Sunday, January 28, 2018

Amazing BKK Food: cafes, eateries, markets

Singaporeans love to eat, and Bangkok is like a food heaven for all of us who loves cheap and good food. These are the food we tried over 5D4N in Bangkok, and now I wished I had more time to eat!


Cafes


Let's start off with the cafes. Cafehopping in Bangkok is the best thing ever, cos it is cheaper as compared to Singapore. It is good to treat yourself once in a while when overseas, and Bangkok is the best place to do that!

After You




The most popular of them all has to be this. Everyone flocks to their cafes for the toast. Even myself, who is not a toast person, fell in love with the famed Shibuya Honey Toast. The rest of the desserts were quite decent. I am a dessert person, so I loved them. If you are not a fan of sweet treats, then these might be too sweet for you.

They have various outlets, but the one we went to was at Siam Paragon.
*paid about SGD 20 in total for these 3 desserts.

Greyhound



I just know that this is a popular cafe, and that the Singapore branch is too expensive so I would have to try this one at a cheaper price. The pasta is quite good, and service is impeccable!

They have various outlets, but the one I went to was in Siam Center.
*paid about SGD 9 for my pasta and drink, quite a steal for Singaporeans!

True Love at Neverland








In recent years, this cafe has been trending everywhere on social media. We made it a point to visit this cafe no matter how far it can be. This place isn't really for the food or drinks, but rather the cute dogs! I must say it was one of the highlights of my trip cos, there can never be something like this in Singapore. The costs of taking care of 23 huskies in Singapore would be too high for any business owner to imagine.

There are 3 interactive sessions per day, and they don't accept reservations now. So just make sure you arrive well (at least 45min to be kiasu!) before 1pm, 4pm, or 6.30pm to get your chance to play with the dogs. You also need to wear plastic covers on your feet and sanitize your hands before interacting with the dogs.

153 Paholyothin Soi Ari Samphan 2, Bangkok, Thailand
*paid about SGD 14.50 for entry, which includes 1 free cake+drink.

Roast Cafe





One of the more expensive meals we had during this trip. But the food was good!

2 outlets, but the one we went to was at the EmQuartier
*paid about SGD 14 for my portion, which was roughly about the same price you get for a cafe in Singapore.

Eateries

When in Thailand, you should always look for the authentic local food that are served not in high-end restaurants, but in hidden alleys or hard-to-find places.

P'Aor (aka P All or Pe Aor)




I've seen TW food variety shows film about this place and the gorgeous lady boss. And we took Grab specifically to hunt down this place. Everyone goes to this place for the Lobster Tom Yum Goong and I can see why. Although I can't really take super spicy food, I still love my Tom Yum. And the spicy level here is alright for me anyway. What's BKK without eating some good'ol Tom Yum?

Phetchaburi Soi 5
Nearest BTS: Phayathai
*paid about SGD 62 in total for these 3 items. That is about $15 per pax when shared among us 4; not the cheapest for BKK, but considering that you are eating quality lobster and seafood, still worth it!

On Lok Yun




This is one famous breakfast joint that I hear peers flocking to whenever they are in BKK. The food is pretty good and old school, but the location is just too far off from our hotel that it might not be that worth it to travel all the way there just for breakfast! I have to mention that the fried toast tasted good, although it could get a bit jelak after a few pieces (cos too oily). The Thai Milk Tea was ok-ish, but what's BKK without some Thai milk tea right?

72 Charoen Krung Road, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong
*paid about SGD 10 in total for the table of food you see there.

Sabx2 (Soi 19)




I can only say, this place is super overrated and I'm not sure if I am the only one who thinks that way? People come here for the Wanton Noodles and Pork Trotters rice. I would say the Pork Trotters would be better out of the two BUT I wouldn't recommend this place at all. You can totally find much better Wanton Mee in Singapore!

Soi Petchaburi 19 (across main road from Platinum)
*paid about SGD 5 for my portion. Small portion and not nice at all. I bought a coconut drink outside the stall, partly to combat the heat, and partly cos the coconut tastes better than the food here.

