Street foodie adventure: bangkok

    I had some business in Bangkok. My husband (foodie like me) suggested we eat at some of the more popular Michelin starred street food while we are here. So, why not? I can find time.

First off, we tried looking into Jai fai. I was told the reservations would stretch till May (really?) At the time when people were scared to travel.. she was still busy. When we inquired, it was late afternoon and was told that the number was at 36 and the last number in line was 76. (More or less 2-3 hours wait). So the first shop we went to is MR. JO crispy pork.

It’s really easy to find using google maps and near where I was staying which was Chinatown. Their specialty was of course... crispy pork and then the soup which you had a choice of toppings. (Pork meat, pork liver, heart, tongue and various internal organs)

  The crispy pork reminded me of Bagnet and lechon kawali. It was ok. (Not like super fantastic)

The soup was very peppery.. very similar to bak kut teh of Singapore. I liked it.

After visiting this .. It makes you wonder what criteria Michelin does for the stars. LOL. It wasn’t mind blowingly fantastic. Just ok.

Now for the fun part... JAI  FAI.

It was genius of my friend to suggest we try to get a number at pre opening (10am) for the actual opening which was 1:30pm. She asked her staff to line up and get listed and we were #3 in line (woohoo). I got work done in the morning and we hurried off to the restaurant at 1pm (near to Chinatown also). We got there and saw Jai fai prepping for the start of her day. So as a thick skinned fan... I approached her for a picture which she obliged. (Jackpot!)

The restaurant was small... I guess maybe 7 tables at the most and all the cooking was done by Jai fai herself

The line outside... it was more after we came out after finishing our meal.

Jai fai has technique.... which was obvious after I bit into her crab omelette.

The large size (she had small-med-large) was priced at 1000 baht (about $35US) and full of crab meat and crab meat only. The egg part was very thin and CRISPY! Which amazed me. The crabmeat was very fresh and juicy inside... very very good.

Her shrimp were really jumbo sized and I really enjoyed this one. The shrimp with garlic ( I think 1000 baht also)

Traditional tomyum... warning...spicy!!! And the serving size good for 4 people. (It was ok. My thai friends said it was good)

Huge shrimp nearly the width of the bowl

Rad nar tally

 This was noodle with seafood (my friend said Hk style) and won an award with a local foodie body in Thailand as the “best” version in Thailand.
I found it ok. The seafood was huge but lacking the noodle part. 6/10 this is about 500baht ($17)

Phad kee mao talay

Thai style noodles (still lacking noodles for me.. it could have gotten more noodles).  6/10 about ($17)
Both the noodle dish were good for 2 person serving. But I highly recommend you order the crab omelette (order 2 if you are 4 people). It was really worth it. The stars of the meal was the shrimp and crab.

The waiting list for email reservations... which I think is allotted only 1 table... better take your chances with the early booking

The people outside waiting....

If you want the full menu... here are some pics

If you are ever in bangkok... and have friends who can book early for you. Try it!!

Flower Power: Bangkok

PAK KRONG TALAD. That's what they call the flower market in Bangkok. during my last trip, I need to bring home some nice flowers to help spruce up my home for an event. This market is near my hotel (see my other post on this) and Chinatown. You can take a TUK-TUK (a tricycle) and more or less the fare from the hotel would be 40 baht (60 pesos or $1.3)

Here you can find a smorgasbord of orchids. Thailand is known to breed a lot of orchids and they sell them quite cheap too. The more common variety (the violet colored ones) cost 50 baht (75 pesos, $1.7) per bunch. Some rare species would cost you 80 baht (120 pesos or $2.7) per bunch

They have some flowers that I don't recognize but are beautiful just the same. The have carnations, roses, mums

I researched this- it's called liatris.

bought some carnations

I bought some orchids and the carnations. I think the carnations were 80 baht also per pack. Walking here, you fell like you want to keep buying all the flowers. the problem was, I only have so many hands to hand carry them home. The flowers were so pretty and cheap!

I also bought these but didn't know what they were called.

tip 1: this is a market, don't be afraid to haggle. 

tip 2: as with all markets, not all shop owners are friendly and not all of them know English. No worries though as they would whip out a calculator to show you how much the flowers cost. Some also have price signs in the front.

 A visit to the flower market if you have the time is a must. I am sure your mother, wife, mother-in-law would surely love it if you bring her home some of the flowers found here.

