Bangkok -
The Gateway to Southeast Asia
Personal Blog - Thailand - Southeast Asia - Food
When people think about traveling to Southeast Asia, Thailand is likely within the top 2 choices. And within Thailand itself, the capital city of Bangkok draws in huge amounts of tourists with its delicious food, exotic culture, and endless shopping. Our trip was almost entirely food-focused, with the gals doing some shopping here and there.
Itinerary
- Jodd Night Fairs
- On Lok Yun
- Chatuchak Market
- Shopping at Siam Square and Siam Paragon
- Sky on 20 Novotel Night Bar
- Bubble in the Forest Café
- Shopping Malls
- ICON Siam
- Takashimaya
- centralwOrld
- Platinum Fashion Mall
- Charoen Nakhon 16 Mookata
- House of Heals
- Basil Pork and Chicken: Original Pad Kra Pao 1993
- Dog in Town Ari
- Chinatown
- Rung Rueang Pork Noodle
- Caturday Cat Café
Day 1
Jodd Night Fairs is a night market that is home to over 700 stalls of incredible food for various cuisines, drinks, desserts, and street shopping. It is definitely a must-do when coming to Bangkok.
Our plan to indulge into Thai food began at a tent found in the center of the fair, where we ordered an enormous platter of basil pork and rice along with a 4-egg omelet for the four of us. I also had some fresh coconut juice while the others gulped down on some delicious bubble milk tea.
We got fresh and perfectly sweet mango sticky rice for dessert while exploring more of the fair. There really is a wide variety of items to buy like any other Asian night market, but this one was unique in that some stalls were offering haircuts!
Day 2
We went to On Lok Yun for breakfast the next morning to try their Thai-style American breakfast. This popular café had all of the old-school vibes, reminiscent of classic Hong Kong cafés that bring you back to Asia before the modern commercial times.
The line was already very long by the time we arrived at 10 AM, stretching all the way to the corner of the block. Thankfully, the wait was not too long and we had a seat within 15 to 20 minutes.
We ordered two of their most popular items to see what all the hype was about. The fresh kaya (a coconut jam delicacy in Southeast Asia) was very creamy and just the right amount of sweet, and combining it with the fluffy bread made it even better.
Their signature platter of 2 eggs, bacon, ham, Western and Chinese sausage was also a simple delight.
Chatuchak Market is not just another Thai street market. With over 8,000 stalls to see, it is the largest street market in all of Thailand and one of the largest in all of the Asian continent. It is so large that it would take a whole day to explore the entire market. The aroma of Thai cuisine spices was ever-present in the air, coming from the many stalls eagerly providing delicious nourishment. The rows of shops felt never-ending, and there were many unique handcrafted products to browse. Tourists from countries all over the world gathered at this hotspot as well, giving the place an international flare.
We went from old-school street market back to the modern world when we hopped over to Siam Square. This area of Bangkok contains a plethora of outlets and several shopping malls that appeal more generally to the younger crowd, from unique boutique offerings to all the well-known brands. This was when I realized Bangkok is definitely pulling its own weight in terms of modern consumerism.
Everyone was really hungry so we took a break from a la carte Thai food to indulge in a Korean all-you-can-eat buffet.
The rest of the day was spent in the bustling Siam Square area and overall enjoying the window-shopping into the later evening.
We went to a rooftop bar at night to soak in the Bangkok skyline. Our choice was Sky on 20 at the Novotel, a chill sky lounge with cushiony seats looking out over the city.
It was quite hot even in this late at night, so there were giant fans blasting away while we enjoyed our handcrafted cocktails.
We ended up going back after 90 minutes and ordered some delivery Thai food for late night supper, for much cheaper than the hotel offerings. With our bellies full, we ended the day completely satisfied.
Day 3
We started our second full day at Bubble in the Forest Café. Located on the outskirts of Bangkok, this elusive establishment feels like a small taste of tropical paradise, with floating tables stemming from the curved walkway above the cyan colored water.
Along the sides has seating in open-air villas containing beanbags and even a swing. If you are lucky, you could score seats in the two-story villa and bask in the beautiful aesthetic of the entire café.
The food here was the best we have had up until this point, which is really surprising for a place targeted at tourists.
