#JCSinBKK 2018 [Bangkok Trip ' 18]

My first trip of 2018, I went on a all moms' trip with two mums who were strangers-turned-friends from the blogging community. I felt that this is indeed a bonus for a stay-at-home-mum like myself to be able to connect with other mums who have the same passion and widened my network of friends instead of just being alone, dealing with the kids only for this lifetime. I feel the need to make effort to connect with friends, build and keep the beautiful friendship going.

Bkk Kakis Jenn, Cynthia, Me

It is a double bonus with a really supportive other half who is always so encouraging. To be a SAHM is a choice, I made that choice because I have expectation of how my kids are going to be raised. So the best will be to look after both myself so as not to strain any relationships if they should be under the care of my own mum, my inlaws or even others.

At times, I do have my meltdown moments when I felt like a complete failure when the kids just did not behave or learnt their lessons despite the umpteen times of reminders, nagging and scoldings. At times when Don felt the need for me to go on a trip to recharge, he will ask me to go find a few friends, take a break out of the usual routine and get myself recharged. Hence, this was how this trip came about.

Long story short, let me just start on sharing our trip! "After You Dessert Cafe" was our first stop at Central World, this is a must whenever I made my visits to Bangkok.

It was our first stop for the day after touching down, you have to give Mango Glutinous Rice a try!

It was just like Mango Sticky Rice with chunks of mango and glutinous rice buried beneath a coat of mango shaved ice. Looks very sweet ? But nope, I find that it blends well with the rest.

We ordered Ferraro Toast as well and boy, these two desserts kept our tummies really filled for the evening.

However, you can give the Mango Frappe a miss, it paled in comparison if I put it side by side with the one I ordered from YenlyYours. (read below)  The two-tone Kakigori remained as my favourite. The other outlets I have tried before are located at Siam Paragon and Siam Square.

After You Dessert Cafe

Central World

999/9 Rama 1 Road, Khwaeng Pathum Wan, Khet Pathum Wan, Krung Thep Maha

Nakhon 10330, Thailand 

3rd Floor

Opening hours: 7 am - 7 pm daily

YenlyYours is another must-go if you want to indulge yourself in the variety of mango desserts, slurpping mango shaved ice with real juicy mango cubes filled with nice and sweet mango juice when you sink your teeth in.

Don't forget their Mango Sticky Rice, it was really fragrant and I dare say, it was one of the best among those I have tried before.

Mango Mochi 

Big chunk of mango cube was wrapped within. It did not taste too sweet, another must try.

YenlyYours
Central World, 7th floor
2 branches;
In front of Tops supermarket and Nara restaurant

The remaining branches are as follows:
- Central Pinklao, G floor
- Central Eastville, 3rd floor
- Central Rama 3, G floor
- Central Rama 9, 6th floor
- Central Westgate, 1st floor
- Siam Center, 2nd floor
- MBK, 6th floor (Food court zone)
- Emquartier, B floor (next to Swensens)
- Mega Bangna, g floor
- Don Mueang Airport, 4th floor Terminal 2

If you are heading to Siam Square, After You Dessert Cafe has another branch there. You can head over after your meal if you are going for Somboon Seafood for their famous fried curry crab. But I did felt a dip in their standard as compared to the last time I dined there.

We ordered the Orh Jian ( Oyster Omelette) too and surprisingly the oysters were really fresh that I took a few even though I do not usually take them.

Somboon Seafood
4th Floor
Siam Square One Building Rama 1 Road,
Patumwan, Bangkok 10330
(BTS Siam Station)
Tel: 02-115-1401-2
Opening hours: 11 am - 10 pm

The first night, we headed to Talad Rot Fai Night Market. Basically, most of the stalls sell repeated stuff. Well, I left there empty handed but did had some chitterlings and grilled pork sticks as light snacks as we were all still feeling full from the earlier desserts. Conclusion, try not to have anything filling before you head to the night market otherwise you would be missing out on the massive variety of food there!

Kids probably may love these cute pancakes but with loads of colourings is a no-go for me.

Handcrafted pancakes

Rainbow cheese toast, looks pretty but no-go for the tummy as well.

Pretty toast with rainbow cheese 

The New Rot Fai Market Ratchada

Ratcadaphisek Road (Cut through Esplanade Shopping Mall to reach the market) 

MRT : National Cultural Centre
Opening hours: 5pm - 12 Mn (Thursday - Sunday) 

Second morning before we headed to Chatuchak Weekend Market, breakfast was at Soi 19, SabX2 Wanton Mee. My first visit there though I had visited Bangkok thrice. Portion of Wanton Mee was probably just nice for my intake though alot of reviews were saying it was expensive to pay for that small portion at 100 baht per bowl. Anyway, it's a typical tourist spot, concept of space is similar to that of cafes in Hong Kong, the eat-and-go concept and yes, be expected to share tables too.

Overall, I find the noodles on the dry side, no doubt that I liked that they were thinner than the normal "mee-kia" , the pork lard and shallot oil made it stood out from the usual wanton mee. We ordered the braised trotter as well as a mixture of chitterlings which were quite tasty, could be better if it was less saltish.

To my surprise, my Bangkok kakis are fans of this too!

It is always nicer to have people share the dish than to eat it alone. Overall, it is good to try if you do not mind paying for that price which most considered it on the high side for a roadside coffee shop and to queue not more than a 20 mins to get a table. Attitude of the staff, I feel that they were pretty alright based on the experience from both visits. 

Hmm... there seemed to be some inconsistency, first visit we did not get any crab meat toppings but got it on the second visit.

