Thiptara @ Peninsula Bangkok

On our last night in Bangkok, both of us agreed that we would stay in the hotel and enjoyed a quiet dinner at one of their restaurants. We have read about rave reviews on their Chinese restaurant, Mei Jiang, but since we already had Chinese food in Chinatown.. we passed and opted for their Thiptara Thai restaurant instead. This time we didn't make any plans and the decision was kinda last minute so we didn't make any booking.

We showed up at the reception at 6.30pm to enquire on tables next to Chao Phraya river but were disapppointed when they told us that all the tables were booked for the night. That guy (forgot his name) might have sensed our disappointment and therefore looked at the booking sheet one more time. He then promptly informed us that he could arrange one table (yay!) for us but politely reminded us that we could only have the table until 8pm as the guests were expected to arrive at that time. Since we hardly took more than 1 hour for dinner, we said YES!

The sun had already set and therefore it was not that hot and it was not long until the night fell and all the buildings were lit up brightly. Can you apot Jenn in the picture?

Complimentary marinated cashew nuts

While waiting for our dishes to be served, we asked the waitress to take a picture of us.

As the night fell, all the buildings across the river were lit up... revealing a breathtaking night scene from where we sat. Settings - f22, 15sec, ISO100! The result?

Refreshing concoction of lime & mint leaves juice

Khao Phad Thiptara (360 baht) - essentially the fried Jasmine rice with chilly paste, shrimp and salty egg. Being a sucker for fried rice.. I found this dish full of wok hei and moderately spicy. With a dash of lime juice, every bite was heavenly (at least for me). Jenn shared the same sentinent as I was...

However she felt no "kick" in the fried rice and asked for all available sauces from our attending waitress - she gave us 4 of them!

Phad-Phak-Ka-Nah Moo Grob (280 baht) - seriously without Engligh translation at the bottom of every dish, I would be scratching my head figuring out what the heck the dish was... wok fried kale with crispy pork!

Tom Yum Goong Mai Nam (440 baht) hit the jackpot! As usual, the soup has what I was looking for - spicy and sourish, fresh river prawns and distinctive lemongrass flavour.

Clear winner of the night belonged to this particular dish - Gaeng Phed Ped Yang or roasted duck simmered in red curry & sweet basil! The curry was thick, creamy and packed with all the required flavours. We could have ordered second helping of rice just because of this dish!

By the time we finished our dinner, I looked at my watch and it was only 7.45pm. Charged the dinner to my room and went back straight to our room. Actually we could have gone to the bar next to Thiptara for a glass of wine or two. The reason??? To enjoy the breathtaking view of Bangkok city from our balcony - settings f22, 15sec, ISO100! We even bought two bottles of Singha beer and some snacks while chatting the night away. Romantic?? You bet it is :)

Next post - Peninsula Hotel Bangkok!

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Chinatown's pride - T&K Seafood!

Ever since my friend (who lives in Bangkok by the way) brought me to have dinner in Chinatown 5 years ago, I was immediately impressed by the food. As a matter of fact, I had already forgotten on the restaurant that he took me to but the only thing I remember about Chinatown was the heavy traffic and the colourful neon lights that lit up the whole area at night! This time in Bangkok, I have learned to utilise Skytrain/BTS/MRT system to get to places. Like my friends said, it's really dumb-proof and I regretted for not learning about this sooner. Once upon a time, I was stuck for an hour in the same spot while taking a taxi to Chinatown :P

The nearest place was Hua Lamphong MRT station and that was the last station where we took the MRT to... and then tut tut for another 70 baht to get us to our destination - T&K Seafood. Total rip-off if I may say as it was so near from the MRT station but then we were too lazy to walk so no choice.

It's easy to spot T&K Seafood as all the staffs are donning green coloured T-Shirt. There is another restaurant directly opposite T&K that wears pink T-shirt. Competition is very high among both restaurants as their staffs would literally shout and asked you to patron their outlet. Since I had already made up my mind to dine at T&K, choice was easy! Note - I didn't know the name of pink T-shirt's restaurant but my friend said that they whipped out equally good quality food so maybe next time I will try them.

For most people, alfresco dining is the way to enjoy the seafood but to those who couldn't stand the heat and stuffyness like me, they have air-conditioned room for you to enjoy your food. However it's located on the first & second floor of the shoplot. As both Jenn and I were rather early, we got our table on the first floor. Do not expect grand decor as both floors were rather small and cramped.. the only good thing is that it's cool!

Their menu was rather funny I'd say - my guess is that both caricatures were Jackie Chan and one unidentifiable guy (Jacky Cheung perhaps?).

Time to engorge ourselves with Thailand's pride - Singha Beer!

