day two (cont) - We loved chatuchak market for shopping but saved our appetite for the food court at Or Tor Fruit Market. It’s about a 10-minute walk from Chatuchak , the fruit market was uncrowded, well-lit, clean and cool in stark contrast to the chaos of the weekend market.
After moving from stand to stand, we hit upon the food court, which had a dizzying array of thai and chinese food. We started with a combination mussel and oyster omelet, made expertly by a woman that looked like she’d made quite a few omelets in her day. It was just wonderful , cost was about 80 baht ($3). Next up was massaman curry. The sauce was much thinner and less sweet than we’ve had in the states, we loved the spicy/sweet balance. On our way out we shared a wonderful pork satay with a sweetish, caramelized sauce.
We had a late-ish dinner at Baan Somtum Sathorn, a short walk from the eastin. The papaya salad was wonderful, the best I’ve had. The waiter suggested “one chile spicy” and it was on the edge of too spicy for us. The fried papaya salad was well-prepared but lacked flavor. The fried chicken wings were greaseless, spicy and perfect when dipped in the accompanying sauce. We also had a nice shrimp stir fry with a bitter/sour vegetable. Service was very friendly, this is a must for papaya salad if staying in the area. Four dishes and two beers, $13 usd, just silly.
Day 3 - lunch at mbk foodcourt, opted for a sizzling, seafood pancake instead of oyster omelet, it was just wonderful, chock full of oysters, mussells and shrimp, loved the crispy pancake too! We also had stewed pork leg over rice with an egg, and pickled vegetables. For an extra 20 baht, they threw in some crispy pork which added a nice textural component to the dish. This has always been one of my favorite thai comfort food dishes and this rendition didn’t disappoint.
We weren’t very hungry for dinner, ended up sharing holy basil chicken from the hotel, very good, the fried egg really made the dish.
day 4 - My wife had an appointment at the Infinity spa (which she loved!), I walked over to prachak roasted duck (thank you peter!) for breakfast. Had noodles with duck, crispy pork, roast pork, sausage, shrimp wonton and I think stuffed pig tail. I added some of chili powder, chiles and fish sauce. I’ve eaten a whole lot of chinese roast meat, the duck was at least as good, maybe better than I’ve had to date. The roast pork was very good, the crispy pork and sausage were just average. However, the dish as a whole, with the condiments, was the my favorite dish in bangkok. I really should have ordered another plate of duck, not sure when we’ll pass this way again.
For lunch we stopped by nailin kitcken for pad thai and yellow crab curry. Again, to my palate, the pad thai was not better than we have in nyc, the yellow crab curry was wonderful comfort food. The restaurant, right across from robinson dept store, is clean, cool and cute. My sense is that the restaurant caters to western palates but I suppose we have western palates.
to be continued…