Sidewalk eating: bangkok

Having a business in the fashion industry requires me to travel a few times a year. My usual haunts are Bangkok and Hong kong with an occasional visit to China. What I love about these places are the various things you find in terms of food.

Bangkok is a city full of food. Everywhere you walk you can see fruit vendors, and street food of all sorts. People here are very sanitary and you can rest assured that eating is quite safe. Once during our travel, my mom, like a typical chinese person bent over one fruit vendor and took a lanzones (duku in indonesia, lang-sat in Thailand)  and ate it. The old lady vendor eyed my mom. (chinese like picking vendor's fruits and tasting it). My mom, still pouring over the fruits threw the peel on the side of the road. The old lady grumbled, stood up and picked the peel my mom threw (this, while saying something in the native language.. w/c I am guessing would be cursing us for messing up her fruit and littering).

Most of the time, I stay in the Chinatown section of Bangkok. - food life here starts from  6pm onwards, when the stalls  come out and the people of Bangkok (sometimes you see a mercedes benz parked and the owner eating at a sidewalk stall) converge to eat. 

During the day, you can still satisfy your taste buds with the various barbeque you can pass by

this lady has no sale... thus the face

i love how they put the chicken between those skewers

I chanced upon this stall during lunch and there was a line of workers getting food. You can also get it with a side order of sticky rice

my "SUKI" BBQ guy

 My regular BBq guy usually sets up at about lunchtime. He sells the pork BBQ at 5 baht per stick (7 pesos or 15 cents) last time I was here, funny thing is, I took 3 sticks and gave him 20baht and he gave no change... maybe the price is now 7baht and he gave me a discount for being a good customer.
Communication is very simple. just point, get the sticks and then give excess payment and then wait for them to give you change.-- hahaha

they usually will point to the rice and inquire if you want some. or the chili sauce... (just tell them NINOY - for "only a little"... bec you wouldn't want to choke on too much chili sauce and believe me... a little goes a long way.)

I also saw a funky kind of fruit.. the first time I ever saw this kind - they call it SA'LA (short A)

It looks like a durian but red and smaller. I tasted it, it kind of tastes a bit on the sour side. My friend said they sometimes put in in syrup (to make it sweeter)

I also saw them roasting some bananas.... (didn't get to try it though)

All around you can also get FRESH orange or lime juice. This will cost about 60baht (90 pesos or $1.8) per 8 oz bottle. You can see them squeeze the juice right in front of you.

see the box of lime peels?

I highly recommend you try the juices. They help refresh you when you are tired from working and walking all day! I don't think we have anything like this here in Manila. 

I didn't get to take pictures of other street food around the area (I have my regular job to attend to--- you know!). There are still the juicy sausages, the various fruits, the grilled squid.... and I think I'll save that for a later post. 

The one thing you should always remember while traveling is-- keep an open mind, don't be afraid to try anything at least once, and see if the vendor has clean hands.

Happy Eating!

Bangkok Accessories

I finally had some free time to venture out on the side streets of Bangkok. More specifically, chinatown.

I have been staying here every time I fly into Bangkok. Chinatown is in YAOWARAT RD and the most convenient place to stay is at Grand China Princess Hotel.  It has the best facilities and is near to places to eat and shop. (the wholesale market)

If you walk across the street and turn left, you can see the whole street if full of wholesale shops that sell belts, ribbons, hair accessories. They will also sell you some (on retail) while other will ask you for minimun of 6 pcs.

one of the shops is this quaint one.. all the items I selected were 40Baht each (about $1.30 or 60 pesos)

crochet hair clips

sun flower crochet tie backs - nice for pony tails

flower crochet hairband

red hot chili pepper tie backs

an assortment of designs to choose from

some other shops sell other kinds of accessories

If you walk across the street, you will see a shop selling hats. The have all kinds they even have a huge cowboy hat as a logo.

After the Hat shop, walk further and you will reach the "main market road" its small walkway full of people- you won't miss it.

walking here, you can chance upon some shops where you can make your own charm bracelet..

choose your charms and you are good to go....

one of the nice stores I chanced upon was the OK station

Its a two part store, one part sells school stuff like pens, stationary and pencils. The other part of the store sells shirts. I found some nice ones like this Piglet shirt (sizes are small medium and large)

You have to buy at least 3 pcs (their minimum)for them to sell you the shirt-- - cost of the shirt range from 179B- 229B (about $6-$8)- you can get more discount if you buy more.

I find that even if you come to bangkok several times a year, you still will find something new to pique your interest.

happy shopping!