it. Locals love it too. Probably you have heard of it or been there too. How long do you think it will take to finish going thru Chatuchak? One full day? One and a half day? I say two weekends, if you know how to shop systematically and decisively. Do you know that there is actually a website? I suggest before you embark on your shopping quest, print out the map from the website or you can get the map from Entrance 3 of Chatuchak. Plan on which sections you will want to focus on to maximise your time there. Handicrafts? Clothings? Ceramics? In order to cover each section thoroughly, you should try to shop in a zig zag manner, outside in, then inside out, from left to right of each section. Then you can cover every aisle. Don't wanna miss any good bargains right??? Eg. a pair of jeans at 399 baht only which is as good wash and comfortable as a pair of levis. Of cuz some may say that there are many nice shopping spots in BBK, such as Pratunam and MBK. But I still find the best is at Chatuchak. Not to mention that the pretty Thai girls like to shop there too. ha ha.
In BBK, you should also try all the public transport. Tuk tuk, motor taxi, pink taxi, bus, BTS, subway. As most people know, Tuk-Tuk drivers are drivers from hell. You will find that they were not exaggerating in the Visa James Bond commercial. hee hee. But the surprise was from the good old taxi. We met a driver who was more well-travelled than anyone I know. He had travelled to so many countries. Eg, Switzerland 9 times, China 6 times, Japan 21 times. According to him, Japan is most interesting country and Singapore is boring. He visited us thrice. Of cuz he also travelled to the States, Europe, Africa before. I think he probably drive taxi as a hobby. So never judge a book by its cover. heh heh. Interesting observation on the BTS too. BTS is the light rail system. They let passengers alight the train first. No need for any yellow boxes or lines. In Singapore, even with those boxes and lines, people will still try to squeeze in first. By the way, they also use the contactless card for the subway, similar to EzLink, only better. Why? The single trip ticket is a small black chip. At the exit turnstile, instead of tapping, you drop the chip into the machine. In this way, there is no need to get back deposits at the ticketing machines. I got a feeling either SMRT did not try hard enough or they wanted to bring more business to the EzLink card manufacturer, giving the economy a boost, maybe? Finally, don't forget the bus. There are some old buses, which are like the 70s and early 80s buses in Singapore. There are bus conductors on these buses, and you pay the fare to them. So you get to collect the bus tickets too! Nostalgic for the older generation, and eye-opener for the young ones.
Finally, here's a funny sign I saw in a toilet. Watch out! Your belongings may bite! Ouch!
Ah, I think thats alot I blabbered about the shop shopping trip. Hope the lil' suggestions will be useful to those going to BBK for their shopping too. Cheers!
I am no stranger to BBK, this was my second trip to BBK in two years. The previous was a weeklong volunteering and cultural exchange trip with Chulalongkorn University. So it felt really good to be back there. The white shirt, black skirt, uniform was a familiar and eye-pleasing sight. Btw, do you know that those in tight shirt and short skirts are seniors, while those in loose shirt and long skirt are freshmen? I was quite impressed by the amount of respect the freshmen gave to their seniors during the previous trip. They actually bow and greet their seniors.
When you think about Bangkok, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Let me guess, most of you will say "traffic jams". And traffic jams are not something that belong to the ground only. Our plane had to circle above the airport for 15mins before landing on Bangkok International Airport. Traffic jam in the air.
There is a popular restaurant chain in BBK called MK Restaurant. Their menu featured steamboat, which the Thais called it Suki. There was no seafood, mainly vegetables and meat. The sour and spicy sauce was quite special. I saw the locals mixing the sauce with the soup and you got something like tom yam. Definitely belongs to the checklist of "must-try-food-in-Bangkok".
The other must-try food is the Thai stir-fried noodle with bean sprout, egg, green onion and crushed peanut, Pad Thai. The noodle is flat and white like kuay tiao, but smaller in width. You can find this dish in most restaurants and food courts, but I suggest you try those at the street stalls. I tried the "special" version at a stall outside a drug store near the Asia Hotel. It was so nice we went back for more the next night.