Our greed made us ordered more food than we could afford to fill into our stomach.. again! But after reading numerous rave reviews on T&K, our greed triumphed our logic. We asked for their dipping sauce and promptly served with these 2 - personally, I prefer the green spicy sauce which was great to go with the dishes that were about to be served.

Fresh oyster - at 40 baht each, the size was not huge but definitely fresh! I squeezed the lime, sprinkled the oyster with deep fried onion and lastly add some accompanying chilly sauce - the result??? Awesome :)

Finally! T&K managed to came out with fantastic version of steamed squid in garlic, chilly and lime (150 baht). The soup was perfect - spicy, sourish and piping hot! Better than the steamed fish version that we had in Ban Khun Mae the previous night. Coupled with the fresh squid, we finished the whole plate until the last drop!

Stir fried bittergourd tip (60 baht) - despite its name, this dish was not bitter at all. In fact, it was rather sweet and packed with flavour from the garlic & chilly.

Grilled babylonia areolata (200 baht) failed to make its mark. These snail-like creature was so tough to chew that we didn't finish it at the end of the meal.

Grilled spawn crab (350 baht for medium sized one) lived up to its name - full of the delicious artery-clogging roe! They were out of the bigger ones so we had to settle for small size. We loved it so much as the meat retained its natural sweetness and the roe was oh-so-juicy and sweet!

Since we didn't order any rice to go with the dishes - we opted for steamed prawn with glass noodles (150 baht). Served in claypot, the glass noodles absorbed the sweetness from the 3 huge prawns. ORDER THIS!!!! I can't get enough of the glass noodles.

Highlight of the night belongs to a very simple dish - Grilled Prawns (150 baht for small). To our delight, 4 big prawns were served in front of us. You couldn't get 4 prawns this size anywhere in Malaysia with this price.. this I can assure you. Remember the greenish sauce that I mentioned earlier? The prawn and the sauce were a perfect combination. However, it was equally delicious just to devour the meat alone.

Look! The prawns were also filled with roe :)

Jenn was craving for soup so she ordered the fish maw soup - I had it in its original flavour but being Jenn, she added vinegar (lots of it) into the soup.

Paid our bill and left the restaurant only to be greeted with the sight of huge crowds waiting downstairs for tables. Luckily we arrived earlier :) even the alfresco dining area which was rather empty earlier now packed to the brim with more people waiting for their turns!

Live meat crabs waiting to be served!

This is the scene of T&K Seafood from across the street. See where all the people are standing?? They were still waiting for tables when we left! So if you are planning to dine here, please come before the dinner crowd starts to pour in. THis restaurant is very popular among the locals and tourists.

As we walked to next destination for our dessert, I spotted several mobile stalls selling the famous Durian King of Thailand. Since Jenn was too full, she skipped the durian. I can't help but to wonder on the long peduncles.

A few doors away from T&K is Namsing - famous for its bird nest soup. I have read some reviews on this place and what could be better than ending our night with something sweet and nutritious?

I had the White Bird's Nest (3rd class) with Longan - frankly, I have never tried the first nor second class so I didn't know the difference. However, the bowl was full of bird nest and worth the 300 baht paid! Jenn's bird nest with ginkgo was equally sweet.

Leo's verdict - Total bill for our dinner came to more than 1200 baht but I'm not complaining. As a matter of fact, both of us think that the price was worth it. We have come for the all seafood affair & ended up satisfied. Took MRT to Siam Paragon and walked around until they closed for operation as we were too full to sit down.

T&K Seafood
49-51 Phadung Dao Rd,
Chinatown, Bangkok.
T: (02) 223 4519.
Open daily: 4:30 pm – 2:00 a.m.

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Ban Khun Mae - our very first dinner in Bangkok!

Going for a trip is always exciting! After going through the routine life of working, eating and sleeping.. a short break from all the hustle and bustle is always welcomed! It's what I always say - RECHARGE! However, what was supposed to be a relaxing trip turned out to be exhaustive as well. Why? Apart from Jenn's seminar, I have already arranged a day or two for some sightseeing as I didn't get to immerse myself in the history and culture of Thailand the last time I visited here with Thule's delegate. My plan didn't materialise and instead we went for a shopping spree in the famous Platinum Mall for 3 DAYS!!! Imagine the walking while carrying the spoils inside the 6-storey shopping mall (another new 5-storey extension mall had opened next to it).

Lucky for me, I still got to indulge in something which I love - FOOD!! A trip to Bangkok is not complete without sampling their traditional Thai cuisine. As a matter of fact, I have asked a friend of mine who used to live in Bangkok for a few years on where to eat delicious Thai food prior to this trip. He did point me to one particular restaurant which was located in Siam Square but he forgot its name. His direction was simple - take taxi/tut-tut to Novotel Hotel in Siam Square and the restaurant is located at 2 o'clock direction from its entrance.

