I forgot to add the pic of the beef curry, over at Sanguan Sri. This was 120 baht, one of the more expensive items on the menu… (just over 3 euro).
12 Likes
So… a little story about the Little Hungry Onion Who Doesn’t Travel So Much Anymore.
The Little Hungry Onion finds himself at the pearly gates and protests to St. Peter that his time is not up, as he’s been in perfect health and only in his 50s.
St. Peter checks his ledger briefly and says there must be a mistake, as according to his records the LHO is over 150 years old.
After a bit more scrutiny, St. Peter proclaims, “Ah, here it is! The rest of the time represents you living vicariously through all the other Hungry Onions.”
All that to say, beautiful thread.
9 Likes
Siam Paragon, another episode in mall eating. This is one of the bigger malls in Bangkok, think Louis Vuitton and Zara and everything in between. A big part of the ground floor area is one large food court. You will have restaurants where you can sit in a secluded area, and those where you can sit looking out over the hundreds of people walking and eating.
And you will also have an area with little shops where you can get food and eat it at communal tables, Singapore hawker center style!
There are a few Michelin starred restaurants, bib gourmands, and just mentions. They are not necessarily the busiest though. We went to Peppery Thai Bistro because there was a (managable) queu. We waited 15 minutes, walking back and forth between a nearby place where we also had a queing ticket!
We had spring rolls, minced pork patties, fried morning glory, and fried rice with prawns. The food was good, not mind blowing. What I was thinking when I walked around in that sanitised environment was how nobody was using high heat there when cooking (you could see many chefs actually cook food). It’s a convenient place, and there is a lot of choice, but the pricing is alsomexcessive compared to normal restaurants.
Having been here on the ground floor now, I can say that Seki Sushi which I visited last week, is actually very good value for the quality. That is a proper restaurant, that just sits inside a mall.
Below pic from google for reference.
13 Likes
Thonburi Market place - we spent the afternoon visiting this amazing, incredibly large food court/market, half an hour outside Bangkok by taxi.
When you set foot inside the building (open air but with a roof), you will be greeted by dozens of seafood vendors, offering you fresh fish (often alive) and ready to cook everything right there on the spot, on a bbq, and with no extra fee. There were literally a thousand people inside I think. Amazing, never seen anything like this before. (Video just for reference, not mine).
We didn’t eat much though. My parents enjoyed their hotel breakfasts a little too much I think (the reason why I always eat just a little for breakfast when traveling), and I am also trying to watch my diet. I did get two big river prawns. They are like giant prawns, as big as a small lobster, and they would sell for 1300-1500 baht depending on size (around 35-40 euro a kilogram). They also had very large lobsters (nearing 100 euro!), and a lot of live prawns (10 euro). And then both small blue crab and larger Sri Lankan crab.
Besides seafood you could buy chicken satay, roast duck, numerous noodle and rice dishes, desserts, drinks and beer.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2Tvy367dqSUZbqr69?g_st=ic
12 Likes
I thought Siam Paragon was truly ostentatious until I went to Iconsiam located on the riverside of the Chao Praya. I swear, if it hadn’t been for the lack of casinos, I would have thought I was in Las Vegas! I honestly don’t know where people get the money to shop at places like that!
1 Like
Ha! We are planning to go to the riverside today or tomorrow! 
Let’s see.
I’m not really a shopper and if I do shop it’s online. We also went to some of the lower end malls like Platinum and at Pratunam market, but that is just fysical ali baba Chinese cheap stuff.
What did you like to do in Bangkok?
2 Likes
I liked Lumphini Park and the old train station at Hua Lamphong the best (most trains now leave from the new and huge Bang Sue Grand Station).
I didn’t like any of the shopping malls, but the Tops Supermarket in the basement of the Central Bangna shopping center easily meets or beats a Japanese department store food hall (at least IMHO…YMMV). Harrod’s id better, though. And Tops in general is reasonably priced and clean.
3 Likes
I might go to Lumphini later this afternoon as our hotel is just across the street.
My first time Thailand was in 2000 I think and I remember taking the night train from the old train station going to the Southern beaches at Krabi.