Talking about kuay tiao, you must try the Thai Kuay Tiao. In Thai, kuay tiao is actually yellow mee, and not the familiar local kuay tiao. There is this Kuay Tiao stall at Chatuchak Weekend Market Section 21. It is at the left corner of the market, along the Phahonyathin Road. The kuay tiao are served with a drumstick in each bowl, which are really tender and delicious. Together with a bottle of cold sweet chrysenthmen tea, it is enough to get you going again around the market on a hot day.
Food food food! If you have abit of cash, and wanna pamper your tired feet from all that shopping, there is a fantastic Thai-Vietnamese restaurant at the former World Trade Centre (I can't remember what they renamed the place to), the same place where you can find Isetan. If I remember correctly it is on level 6. I can't remember the name of the restaurant either (perhaps it is "Vietnamese-Thai Seafood Restaurant"), but it is quite easy to find. The ambience and food of the restuarant are great. The window view overlook the busy Rama 1 Road, the branded shopping malls across the road and the light rail track. You havta try the pineapple rice and the tom yam kung. The size of the head of the prawn was the biggest I ever seen. Actually I visited that restaurant the previous time I visited BBK. Food for about six to eight people and ambience of a high-class restaurant, you only have to pay about 2000 baht.
And if all that food still can't satisfy your craving, there is another restaurant where you must try, TK 老字号 Seafood at Chinatown. It is at the end of Thanon Phadungdao Road. Look out the the staff in green shirts. Below is a picture of the bbq prawns and lobsters! -drools- The food is nice and the waiters are very courteous.
Shopping. One place, Chatuchak. Tourists love it. Locals love it too. Probably you have heard of it or been there too. How long do you think it will take to finish going thru Chatuchak? One full day? One and a half day? I say two weekends, if you know how to shop systematically and decisively. Do you know that there is actually a website? I suggest before you embark on your shopping quest, print out the map from the website or you can get the map from Entrance 3 of Chatuchak. Plan on which sections you will want to focus on to maximise your time there. Handicrafts? Clothings? Ceramics? In order to cover each section thoroughly, you should try to shop in a zig zag manner, outside in, then inside out, from left to right of each section. Then you can cover every aisle. Don't wanna miss any good bargains right??? Eg. a pair of jeans at 399 baht only which is as good wash and comfortable as a pair of levis. Of cuz some may say that there are many nice shopping spots in BBK, such as Pratunam and MBK. But I still find the best is at Chatuchak. Not to mention that the pretty Thai girls like to shop there too. ha ha.
In BBK, you should also try all the public transport. Tuk tuk, motor taxi, pink taxi, bus, BTS, subway. As most people know, Tuk-Tuk drivers are drivers from hell. You will find that they were not exaggerating in the Visa James Bond commercial. hee hee. But the surprise was from the good old taxi. We met a driver who was more well-travelled than anyone I know. He had travelled to so many countries. Eg, Switzerland 9 times, China 6 times, Japan 21 times. According to him, Japan is most interesting country and Singapore is boring. He visited us thrice. Of cuz he also travelled to the States, Europe, Africa before. I think he probably drive taxi as a hobby. So never judge a book by its cover. heh heh. Interesting observation on the BTS too. BTS is the light rail system. They let passengers alight the train first. No need for any yellow boxes or lines. In Singapore, even with those boxes and lines, people will still try to squeeze in first. By the way, they also use the contactless card for the subway, similar to EzLink, only better. Why? The single trip ticket is a small black chip. At the exit turnstile, instead of tapping, you drop the chip into the machine. In this way, there is no need to get back deposits at the ticketing machines. I got a feeling either SMRT did not try hard enough or they wanted to bring more business to the EzLink card manufacturer, giving the economy a boost, maybe? Finally, don't forget the bus. There are some old buses, which are like the 70s and early 80s buses in Singapore. There are bus conductors on these buses, and you pay the fare to them. So you get to collect the bus tickets too! Nostalgic for the older generation, and eye-opener for the young ones.
Finally, here's a funny sign I saw in a toilet. Watch out! Your belongings may bite! Ouch!
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