Thai-Isan Cuisine, Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, Thailand

if u're tired walking around Chatuchak market and looking for a quick bite, try Thai-Isan. it's right in the middle of the market, have no idea where it's located, we just found it by chance. the taxi driver warned us about eating at the market, it may give you a tummy ache, but i was kinda tired and hungry and didn't want to wait till dinner, so since there were loads of whites eating here, i thought it was safe enough.

what's good bout this place is that the menu has pictures of the food and there's English translation on what the dish is about. but because we are Malaysian, the food offered here was kinda familiar, so we didn't really have a problem. we just had to cross our fingers, hoping we won't get sick eating here.

we didn't have rice, but we tried their noodles, it's a cross between koay teow and beehoon, looks like beehoon but more firmer. we got their famous friend chicken and kerabu mango. the mango was quite spicy! lol we were suffering! but it tastes good!

so if u find yourself itching for something to munch, u can try this place out (that is if you manage to find it) but there are other stalls and street food inside the market for you to try :) just make sure your tummy is strong.. lol!

Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, Thailand

Chatuchak Market is for shopping lovers!!! it's a haven for shoppers! and it's conveniently situated next to a train station AND have loads of taxis at the exits. so easy for you to travel with all the shopping you would have done at Chatuchak.

at one of the entrance to the market, i saw this stall selling bbq skewered food, it was mostly seafood and cocktail sausages and meats. i took 3 sticks, one looking like a squid but actually i think it was muscles! God knows what i ate! hahahah looked really weird but FORTUNATELY it was GOOOD!!!! especially with the sauce they add in the packet. spicy too!!

i was told that you could get "maps" of the market so that you'll know what's where and that you won't get lost. but the thing is, i didn't know where to get those maps too! and the area we covered, i don't think we did that whole place... it's like a HUGE maze and one can get lost in those lil shops!!!

those who know me, know that i love wearing flowers! eversince i saw those flower clips in KL.... now, i saw THIS shop and i went crazy!!! there were soooooo many flowers!!! all sorts! different sizes and colours and types! and they even sold the flowers by itself! like wholesale! and you can glue it yourself to clips or to whatever you fancy! i bought a good number of flowers, not knowing what i'll do with them! LOL!!! now that's when the crazy shopper in me came out! ahahhaha... even the lovely aunty was so nice and friendly! didn't mind taking a pic with me! hahahhaha

there were so many shops/stalls sellling weird stuff, clothes, shoes, bags, accesories, linen, cloth, kitchen stuff... you name it, they got it! all you need to do is search and hunt for them!! they even have things you never imagine they would have! HAHHAHAHA..... prepare for some panadol! u might get a headache with all this shopping and great deals!

but don't worry, they also have street food among these shops. the taxi may tell you not to eat there as you might get sick, but you are the only one who knows your body and obviously, check out the cleanliness of the place before you decide to eat there.

here are some street food, didn't really try em but i think it's weirdly nice! hahahah if you get the chance and your tummy is strong enough, try it and let me know eh! :)

what made me happy was this man (pic below) he was making drinks and was wondering if it was coffee or tea.. and true enough it was TEA! milk tea somemore!!! i had to get one!! and O.M.G !! freaking awesome tea!!!! i know of some girls and aunty who would just LOVE this tea! perfect for an evening cuppa. i could have had two!!! but tried not to be too greedy!! i don't know what they put in this tea but it was superb!!!

verdict of this market? if you have 2 days to spare in Bangkok, spend it in this market.. sure no regrets one! but if u have limited time AND want to sight-see around Bangkok, u won't be able to finish this market. i believe with the 3-4 hrs i was there, i only managed to see 20% of the place... and that too was very brief "window shopping"... not even proper shopping, like going in to shops, and look at the stuff and bargain... lol yea, it's THAT big!!!

the only time they're fully open is during the weekends, while weekday, only certain shops are open. so plan your visit wisely! hahahha and Happy Shopping!!

boat food at the Floating Markets of Thailand

every market has got to have some food being sold.. if not it won't be a market! so during the journey of the floating market, we saw different types of "food boats".. we only managed to try only a few.. wished to try more though...

anyway, here were saw some spices that was sold on the banks of the canal... and even a tea shop too! soo many types of tea!!

but of course when one is in Thailand, one must try the mango rice! and sure enough there was a food boat selling mango rice! and we shared a plate... we were too hungry that i forgot to take a pic OF the mango! hahahah too bad i got to share with you here of ME eating it! :P

you'd think the mango rice is enough? nooooo...... i had to try the pork noodle! managed to find a boat that sells it and quickly ordered one! the noodles are quite different. it's texture is like glass noodles (tanghoon) but it's not clear, it's like the normal beehoon yet a lil different... can't really explain... the soup was simple, very mild, light and refreshing in a way. good way to start the day with something light.. but i was craving for more types of food.. my appetite has started...

we also found this fried spring roll, they had some with pork and some without. we tried the one without. lovely! spicy and hot! just out from the oil! hahah... when biting into it, you'll feel a different type of texture to this fried poh piah... it's not like the one u're used to here in Penang. looking inside, it's because they put glass noodles in it!!! nowonder lah!!! my mouths watering now...