It indeed was a very atmospheric station, I might go back indeed and have a look for old times’ sake.
It was a sleeper night train but I didn’t sleep much as I was guarding our belongings and wallets! Those were the days!
2 Likes
Though I often feared for my physical safety when walking on roads (sidewalks/pavement not being in good condition or non-existent in Bangkok, not to mention crazy motorcycle taxis!) while visiting Thailand, I never feared once about someone taking/stealing something from me. Having come from a life of many years in Japan where the fear of such things just doesn’t exist, I was very happy to know that at least these days, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.
(Though I must admit that seeing signs on the subway and at that Iconsiam mall warning to be on the lookout for pickpockets was a bit alarming…)
2 Likes
In all our trips to Bangkok (or the rest of SEA for that matter), like @TokushimaCook, I never felt unsafe in terms of our stuff. What I do remember–vividly–are the touts in the cities of SEA. As soon as they saw B (Caucasian male), they would be all over us. It was relentless but we politely turned them away…constantly. But if I was wandering alone (Asian female), I was blessedly ignored. Getting outside the cities, we could breathe and relax. And, yes, we bought stuff, when we liked the wares and we weren’t being bombarded.
The overnight sleeper train from BKK to Chiang Mai was quite interesting when we took it. I remember (1) not sleeping at all b/c of a rough ride; and (2) the crouch toilet, which was a considerable challenge due to (1).
I remember ducking into dept stores in BKK (we definitely did in Siam Paragon) for a meal or coffee or something to escape the heat and humidity, even momentarily and it was interesting to witness how the 1% on the other side of the planet. Kind of like going to fancy places in NYC, where we could afford the items, but we would have no desire to squander our money.
In any case, thanks for letting me wander down memory lane @damiano.
7 Likes
Because I had read of the areas in Bangkok where such touts tend to congregate, I was able to avoid running into them without much effort. I must say that when I visited Macau in 2005 or 2006 (I can’t remember which year it was), my 2 Japanese friends and I were bombarded by “ladies of the evening” (sans touts) in the areas near the casinos. Not a pleasant experience, but ignoring them eventually made them leave us alone.
Here in Penang, a German cruise ship with a capacity of over 3500 docked yesterday and as I happened to be exploring the nearby area, I was approached by many pedicab drivers offering a tour or photos. However a simple “no, thank you” was all it took to have them walk away.
Regarding the malls and escaping the oppressive heat/humidity, it’s the dry season now in Bangkok and while temps were usually in the mid 30s celsius, the humidity was around 50% and the only unpleasant aspect of the weather was the strong sunshine. Here in Penang, though, it’s more the humidity than the heat causing me issues and indeed yesterday I escaped into a shopping mall near the Komtar Bus Terminal to cool off. I was happy to find an A&W root beer location there where I had a sundae. According to my friend in Bangkok, A&W left the Thailand market recently and in Japan they exist only in Okinawa (where there’s a large population of US troops). Having never been to Okinawa, I hadn’t had the chance to go to an A&W in Japan since the mid 80s when there was a lone A&W outpost in the basement of a Kobe department store.
Thanks @digga for the chance to reminisce about some things. And I’m sorry for being so verbose.
5 Likes
BTW, here’s a photo of said A&W )which is in the 1st Avenue shopping mall) and the sundae I ate. It cost RM 6/$1.29 and really hit the spot!
6 Likes
A&W is the first American chain to hit Malaysia. It’s got a 60-year history here:
6 Likes
WOW! I had no idea! I’m in central Georgetown now and will read the link you so kindly posted when I return to my hotel.
3 Likes
When are you leaving George Town? You probably already know this - there’s going to be a big 4-day water disruption from tomorrow, Jan 10-13 as Penang’s water authorities replace some 50-year-old main pipes. To my knowledge, there has never been such an incident like this in the city’s 200-year history.
I’ll be in Malacca, and then Kuala Lumpur later in the week, to escape the dry taps.
3 Likes
I leave Penang tomorrow very early tomorrow morning (the taxi will pick me up at my hotel at…5 AM !)