Day/Night Market Food



Talad Neon




We were at the Talad Neon Night Market and couldn't find much food to eat, so we sat down at what seemed like a "Tzichar" stall and ordered some random food to share. It was, soso.

*paid about SGD 14 in total for all these.

Galaxy drink


Also from Talad Neon Night Market, but I guess you can find this gimmicky drink pretty much anywhere. We bought it back to our hotel, tried one sip each, and decided to throw away the rest of it. Yep nuff said.

Coconut Icecream at Chatuchak




Everyone comes here for the famous coconut icecream! I am not sure which stall is the famous one but we just bought randomly anyway. For someone who only likes to eat the real coconut and not made-from-coconut-food, I declare that this is good!

Duck Noodle at Chatuchak


It was lunch time and we needed food. This looked like the only choice available at the time and it was not bad! The Thai Milk Tea selling right outside here was good too.

Meal on the Table at Huamum Night Market



It is the same concept as what we have here for "Dancing Crab" and the likes. They pour the seafood on the table and you just eat with your bare hands. If you have been to countries like Korea, Japan, or even Batam, you would think that the seafood here isn't really the freshest.

*paid about SGD 12 in total for these.

Grilled Scallops at Huamum Night Market



Can't really resist grilled scallops. Especially those with cheese!

*paid about SGD 0.50 for one scallop.

Others

There are other types of food we ate in the shopping malls or out of convenience stores that I thought would be worth mentioning.


Teraoka Gyoza




We walked past this while waiting for our seats at After You Cafe, and saw that it is apparently famous and won awards for the Cheese Gyoza. Well we tried it and it was... yea cheesy. Anything with cheese tastes good right? But that's about it. You can buy and try, but skip it if you have many other food haunts on your mind.

2 outlets, but the one we tried was at Siam Paragon
*paid about SGD 10 for this box of 7.

Croissant Taiyaki 




Well this looked interesting so we bought some to try. I think it is okok only. But apparently this is also sold in Korea and my BFF loves it so much like its the most amazing thing ever. Talk about different taste buds.

Various outlets, but the one we tried was at EmQuartier

Fuku Matcha



Just another random bubble tea stall near the Croissant Taiyaki and we were thirsty.

Magnum

Magnum here is quite cheaper than Singapore, and I have never tasted the Red Velvet flavour. So why not!

Mango Sticky Rice (from the airport)



All my friends know I dislike mango and don't eat it. But my family loves it and thus, when I saw many stores at the airport selling it, I decided to buy one back from Cafe Ritazza. My parents said that the mango is indeed sweet and much nicer than what we have here. If you are not intending to buy back home but to eat it yourself, just buy from the streets off Bangkok cos things in the airport are always expensive!

*note: They have the option to sell cut or uncut ones, so please do buy the ones that have the mango uncut, otherwise it will turn black by the time you are back in Singapore!

They really have many stores selling it in the airport, so go in early, take your time, and do some last minute food shopping!

So that's all for the food portion of my BKK trip. Hope this is useful for some of you out there!

Click below for
Bangkok Hotel and Shopping malls
Bangkok Day and Night Markets

Monday, January 22, 2018

Amazing BKK: Day and Night Markets

During our 5D4N trip to Bangkok, we visited a total of 4 night markets and 1 day market. And when I say visit, I really meant walking every lane in the market until my legs gonna break. Here's a recollection of them.

Talad Neon Night Market



Because this was still a relatively new market, Talad Neon was the cleanest, with the least crowd and least number of stalls. hahaha. We bought quite a few items from here somehow; maybe due to the lesser crowd, I can do my shopping with ease and have a better mood to buy more!

Nearest BTS: Chitlom

Talad Rot Fai 2 (Ratchada) Night Market


One of the more famous night markets in Bangkok, this place was bustling and lanes were pretty narrow to maneuver due to the large crowd. I didn't like this place cos every lane seemed to be selling the same things. And it was freaking crowded!