once we got our boat food, the boatman continued to go through the market.. we were wondering what are we to do with the bowls! he said just eat and when we're back at the jetty, he will return it to the lady.. waaa... now THAT's service!!! so while eating in the boat, i saw lots of food boats passing by, really wanted to stop and get some but there's too much to eat for 1 person.. so i had to let it go... half of the time i don't even know what they were selling... hahahahha

so when you get on this trip, try your best to try their boat food... no regrets i tell you! u'll come home a happy camper! :D

Floating Market, Bangkok, Thailand

our hotel staff was quite helpful to us. they managed to get a good taxi rate to bring us to the floating market, wait for us, and bring us back! did you know that there are more than one floating market? or maybe the "others" were actually different docks/jetty that bring you to just one same market? who knows eh....

anyway, the taxi came super early morning and surprisingly we managed to get up and get ready on time. the ride to the markets were quite long, nearly 2 hrs! on the way we got to see some sights of Bangkok and the outskirts...

finally we reached this little jetty, and we were greeted with lovely fresh coconuts! yumm!!! that perked us up!! while having our coconuts, we saw a few boats splashing by and we were also given a brief explanation on where we're going and what we can do while on this journey.. then we hopped on to our little boat :D

the ride was interesting! the canals were done up nicely (cemented banks) though water overflows to the other side... you can see water under the houses at the side of the canals... i can only imagine how it's like at night or when it rains!! Ooooo.... on the way, we could see people washing clothes, washing dishes... all at the banks of the canals... children playing with their dogs and with water.. such fun.. not too sure bout hygene though... hmm...

then we were brought to this Coconut Sugar Farm. it's part of the tour. we got off, then went to see how coconut sugar was made... interesting as i've never tasted coconut sugar before. it's from the "juice" from the palm and cooked over wood flames. it can be quite sweet. and not only sugar, they also make sweets and peanut munchies from it.

at the Coconut Sugar Farm, they were also selling souviners... don't ask me why they were selling these (pics below).. LOL!!! they also sold the normal ones, like picture frames, key chains, magnets...etc

after the Coconut Sugar Farm, we continued our journey, passing a few shops on the left and on the right.. sometimes stopping so that we could buy some things... we were not really interested, i was looking forward more to the actual market to try their foods!... after a few attempts of telling the (btw cute) boatman that we were not interested, he brought us straight to the market...

my eyes just became bigger as there was sooooo many type of food that were sold in these boats! i wanted to try em all! but we had a time limit and i was the only one who was interested in eating... takkan i eat all by myself right?! anyway i found out that there was a drinks boat, fruits boat, even raw meat boat, noodles boat, rice (with dishes) boat, and not sure what other food they were selling... just wished we had more time....

i did managed to try their pork noodle that was made by a lady in her boat, i just saw her sitting there, turing left and right making the noodles, everything was at her arms length, and if she couldn't reach, she had a stick with a hook to get to the thing she wanted. she was at the bank, and had a helper help her with serving to people that sat at the bank of the canal. here's the lil clip i took.



we also had some mango rice and fried spring rolls on the way.. yummy! oh.. and can you believe it, there was a canal traffic jam when we were there too! too many boats! all couldn't move! there was no system on going on the left and coming on the right, everyone was everywhere!!! you can imagine the hayvok!
once we were done, we were brought to a temple (our first temple visit) that was by the bank of the canal. we got down, visited the temple, took some pics and hop on the boat again to get back to the "jetty".

i had fun! though i secretly wished we had more time and to try more foods.... but overall, no regrets with the long journey there and back. :) if i do go back to Bangkok, i'll sure to make another trip to the floating markets :)

Bangkok Boutique Hotel, Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Bangkok Boutique Hotel was our home for about 4 days. after checking in and speaking to the locals on what we can do and where we can go for here, we found out that the location of this hotel was quite good! 5mins walk to the MRT station (something we didn't know the night we arrived, hence the "hardwork" in reaching the hotel), malls are nearby, Chatuchak Market too was a few stations away and so were the temples.

this is a boutique hotel, so you'll see lots of artsy fartsy stuff around the hotel. lovely cosy interior and the staff too are friendly and very helpful! one set back was that our room was on the 3rd floor....NO lift! hahaha so imagine after being out the whole day walking non-stop, we got to end our day with stairs to the 3rd floor... :P

view of the lil garden and koi pond from our window

what impressed us from the room is the interior... we had lovely Thai scripts on the wall and picture frames. there was also a cupboard, dressing table, flat screen tv, rack, coffee/tea facilities and a well equipt bathroom! i love it! and money's worth too!! we went to the other room that we booked and the interior is quite different! i believe every room has different mural designs and that's what makes it interesting :)

the bathroom too was nice,
there were towels, toiletries, hairdryer and shaver plugs, hot/cold shower.
everything that a hotel bathroom should have.

if you're looking for a place to stay in Bangkok, especially Sukhumvit area, i suggest this hotel and i'm very satisfied with it. what more having the MRT station 3-5 mins walk from the hotel! the hotel is at 241, Sukhumvit 21, Bangkok, Thailand