Snapshots of Food Around Bangkok

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Now I know I’ve said it before that Bangkok is a shopping paradise, but one cannot deny that this gem of a shopping heaven is also famous for food! Out of the 5 days that we were there, we walked past many food stalls on the road side, tried many types of rice and noodles, and drank many bottles of juices. It was definitely a melting pot of everything just waiting for us to stumble upon and to renew our love for food. The pictures below are but a handful of the food that we’ve tried and loved around Bangkok, with more coming along the way.

Beef noodles with plenty of ingredients and hearty soup for only 30Baht. Found under the Phloen Chit BTS overhead bridge, next to Caltex station.

We noticed many stalls by the road side selling what we Malaysians would recognize as ‘Economy Rice’, where a spread of pre-cooked dishes are displayed on the table, and the customers just choose the dishes desired to be added on top of a plate of white rice. Surprisingly, these stalls are always the most popular ones with hordes of people lining up even under the scorching hot sun.

Bangkok version of economy rice?

Not to miss out on this popular cuisine, I joined the queue and picked out some dishes of my own. What took me by surprise was the amazing white rice! It was oh-so-fluffy with each grain cooked to perfection. Also worth a mention was the deep fried pork chop that was available at almost all the rice stalls there, just because it’s aromatic, juicy and tender. Easily one of the best pork chops ever tasted!

My plate of rice with the superb pork chop for only 45 baht

The consistent long queue

More of the economy rice stalls spotted at night

Another common delicacy that we spotted was this charcoal-fired fish. They were available at most night markets or hawker stalls that they peaked my interest to snap a picture of them. Unfortunately, we did not get to try this because we were always too full when we passed by the stall and the fish came in a big portion.

Charcoal-fired fish

Skewers

A common stall that you would notice in Bangkok is the one selling bottles of orange-coloured juice. A first glance made me think that they were just orange cordials mixed with sugar, so I did not bother getting one. Interestingly, I spotted a stall which was making the juice with a juice presser, and only then I found out that these were freshly pressed mandarin oranges juice! Priced at 20 baht a bottle, this was amazingly sweet, refreshing and cooling to the body – the perfect remedy on a hot afternoon. I could not get enough of this drink!

Pressing of juice

Sweet, refreshing and cooling – perfect on a hot day! Only 20 baht each.

Thailand is synonymous to Mango with Sticky rice that it almost seems like a sin not to eat it while we’re there. After a strong recommendation from a friend, we went to order the Durian and Mango Sticky Rice combination for dessert. The sticky rice was generously soaked with coconut cream making it rich and aromatic, while the mangoes were generously portioned and very sweet. The durian paste was fragrant too but the portion given was just pathetic. It would have been a whole lot better with more durian!

Mango and Durian Sticky Rice at MBK Mall food court, 100 baht

Some other random food that we tried included the Food Loft at Central Chidlom, an upscale food court with a wide variety of international cuisine at reasonable prices. While the environment was quiet and elegant, I found the food to be average.

Food Loft at Central Chidlom

Spaghetti pesto

Spicy mango salad

Food Loft entrance at Central department store, Chidlom

Apart from the local food, we also tried some Western food at Jeffer, serving exceptionally cheap dishes with reasonable portions. A rib eye steak here cost only 109 baht! The pork ribs and chicken steak were recommended, both being well-marinated, tender and oozed with juices. The steak, though cheap, was sadly overcooked. Still, this would be my choice to go for hearty Western food with comfortable environment without burning a hole in my pocket.

Dining environment at Jeffer

Someone’s happy

Half rack of pork ribs with a side of spaghetti

Chicken chop and dory fish combo – don’t bother with the fish

Rib eye steak for only 109 baht

Jeffer Western food restaurant at Silom Complex (exit at Sala Daeng BTS Station)

Last but not least, coffee! A frequent traveler and friend to Bangkok recommended Mezzo, so we went during tea time and had some sandwiches to go with the iced coffee. It was so unbearably hot in Bangkok that we could not live without cold drinks! Thankfully, the coffee was thick and flavourful, providing much respite on a hot day. My order of iced chocolate drink was also nicely done with a rich chocolatey finish.

Thai iced coffee and iced chocolate drinks at Mezzo

As for sandwiches, they did their job as light bites but nothing too memorable. The Viennese bread was something new to me an it went quite well with the melted cheese and ham. The best part about the cafe was their high speed complimentary wi-fi access. It’s true, internet in Bangkok doesn’t come free or easy. Even our hotel did not provide free internet so whenever we see any places with complimentary wi-fi, we’re down!

Viennese Ham & Cheese sandwich (85 baht)

Tuna Club Sandwich (85 baht)

Cross section of tuna sandwich

Food is such a big part of the culture in Bangkok that we almost always saw food at every corner of the road, at every floor of the shopping mall and next to every BTS station that we stopped at. You will never go hungry in Bangkok, that’s for sure!

Food fair on the ground floor of a shopping mall?

One of the food stalls in the shopping mall

The diverse food scene, coupled with their decent prices and excellent service, must be one of the reasons visitors keep coming back to Bangkok! I know I would return too, one day.