In September, we made a sudden decision to go for a 6D5N stay in Hua Hin and we had planned for Chiang Mai in December. Unexpectedly, Xav happened to join the Royal Bangkok Sports Club 2018 swim meet right after the swim camp which was also held in Bangkok. The returning date after the RBSC meet was just one day before the departure date for Chiang Mai from Singapore. Long story short, I was at the Land of smiles for at least 2 weeks with the mission of having to eyeball Xavier but that did not stop me from being able to explore the place and discover new things!
Are you ready? Let's go! Yaowarat is always on my to-go list whenever we are in Bangkok. Chinatown by day and night are the same, eating and shopping. We still visit our usual eating haunts but this time, we stayed till the night as the kids can sustain longer hours walking with us.
This time, before we headed for our wholesale shopping, we visited the instagram worthy Lhong Tou Cafe.
When we arrived there, there was already a short and slow moving queue.
We were assigned to the tables on ground level based on availabilty.
Shortly after, the table on the upper level was vacant. Xav took the chance and quickly went up to have a picture taken. Kids being kids, they just love climbing!
To be frank, do not expect an extensive menu, we asked the staff for their recommendation and ordered these. The spring rolls were just nice, one each and gone in less than a minute.
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| Mini Char Siew Buns |
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| Lhong Tou Shumai |
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| The flowy egg lava bun, MUST order ! |
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| One of a kind Lhong Tou Thai Milk Tea, good to try! |
Location:
Lhong Tou Cafe
538 Yaowarat Road
10100 Bangkok, Thailand
Recently, a second outlet is operating at:
Lhong Tou Cafe @ The Market Bangkok (Opposite Central World)
Ground Floor
Operating time: From 10am -10pm
Nearest train station: Chit Lom (Walk about 10 mins to reach)
Next up, we headed to our usual haunt to have our pig blood cravings at Nai Ek Rice Noodles just further up front. And finally, I managed to try the desserts just next to the shop after umpteenth visits. Eat the Tau Suan piping hot, I liked it with a bit coconut milk.
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Tau Suan
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Meanwhile, The Thai version Bo-Bo Cha-Cha was a tad too sweet for my liking.
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| Bo-Bo Cha-Cha |
Day time is as usual, eat and shop the wholesale area, I have got some stationeries and decent stuff for the party bags and that was not all.
Chinatown can be even even livelier when night falls, both the roadsides would be lined up by
food stalls. During Xav's swim camp, I made new friends. Uncle Daniel and Aunty Sue brought me out to try Yaowarat's popular Mung Korn Khao Noodles.
This is the only wanton noodles stall by the roadside usually with a huge crowd or long queue just right beside the stall. Be sure to love that Hongkong style thin egg noodles, the springy noodles is sure to win your hearts!
The wanton soup was flavourful too with a generous filling of minced meat and prawns. He even packed a few backs back to the hotel as supper. Go earlier if you do not want to wait in the queue but I think it operates at 6 or 6.30pm.
There was a chwee kuey cart just steps away from the wanton noodle stall, facing the road. Good to try if you want a taste of the Thai version. Pretty generous topping but the kuay's texture is firmer than Singapore's style.
You have to fill up an order form, submit, make your payment and wait for your number to be called once the toast is ready for collection. It was basically a soft and warm toast with pocket full of jam (chooose the choice of your filings). If you have a sweet tooth, you would probably like this. After the toast turned cold, it hardened. Honestly, it was way too sweet for my liking, I do not think I will buy again.
The above are some new stalls which I tried on top of those popular Tzhi Char Stalls.
Next for the porridge lovers, if you are thinking of some belly-soothing porridge in Bangkok, I was brought to look for Joke Samyan (porridge in cantonese) with Uncle Daniel. But somehow the one the taxi driver dropped us at was different from the one he went to and to add on, that stall was not opened and we went back disappointed.
During my extended stay with the family, Don had kindly brought me to hunt for it knowing that, I had to find it and try it before we return to Singapore. We found Joke Samyaan, I read that this stall has been serving the same breakfast for 60 years! The ingredients were also freshly purchased around the neighbourhood!
It opens twice a day as early as 5pm and lunch starting from 3.30pm onwards. By 4pm, we saw the local crowd streaming in and queue started forming.
I ordered minced porkball porridge with an added egg, simple, flavorful yet comforting.
Address:
11 Khwaeng Wang Mai, Khet Pathum Wan, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10330, Thailand
Next on, if you are in Siam Square vicinity, go look for this yummiest snack in Siam Square! The little brown hut "Siam Pandan" is located right beside Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square. Also known as sweetmeat to the Thais, Kanom Krok Bai Toey is best eaten in their warmest state. It was soft and chewy when I sank my teeth in and not overly sweet. I bought around 5 boxes for the kids after their training. The boxes were gone within two minutes, totally irrisistable!
Address:
Siam Pandan
Siam Square Soi 6, Khwaeng Pathum Wan, Khet Pathum Wan,
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10330, Thailand
If you are facing Siam Pandan, walk towards your left (just two shops away), you will see a row of massage parlour. But on the right, you will see "Somtam Nua Restaurant" on the ground floor. Go get the best wings from them! Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Super hot favourite among everyone!
Usually, I do not fancy Papaya salad but the one at Somtam Nua was slightly different in terms of taste, kind of suit to my liking! We orderd some kids-friendly dishes too since they little ones could not take spicy food.
And in the same vicinity, just right at the corner on the right of Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square, there was a Siam Laser Game Centre. If I did not remember wrongly, it was unlimited hours if you book to play after 6pm. We paid $20 SGD for two hours of fun, quite a good deal right ?!
Address:
Novotel Siam Square Soi 6, Basement Floor
Phone: +66 87 635 8989
Last but not least, when we were on foot looking for the Jok Samyan, we walked past Sam Yan Station and chanced upon this temple. Suddenly, Don told me "Oh, this was the temple my friend brought me to last year to make coffin donations!"
If you happen to be in Bangkok, if you are a Buddhist (or not) and wanted to do make some merits, you can always go to Ruamkatanyu Foundation, it is open 24 hours. Basically, donations are on voluntary basis but a donation of 500 Baht, the body will be entitled a coffin and a piece of white cloth. Ruamkatanyu Foundation (Bangkok) basically provides coffins for victims who were killed in accidents or murdered and with no next-of-kin to claim their bodies or low-income families that could not afford a coffin.
Just head in straight to the counters and the staff will guide you should you be lost in what to do. It is a very common practice among the Thais to make the world a better place!
If you do have any recommendation on where to go and eat like a local, drop me a comment ! I hope you have enjoyed reading the post! I have linked up all the Thailand related posts and hope it is useful for you!
Bangkok [2015]
Bangkok [2018]
Hua Hin [2018] Day 3
Khao Yai [2016] Day 1
Khao Yai [2016] Day 2
Khao Yai [2016] Day 3
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