Monday, December 25, 2006
Bangkok
Before i begin, i'd like to apologize for the rather messy entry. There isnt much of a storyline. Just lots & lots of pictures (of food especially). Enjoy!
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My flight was at 9.45pm on the 18th of Dec. Not used to taking night flights. The airport was practically deserted & i was sleepy.
"Sawadeeka!" is what the Thai airlines stewardess will croon at you as u board the plane. Too bad she didnt say anything about how bad the food was gonna be.
Tadaah.. Flaking fish with a glob of soggy rice (porridge?) & incredibly over-cooked vegetables. The carrot seriously gave way under my fork as if it were cotton candy. Now i know why my dad was unhappy bout having to switch from MAS to Thai airlines. I unquestionably decided to skip dinner & instead have a late supper upon reaching Thailand.
It paid off too. We stayed at Novotel, our usual place which has like the best location ever: in between 2 mega shopping malls & a station away from the biggest shopping mall in Southeast Asia: Siam Paragon. Mum & sis were tired & decided to hit the sack but my dad, bro & i headed out to have Thai chicken rice.
We took a tuk-tuk to Pratunam road for only a couple of bucks.
Ok loh.. Since they said Must eat, i ordered the specials.
'Mooh sate' (pork sate).. Tastes pretty much the same as chicken sate to me.
Only it's freaking cheap. 35 baht, meaning RM3.50 for 10 sticks.Didnt take any pics of the unremarkable-looking chicken rice (which was nice) nor the fish intestines soup (which was also nice). Say what?! Hahah.. It was! Just dont touch the congealed pork blood cutlets in it.
Good morning, Bangkok. Woke up the next morning feeling energized & ready to shop!
Should probably have camwhored in the changing rooms or taken pics of the brands which you dont get here, but i was in paradise. And shopping takes lots of concentration (on my behalf). So my mind kinda slipped =)
The FoodLoft, located in Central shopping mall.
Bangkok has the most amazing food courts ever. Extremely stylish & the food is incredible. Personally, i'd prefer to venture to local coffee shops & try unusual stuff like the night before, but my pampered family likes air conditioning.
Friendly chefs who enjoy the attention you pay them as they prepare your food in front of you.
'Fly lice'. Wut them Thais call 'fried rice'. Incredibly soft & fluffy. Best ordered with crab meat.
Authentic tom-yam. Be prepared to leave with Amber Chia lips.
Erm.. Family a bit sesat sometimes. Heheh! Wont mention who. Having sushi in Thailand.
Mum was suddenly craving for some Vietnamese rice-rolls
Smoked duck salad
Christmas minced pie
The FoodLoft also had an incredible array of deserts. Apple crumble pie, cherry pie, chocolate pudding, lemon tarts, meringue, ice cream, gelato, you name it. Everything we tried was heavenly.
Dinner was at a darling restaurant called Kalpapruek. My brother said it sounds like fart. They served Thai cuisine as well as western.
Pork fried with lemongrass. You get pork everywhere since the majority of Thais are buddhists.
Soft-shell crab & pomelo salad
If you've ever tried GSC's gold class cinema, you probably thought it was heaven. If that was gold, Bangkok's 'premium cinema' would be classified as diamonds =p I watched Eragon there. Of all movies! But it was more of for the experience actually.
Before the movie starts, all premium-cinema goers get to enjoy the lounge. This is the lounge in Mid Valley's gold class cinema >>
And this, is the lounge in Siam Paragon's premium-cinema >>
Massage chairs for your enjoyment =D
The bar in the lounge
Free coffee & cookies while u wait ;)
Anyway, i came across this weird looking desert while I was roaming the streets near the hotel by myself. My family had not woken up yet & i was determined not to waste any precious travelling time!
It's cooked in little teacups & costs only 20 baht (RM2) for a box of 10 pieces!
Tastes like that green & white malay kueh made out of santan, only better. It melts in ur mouth... =)
Glass noodles fried Thai-style. I'd rather have this than char kuey teow anyday!
My 'hip-dad' in one of the very trendy food courts.
One of the reasons i was looking forward to the trip since Mrs Fields closed down in KL. Decided to stock up whilst i was there!
Brownies brownies brownies brownies
Cookie cookie cookie cookie
Another travel habit of mine : to sample what every country's McDs has to offer.
Was the same as Hong Kong, rice burgers with your choice of pork or chicken. I rather like it!
Some random cute Thai teddies i saw on display.
On the 3rd night, my dad took us to a famous sky-top restaurant which he had read about in magazines & had been dying to visit. Kinda lazy to go into detail & describe just how wonderful it was, so read this guy's review instead =p
http://www.hotelthailand.com/ezine/2004/issue4/zine5.html
Being a sky-top restaurant, it naturally had to be on the very top floor.
My sister's jumbo sized prawns which were each the SIZE OF HER FIST. No kidding, nor the least bit exaggerating. Largest prawns ive ever seen in my life.
The bar
Boy, was it windy up there! Totally classy place to be though. Puts KL's Luna bar to shame!
Didnt really say much bout the hotel i stayed at which i feel is a little unfair. Have to do it some justice since it's such a nice place. Above is a view of the hotel pool.
And dont you just love hotel buffet breakfasts? Well, Novotel provides the best buffet breakfasts that i know of. So nxt time you're staying in Bangkok, pick Novotel to stay at!
Some cheery Christmas deco outside the hotel.
Another round of horror food on Thai Airways. Pancakes with omelete inside (wut the?) served with sausages & tomatoes. But this time it wasnt as bad. So here ends my Bangkok post.