The direction was simple and soon we were standing in front of this particular restaurant. A quick google revealed that this restaurant was opened in 1998 and to date, remained a popular destination for both locals and tourists who want to taste traditional and authentic Thai cuisine. Located in the heart of Siam Square, getting here is not easy as one have to go through the congested road in front of Siam Paragon.

The menu was simple with English description on all their food.

Something to quench the thirst - coconut and lemongrass drink (my fav!)

Som tam is a dish that I have never failed to order everytime I went to Bangkok. Thai's version of Caesar salad - I love som tam for its fiery reputation of being sour & spicy at the same time. Using shredded young papaya, tomato, anchovies, dried shrimp and lots of bird eye chilly.. I could eat this everyday without being bored! Ban Khun Mae whipped out a kickass version of somtam

Our appetite was instantly improved by the somtam and further enhanced by the tom yum goong. Prawns were generous and the soup had kick in it!

A simple stir fried vegetable to balance our dinner

Their red curry prawns won us over with the plump & juicy fresh prawns + thick & creamy red curry - a dish to be reckoned with!

However, their steamed fish with lime and chilly failed to make its mark! The broth was not sour enough to our liking even though the fish was very fresh. We had yet to find better version compared to the one we had in Krabi (Lae Lay's Grill)

Leo's verdict - our meal could easily feed 4 but both of us managed to finish all of the dishes like hungry wolves :P the price for their food was surprisingly not expensive despite located in one of the expensive area in Bangkok. to our delight, the service was fast and attentive even though the restaurant was packed that night. Our very first meal in Bangkok was satisfactory and we definitely recommend this restaurant to Thai food lovers. Opens from 11am till 11pm!

Ban Khun Mae Restaurant
458/6-9 Siam Square Soi 8, Rama 1 Road,
Patumwan District, Bangkok 10330
Tel. (662)250-1952-3, (662)658-4112-3
Email: contact@bankhunmae.com

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

I'm back from Bangkok!!

There is something about Thailand that makes me want to go back there again and again. I tried to figure out on what was the pulling factor - was it due to the fact that I have 25% Thai blood running inside my veins? Never mind the fact that I am clueless when it comes to speaking Thai. My maternal grandmother who came from a small town north of Bangkok was married to my grandfather (Chinese) and moved to Malaysia. Therefore my mother didn't know how to speak Thai as she practically grew up in a village that only speaks Cantonese. When she told me about this, I didn't take it seriously. I mean... seriously.. who would care or remember all these when they were small?

Now, I love almost everything about Thai - the food, the people and their culture! I am now learning to speak Thai although it is still in the beginning stage :) In Malaysia, I would go everywhere just to sample good Thai food but no matter where I go, nothing beats eating the food in the country itself. Even som tam that is sold on the side street was great! My last trip to Bangkok was in July 2006 with Jenn but we were still green on the capital of Thailand then.

Opportunity came when Jenn had to attend seminar in Bangkok! Plans were made quickly just to utilise our time while in Bangkok. We were so excited that both of us lost our motivation to work a few days before the trip. It has been a while since the last time we stepped into KLIA just to board a plane. I think it was 4 years ago when we went for our honeymoon in Italy and French Riviera and after that we had to settle for LCCT as we flew via Air Asia most of the time.

Look at Jenn's excited face

Finally, we boarded the plane through Gate H8

Sunset never looks so beautiful - taken from our window seat as we were approaching Bangkok airport!

A summary of what we had done during our trip!
Seafood

Prayer at Erawan Shrine

McDonald - it's a must for me everytime as I crave for their Samurai Pork Burger :P

Shopping (of course!)

This is only a fraction on what we have bought... wait till you see the rest! LOL!!

Bird nest @ Chinatown

Aromatheraphy massage @ Healthland Spa, Sathorn Road in Silom. Got ourselves couple room and pampered for 1.5 hours. A must go if you are into massage as they have many branches in Bangkok (google ok?)

Walking around the street of Bangkok. It was an eye opener to see how people in Bangkok carry on their daily lives. Not much difference from Kuala Lumpur but I think that they are more contended and happy.

Romantic dinner by the famous Chao Phraya river.

Enjoying the night view of Bangkok city from our hotel room. Will post more about this hotel on the next blog

Bacon!!! Can't get enough of it!

Not much of sightseeing this time as we were really busy shopping! Remember that I wrote that Jenn practically want to change her wardrobe?? Well, she almost reached her goal :P we went there with one bag and came back with 4! Our legs were tired due to the walking and we went for foot massage almost everyday after shopping.

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.