Eating out in Thailand is a absolute pleasure and not just the restaurants – the streetfood is fabulous and a real highlight. With limited time in Bangkok I did not want to miss out in anyway so booked onto a Night Foodie Walk through Chinatown. Here we would get the chance to sample a wide variety of Thai/Chinese dishes – many famous throughout the city – with a guide explaining the dishes as we went along.
Starting next to the Tri Mit Temple we kicked off with a noodle soup with fish and prawn balls. The stand is only in action from 17.00 to 21.00 (after the restaurant closes) and the chef/owner works non-stop in this time as a steady stream of regulars make their way there. We watched while they knocked up the soup in minutes.
Moving onto Yarowat Road, the main Chinatown thoroughfare, we then enjoyed the Dim Sum at Canton House which were unusually coloured and flavoured with Pandang leaves – that unique South-East Asian ingredient. Stepping out we got ambushed by a cart containing Pa Tong Ko (Thai doughnuts) with a superb Pandang Custard dip – not quite an amuse bouche but delicious nonetheless.
What we needed was something healthy to balance the foods and the locals swear by the ‘tea’ served off Song Sawat Road – we were given two to try. There was a chrysanthemum version, as refreshing as always, but the dark bitter tasting variety is the thing you need. The Heath Robinson dispensing contraption did nothing to help the flavour – this was an experience.
Heading down narrow Phadung Road we managed to grab some seats at R&L Seafood, not to be confused with it’s rival on the opposite side of the alley. This buzzing spot, packed onto the pavements and roadside with queues down the road, is a veritable institution with a bewildering array of searingly hot seafood delicacies – squid, oysters, snails, clams; all cooked at lightening speed and delicious.
Following on from the seafood was the main meat course and what else but pork in peppered noodle soup. The crispy pork belly was the easy bit it was deciding whether to add the tongue, stomach, kidneys and liver too. This one raised the roof and no amount of water was going to help cool the pepper flavours.
Just in time the cavalry arrived in the form of Durian icecream anda pudding curiously names “eyeballs in ginger syrup”. Both were surprisingly good
All in all it was great fun, a feast for the senses, a taste of what varieties of streetfood you can get and the chance to explore Chinatown by night. Lastly it gave you confidence to tackle street-food across Bangkok and Thailand – everywhere you go there are tons of stalls, from night markets to street intersections. The food is fresh, tasty, exciting and great value. If you want to try something a bit different when in Bangkok then we would suggest joining one of a number of food tours that operate there – just ask for more details.
by TMS