We began another mall crawl in the afternoon at ICON SIAM, the 10th largest shopping mall in the entire world. To my surprise, there is a Takashimaya here. The food hall has the same vibe as the one in Singapore, serving a wide variety of Japanese delights and other unique options.
The next mall, centralwOrld, is the largest mall in all of Thailand, even topping ICON SIAM at 9th place worldwide in size. It is enormous and has stores for anyone’s price range.
If you are looking for more budget shopping, the Platinum Fashion Mall is absolutely the place to go. The variety of endless clothes, shoes, and accessories found here beats that of any other mall that we had visited, and you will not get bored exploring all six stories. And just like a night market, feel free to exercise your haggling skills!
Dinner at Charoen Nakhon 16 captured what it felt like to truly experience South East Asia. They specialize in mookata, a Thai culinary creation of combining sizzling barbecue and savory hotpot into a single meal, giving you the best of both worlds.
Despite the sweltering heat from the skillet and steam, we all laughed and ate in joy as we enjoyed the fresh and delicious meat, veggies, and tom yum Mama noodles, finishing with many refreshing glasses of Pepsi.
This place also offers prawning as an activity if that suits your fancy.
The House of Heals was something by I did not think I’d ever experience in my lifetime. I did not have any interest in drag shows but the others wanted to see what the hype was about so I just played along. And it was one of the most surreal things I’d ever seen.
The live drag performances were very energetic, and people visiting from all over Asia (specifically Hong Kong, Korea, and us from Singapore) were have a blast. After several acts, the dance floor opened for free hang out time, and we lounged about and drank until closing.
Day 4
More cravings for basil pork brought us to Original Pad Kra Pao 1993 the next morning. The portions of delicious basil pork and chicken were generous, and each dish also included unlimited soup.
This part of the city was less touched by the modernization happening in central Bangkok; streets were more narrow, buildings and the surroundings were a bit more disheveled. Although there is a certain charm in older villages like these, hopefully one day the people living out here will be touched with things that would provide a higher quality of life.
Dog in Town Ari is a café that is home to more than a dozen adorable canines that you can hang out with and enjoy a drink. Entry is 350 baht and it includes a drink of your choice. My favorites were the plump corgis, but each little doggy has their own charm! The staff would periodically let the dogs in and out of the cafe area to stretch their legs and rest.
The bustling area of Chinatown would be our final stop of the day. We decided to have a taste of some wanton noodles that seemed overwhelmingly popular amongst the crowd. The employee led us into their shop selling old DVDs and other dates knick knacks, where there was a makeshift dining area in the corner.
After a short while, we went to experience a Thai massage. It was the first time for me, and always hearing about the characteristic pain of a Thai massage had gotten me curious. I have to say that it isn’t as painful as I had expected, and it was a great way to loosen up the body.
A unique mode of transportation to Bangkok and other parts of Thailand is the tuk tuk, a three-wheeled auto rickshaw. Each one is decorated differently by the driver, with various displays of colorful string lights and stickers. Many of them had speakers attached to their vehicles using zipties.
The four of us scrunched up in the back and jammed out to the driver’s tunes as he drove us back to the AirBnB. The night air blowing past my face was very refreshing after dealing with the Bangkok heat.
Day 5
To kick off our last day, we went to try an immensely popular Michelin-recommended noodle shop called Rung Rueang Pork Noodles. Not only was the line enormous, but there was also a large crowd of food delivery drivers waiting for to-go orders as well. This was a good indicator that the pork noodles were going to be delicious.
Our order consisted of both dry noodles and soup noodles in the original and tom yum flavors, topped with steaming sliced and ground pork, fresh bean sprouts, fish balls, and fish cake.
The restaurant is also split between the left and right side, so of course we had to try them both. That meant 8 tasty bowls of noodles.
We went to Caturday Cat Café afterwards for our final activity of the trip. They had a wide variety of cat breeds to interact with, of many different colors, shapes, and sizes. There was one huge orange Maine Coon in particular that really makes its presence known to people. The fatter cats often had grumpy looking faces but were very comfortable to lay around the human patrons.
Bangkok was a wonderful experience and I definitely plan to return at some point.
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