Regarding the water stoppage, I saw MANY signs around Georgetown (I see it written out as both “Georgetown” and “George Town” and am not sure which is correct…though I imagine what you wrote is correct) warning of the issue and many restaurants and shops said they’ll be closed. That’s gotta hurt business as the town seem extremely dependent on tourism!
Hopefully I’ll be able to use the restrooms at Penang Int’l Airport if I need to. But my 16 hr 45 minute layover at KLIA’s LCC terminal is a much bigger worry of mine!
BTW, I went to the “Sri Bahari Hainan Chicken Rice” shop you posted about today. It was a bit of a struggle for me to find it and order, but I found it and will post about my meal there in this month’s “WFD” thread!
Thanks to you, this restaurant was my first time going to someplace recommended on Hungry Onion!
And I hope you have a pleasant trip to Malacca and Kuala Lumpur!
5 Likes
So glad you manage to find it! I usually rely on Google Maps to take me to a listed address, and it usually works!
Oh yes, very much looking forward to it. Doing a meal at Peranakan Mansion in Malacca - perhaps the best Nyonya restaurant in the country.
Then, am doing a blowout dinner at 1-Michelin-star DC by Darren Chin in Kuala Lumpur later in the week.
4 Likes
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps had me all twisted around! And both in Thailand and here in Malaysia I was shocked to find that Apple Maps doesn’t have ANY transit information! I prefer Apple Maps because it tells me “ turn left”/“turn right” while Google Maps tells me to turn “N/S/E/W/NW/SW”. I’m a wizard at maps, but in an unknown city, I’d prefer “right/left”! Anyway, I knew I was on the right street, but there was no sign for the restaurant! I lucked out when I stopped a group of people who looked like locals and they pointed out the place to me!
I hope your meals are splendid! I have really enjoyed Penang/George Town and though I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, I was pleased to be proven wrong!
Save for 2 clerks who probably got up on the wrong side of the bed that day, EVERYONE has been nothing but VERY gracious to me. I especially want to point out the staff at this budget hotel and even more so the wonderful 16 year old boy on the bus today on his way back home from school. He and a few of his buddies went out of their way to strike up a conversation with me. I was blown away by that as such things are rare in Japan. This young man’s English was nearly flawless and he showed great intelligence and kindness towards me. He even let me take his photo!
5 Likes
Lunch in Chinatown. Local Chinese restaurant called Tang Jai Yoo. Live fish in tanks outside, a cardboard box full of Sri Lankan crab, and in the small alley cum kitchen one can see a few roast suckling pigs lined up. All good signs!
Suckling pigs were popular - almost every table ordered a whole one. Of the three of us only two eat pork, and we decided against ordering one (not possible to order a half only unfortunately). I did make a pic of one at our neighbours’ table…
Again, we ordered somewhat on the safe/boring side as not to eat too much. Of course, in the end you still eat too much lol.
We had fried noodle with ham and chicken, fried rice with chicken, stir fried kai lan with chicken, and deep fried pork with a hot sauce. We also ordered stir fried white cabbage, which was the highlight imho. It was all delicious… Very friendly people as well. When we had finished they gave us complimentary sweets and sweet tea. Not cheap, around 1600 baht total.
9 Likes
Dinner at the gentrified food court Sindhorn Village. It’s part of a somewhat upscale neighbourhood, next to Lumphini park, and adjacent to some of Bangkok’s top hotels (Kimpton Maa Lai and Siam Kempinski). Restaurants (some of them) also have an outdoor area, nicely decorated and next to the small park in the inner area. Quiet and peaceful!
First we were attracted to the crowds at Co Limited. When we looked at the menu however we didn’t really fancy anything, so after finishing our beers, we went nextdoor. I forgot the name and I can’t find it on google maps, but it is a Thai grill restaurant. The food was good here and lots of choice, we had clay pot rice with Chinese sausage, stir fried morning glory (only the stems of a young plant), and clams in chilli sauce. Recommended if you’re in the neighbourhood.
7 Likes