Sabx2 Wanton Mee
Phetchaburi 19
10400 Bangkok, Thailand

Chatuchuk Weekend Market also known as JJ Market, was next on the list. It can be reached by either taking BTS  (Bangkok's Mass Transit System) and alight at Mo Chit (last station on the line) or you can take MRT, alight at Kamphaeng Phet or Chatuchuk Market. 

Lunch was done at Toh Plue Restaurant within Chatuchak Market and had our first Tom Yum Goong for the trip. I have visited this restaurant during my last visit to Chatuchak with the kids, it is air-conditioned, has wifi and serves pretty decent thai cuisine. I loved how they make it more welcoming by asking where we were from and to our surprise, the dishes served have the little flags to represent where we came from. Pretty interesting to look around our table and find people who came from all walks of life.

Tom Yum Goong

Something to spice up our appetite from the sweltering weather.

Spicy Mango Salad

I love the concept of presenation but scooping out may not be as easy as via the horizontal opening.

Pineapple Rice

Overall, this is good to visit if you are planning to take a break from all the shopping. Other than that, no necessity to intentionally plan a trip down to Chatuchuk Market just to try.

Toh Plue Restaurant
Section 27 of Chatuchak Market.
Operating hours: 8.30 am to 7 pm (Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays)

Third day, breakfast was at Macdonalds, trying out their new menu before we made our way to Yaowarat to stock up on the kids' schooling needs.

We fuelled up with Nai Ek Roll Noodles (aka kway chap) which was rated one star Michelin. I loved the pig blood pudding and stomach in the peppery Soup !

The sio-bak (crispy) pork was really crispy even in soup! Worth a visit if you are in the city !

Nai Ek Roll Noodles 

442 Soi Yaowarat 9, Samphanthawong, Krung Thep

Operating hours: 9 am- 12 mn

This is my fourth visit and I just got to try Noodle boat. Take BTS and alight at Station Victory Monument. Walk the roundabout overhead bridge until you see a river with a stretch of shophouse at the back, take the steps down and you will reach a stretch of Boat Noodles shops.

We read that the shop with staff wearing Orange Tee was the best. Walk by the side of the first Noodle boat shop (River on your right), walk all the way inwards and you will reach the shop we went to at the end. Do not expect it to be an instagrammable place, nothing fanciful just a shop where you can slurp down bowls of noodles in miniature size.

I always wonder why and how people could eat up to a stack of 10 bowls. I got my answer finally and I think visually, the mini portion works great for people like me who will feel full even without eating should a big bowl of noodles or rice is served to me. 

For only 10 baht per bowl,you can choose among: 

Beef Noodles

Spicy and sour noodles

Yong Tau Hu Noodles

Pork Noodles 

The fishballs were simple yet nice! We felt that they were made more using the fish meat and starch is minimal. Dip them into the chilli and pop them into your mouth! I love the springy texture! 

Simple and nice fishballs 

That was how much we could eat as we took some desserts before this and saving some space for other food after this.

Cynthia has kindly brought us to the world's fourth best market, Or Tor Kor Market. You can make a trip to this local market for local some fresh produce if you have extra time. Good place to get mangoes if you are a fan of them, I spotted tourists getting the manoges nicely boxed up in cartons for check-in. I bought some Chye-po, hae bee hiam, tom yum paste and some Chiang Mai garlic which were much more fragrant than the China ones sold in NTUC.

Or Tor Kor Market
Kamphaengphet Road (Opposite Chatuchuk Weekend Market)
Operating hours : 7 am - 5 pm (Daily) 
MRT: Kamphaeng Phet (Exit 3 leads you directly to the market) 

Last but not least, if you have been reading this viral post on FB about Phoenix Lava (Durian Lava Bun), let us just help you to save your time and effort to hunt for it. It is totally not worth the effort in our opinion to seach for it. If you are a hardcore durian fan, you can skip this. My review, sorry to disappoint those who may be craving for it. This is confirmed OVERRATED. The bun was not as soft, the filling was pretty sweet and slightly saltish to taste and probably durian flavoring was used. Good to try but not worth the effort to go search for it if you are not near to any of the malls that sell it. #Nothingtoraveabout #wastecolories

Foot Massage
As for massage, so many to choose from right? There was one shop that we went just a few shops away from where we stayed (Glow Pratunam). Yee Heng Thai Massage and Spa, the technique was better than the one we went for in the hotel which was more pricey (pay for ambience). At Yee Heng, we paid 250 Baht for a 60 mins foot massage which was inclusive of a bit of shoulder massage and I loved those heat packs that they used to gently pound along the sides of the spine and on the shoulders at the end of it. If you can do it during their happy hours, it costs only 200 Baht !

Yee Heng Thai Massage and Spa
703/11 Phetchaburi Road, Khwaeng Thanon Phaya Thai,
Khet Ratchathewi,
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10400, Thailand

I thank Don for taking leave to babysit the kids while I came back more recharged, better mood to handle the coming semestral exam.

There was no cat fight among these three women with different habits, staying together in one room for the 5 days. I am thankful that the trip was made pleasant with accomodating each other, understanding each other more and looking out for one another during the 5 days in Bangkok. Thanks Jenn and Cyn for being such great travel companions, till the next trip!

#JCSinBKK

Thank you for reading and do share with me if you have any recommendation on food and places to go to in Bangkok. There are my previous trips to Thailand and hope it is useful to those of you who may wish to plan a trip:
- Bangkok 2015 

- Khao Yai 2016 Day 1 
- Khao Yai 2016 Day 2
- Khao Yai 2016 Day 3

We have a giveaway coming out just to share our happiness from the trip. So stay tuned! If you would like to stay tune for future updates, do follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram !

Disclaimer: This trip is sponsored by my very nice and supportive husband, Don. All other expenses are fully paid from our very own pockets and all opinions above are of my own.