Nearest MRT: Thailand Cultural Centre

Talad Rot Fai 1 (Srinakarin) Night Market



This is very far from the city centre, too damn far. But it has to be my second favourite night market out of the lot. This place is HUGE, and because of that, it has EVERYTHING! I suggest that you start calling your GRAB driver when you are proceeding to walk out of the place cos we only used the app after exiting the market, and had to wait outside for a very long time. Also partly because there was a Coldplay concert going on the night we were there and there was a bit of a traffic jam.

Nearest landmark: Seacon Square Shopping Center (you can drop off at this mall to shop around first before proceeding to the night market)

Huamum Night Market





This is one night market that lesser tourists go to. But I guess at the time I am writing, more Singaporeans would have discovered about this gem! Out of all the markets we visited, I actually liked this night market best. There are only a few reasons why I like a particular night market: clean, less crowd, good food. This place happens to have it all. I also liked it that it looked more modern than the others with the brightly lit stalls and zero tentages (which means more breeze and less sweating!)

Nearest landmark: nothing really, but if you want to save on taxi fare, the nearest would be Lat Phrao MRT station and still have to cab over from there.

Chatuchak Weekend Market


This is the most famous of them all, and everyone would tell you to visit this place when you are in Bangkok. It only opens during the weekends, so plan your visits wisely! This market is really unforgivably hot - wear your coolest clothes there! Best if you can wear bikini instead lol! Just kidding but yes you can wear something close to bikinis. It is also huge so you can grab the pamphlet and look for the kind of stalls you want to visit. I personally do not like this market (duh, I hate the sun and heat!), and didn't buy much here as I feel that the clothes are better at Platinum or Pratunam. But if you have never been to Bangkok, then you should visit this place at least once!

Nearest BTS: Mo Chit
Nearest MRT: Kamphaeng Phet

Final Thoughts

All in all, I feel that the markets sell more or less the same things. For someone who doesn't like to spend all the time shopping, I would say, just plan 1 of 2 night markets into your itinerary will do. I would rather spend the rest of my time sightseeing or eating!

Also, if you are travelling in groups of 4, it will be much easier to travel around in taxis instead. It's a tad pricier than BTS or MRT, but saves more time,less hot and there's less walking! We did most of the travelling using GRAB!

I actually want to visit the Railway Market (which is a few hours ride from the city centre) and also the Floating Market next, even though many told me there's nothing there.

But as you know, I hate the heat, so Bangkok might not be on my immediate list!
Till then, I think I would prefer places like Khao Yai or somewhere further up. Let me know if you have any good recommendations for travelling in Thailand!

I will be ending the Bangkok trip with a food post next, stay tuned!

Click below for:
Bangkok Hotel and Shopping malls
Food: cafes, eateries, markets

Friday, January 19, 2018

Amazing BKK: Hotel and Shopping malls

This is really a huge backlog as my Bangkok trip was during 6-10 April 2017. That was almost 1 year ago! I have decided to change the layout of how my travels would be documented and break them up according to different categories instead of showcasing the itineraries. If anyone is interested to get my itinerary, just feel free to email me for it.

Hotel

First up, I'm gonna introduce the hotel we stayed at during the trip: Vince Hotel Pratunam.

This was a pretty new hotel at our time of stay so the facilities and rooms were still so new and clean.
Just look at our room. I paid less than SGD 150 for 4 nights, quite decent right?





A Buffet Breakfast was included in our stay and the dining area was pretty too!



Cereals, juices, yoghurt, eggs. They have almost everything!



There was even a random photoshoot area at level 2. Not sure what it is for... but looks good!



We decided to order the hotel dinner into our rooms for one of our days and this was the food. Not the cheapest but it was pretty decent.

The hotel also provides many other services, like calling taxis, and booking massage services for the hotel occupants. We didn't realise they could ferry us to a nearby massage place using their tuktuk and only tried it on the last night.


The massage parlour looks damn dodgy but it was the better one that we tried during the trip. (another place we went to by ourselves looked so pretty but the masseur's skills were badddd)


Even their bottled water also looks so pretty...
Just ask the front desk if you have any queries and they would be happy to help.

Shopping Malls

Moving on, let's talk about the various shopping malls of Bangkok I went to on this trip. Seriously, people normally go to the day/night markets when they go to Bangkok, cos that's where all the cheap stuffs are. To me, shopping malls are a pit stop for us to get away from the heat and for toilet breaks (cos I can't stand dirty toilets!).

Central World




Just a lot of luxury brands and a whole lot of aircon. But we bought our Naraya loots from this mall. There is also a Melissa Shoes store opposite Naraya but it is only worth checking out during their sales period.

Siam Square One|Siam Paragon|Siam Center

There are a cluster of malls starting with the word "Siam" here. Most famous being Siam Center or Siam Paragon, because many Singaporeans flock there for the cafes and food (which I will talk about in another post).

EmQuartier Mall


It is one of the newer malls in Bangkok that has some nice cafes and food around. Definitely has lesser crowd compared to Siam Center so you might want to consider coming here just to chill.

Platinum Fashion Mall

This is the best "mall" out of all here, cos it is really the wholesale shopping mall for girls whenever they go Bangkok. There are 2 wings for this, and people normally go to the older and bigger wing where all the clothes are. AND, don't bother starting from the top floor and walk your way down to the bottom. I suggest you just start from the bottom because that's where all the cheap and nicer things are. Do plan your time (and energy) wisely. Once you are done with the clothes, move on to accessories and shoes, or even kids or male clothings if those are on your shopping list. I started from the 5th floor and was too tired to continue once I got to the bottom and we decided to just leave even though I felt like there were still many things to buy!

Big C Supercenter

This is a building opposite Central World. And everyone should visit this place cos, a trip to Bangkok isn't complete if you don't buy local snacks back home! Pretz, Pocky, Cuttlefish, Seaweed... are some of the must-buys for us. You can also buy the local beer here back to your hotel for some late night partying and HTHT sessions!


So these are the shopping malls I visited during my trip to Bangkok, and I will be sharing more about the food there in the next post!

Click below for
Bangkok Day and Night Markets
Food: cafes, eateries, markets

Monday, December 25, 2017

Christmas at Yum Cha Singapore

It's the holiday season, and Yum Cha Singapore has done it once again, with their new Christmas menu that consists of Instagram-worthy buns and Christmas-related food items.

Snowman bao $3.80++
This is one cute snowman you can't bear to devour, with sweet red bean at the top, and lotus paste at the bottom.

Christmas Festive Combination $8.80++
This exclusive Christmas dish consists of the Five Spice Turkey Roll, Roasted Turkey Bun and Cranberry Spring Roll with Chicken Floss. I especially loved the Five Spice Turkey Roll, which reminds me of ngo hiang, but with a Christmas spirit hahaha.

Little Twin Piglets, Panda bao $1.90 each
These are the cutest buns ever! Each different coloured piglet bun has their own special flavours - custard, matcha, cranberry, and so on! 

Deep Fried Wasabi Duck Roll, 1 set of 4 pieces $8.80++

Fragrant Fried Rice with Seafood $16++ 

Steamed Cai Xin with Minced Pork and Chinese Sausage $18++

Xiao Long Bao
Not a part of our food tasting but we ordered it anyway, and boy was it good. I've never tried xiao long bao that has such chewy skin! 

Pomelo Sago in Mango Juice $4.80++


So Yum Cha actually launched a new concept called the Yum Cha Express.

Much of the dimsum can be found here for customers on the go.



At the kiosk, you can find their new range of freshly brewed premium teas:
 such as these Chrysanthemum Tea with Goji Berries and Jasmine Lemon Tea with Ginger.

They also recently launched these Salted Egg Fish Skin; Crispy Silver Fish in easy takeaway packagings.


The cute baos are available here too!

Just a small note, DO make sure you quickly snap your Instagram-worthy shots of the cute baos. 
Otherwise, cold buns are never good.

The Christmas menu is only available from 1st December 2017 to 1st January 2018.
Yum Cha members will enjoy 20% off on all Christmas seasonal dimsum treats!


Chinatown
20 Trengganu Street (Off Temple Street)
#02-01 Singapore 058479

Changi
6 Changi Business Park Ave 1
#01-33 UE Bizhub East Singapore 486017

Express Kiosk
20 Trengganu Sreet (Along Smith Street)
#01-01G S058479