Showing posts with label Pad Thai. Show all posts

[FOOD] 20151111 Sunrise Beach Restaurant @ Sunrise Beach, Koh Lipe, Thailand


Just check in your hotel/resort in Koh Lipe and no idea where to grab a bite while the walking street will only open in the evening? Why not have a try at the Sunrise Beach Restaurant by Sara and Gong next to Wapi Resort which is recommended by the local guide after we have booked our island hopping trip.

Located about 5 minute walk from the Walking Street, this cozy little restaurant is opened almost all day long, with the beautiful fronting of the Sunrise Beach.

They serve Thai and Western Menu with offering such as individual meals like various kind of fried rice, noodles, pad thai, or sandwiches, fish and chips or spaghetti. Ala carte menu is also available for those who preferred sharing portion of traditional Thai dishes.

Pricing is slightly on a higher side as expected for a tourist area and a distanced island. Generally food here cost from 80 Baht to 250 Baht while beverages starts from 60 Baht onwards. Acceptable pricing given the portion served.

They also have snorkelling gear and kayak for rental for those who are interested.

Sunrise Beach Restaurant, Sunrise Beach, Koh Lipe, Satun, Thailand.
Telephone: +660836575719
Opening Hours: 7:30am until 9:00pm

TO GO


From the inner arch/entrance (not the beach arch) of the Walking Street, walk towards Sunrise Beach direction until you reach Gypsy Resort or Wapi Resort. Then turn left if you enter from Gypsy Resort or turn right if you enter from Wapi Resort. If you get lost, just walk along the beach and enjoy the view while spotting for the signboard above. Another landmark will be Adang Sea Divers.

Get a local map from the tourist counters, some maps will tag Sunrise Beach Restaurant within their maps.



SPECIALITY



The restaurant is a cozy little hut on the sand with an awesome beach fronting with cooling breeze while you enjoy your meal.


On a calm day, you may get to enjoy the view and the two tones of sea water right from your table. The ordering here in Koh Lipe is a bit different where the waitress will ask you what meat would you like to put in your noodle/dish, choices include chicken, pork, seafood, squid, crab, and etc. Of course, the price varies according to the ingredient used.

Pad Thai with pork - THB 90 (RM11)

A dish that I will always order when I'm in Thailand would definitely be their national dish of Pad Thai. However, from the looks, the Pad Thai served here is different from their siblings in mainland Thailand where it is lighter in colour. Taste wise is a tad more sour than the usual Pad Thai I had and taste very different from those Pad Thai I had in Bangkok. Nevertheless, it is still a good dish despite I sensed heavy used of seasoning/MSG.

Coconut Shake - THB70

A glass of Coconut shake to quench your thirst under the hot sun.

Various type of Fried Rice - ranges from THB 90 to THB120 (RM11 to RM15)

They have various type of fried rice available such as pineapple friend rice, seafood fried rice, crab fried rice etc. It might look the same but taste wise is totally different from one another. The rice is fried until fragrant with good "wok hei". The fried rice taste good with enough flavour despite mainly derives from seasoning. The portion is big and is enough for two light eaters.


Bird's eye view of the Fried Rice.

Spicy Spaghetti with Herbs and Basil - THB140 (RM17)

The Spicy Spaghetti with Herbs and Basil is like a mixed pot of ingredients fried with spaghetti. It tastes like our local maggi goreng but using spaghetti instead of maggi noodles if you want a accurate description.


Most of all, just enjoy your meal after your swim or kayak trip and relax.

SUMMARY


Food was tasty despite heavy use of seasoning, at least it's better than a tasteless meal. Price wise is on a higher side as expected for a tourist area with average spending of RM20 per head. I only tried their individual menu and skipped the traditional Thai food as I will be trying those for dinner. Overall a good meal with affordable price at a serene place made this restaurant a recommended place for breakfast or lunch.

Taste
☆☆☆☆
Good but heavy reliance on seasoning/MSG
Value
☆☆☆☆
On the higher side but expected and affordable
Service
☆☆☆☆
Communication might be difficult as some waitress speak limited English but pointing on the menu does help. One of the waitress is able to speak simple mandarin. Good service nevertheless.
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
Beach fronting with sand and flies but overall cutleries are clean
Opening Hours
07:30am until 09:00pm (Daily)
Wifi
Free Wifi available but connection is hit and miss
Parking
N/A
Website
Email: sarajiab@hotmail.com

GPS: 6.488939, 99.309924
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[FOOD] 20150114 Pad Thai Thip Samai (Prathuphi Pad Thai) @ Phra Nakhon, Bangkok


It is said that the Thai national dish i.e. Pad Thai was originated from this stall known as Thip Samai back in 1966. I often see this stall being featured in travel programmes and told myself that this is the one restaurant I need to go.

Pad Thai Thip Samai, or also known as Prathu Phi Pad Thai by the locals ("Prathu Phi" means ghost gate) due to its location nearby Prathu Phi, is well known among the locals and often packed with patrons no matter what time. It's opened until mid night and many will come here for supper after work.

The restaurant is operated in stations to cater for the huge crowd where each station has it's own function i.e. the cooking station, the wrapping station and the garnishing station. Worth mentioning that they use charcoal instead of gas stove for their cookings.

Huge wok of Pad Thai is churned out from time to time, with more than 10 servings per wok. The Pad Thai will then be prepared according to the order and some will be sent to the wrapping station for the Pattaya style omelette wrappings.

It was fun to see how each task was broken down into unit operations in order to be more efficient to cut down lag time between each plate of Pad Thai, without compromising on the quality.

There are a few options available from the normal Pad Thai, Supreme Pad Thai, Prawn Pad Thai etc etc. Not forgetting their special ice blended coconut that taste like 7-11's slurpee but in coconut flavour.

Pad Thai Thip Samai
313 Maha Chai Road Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon Bangkok 10200
Nearest BTS Stations: Nil
Telephone: +66 (0) 2221 6280
Opening Hours: 05:30 pm until 01:30 am

TO GO


Thip Samai is located at Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok, which is very near to Khao San Road or Chinatown. My recommendation will be to come here for supper after your visit to either place. Taking a cab will be the most convenient way but some cab driver might refuse to bring you over due to the short distance. Just tell the driver "Prathu-Phi Pad Thai" and most likely he will know where is it.



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It was late at night and I managed to get one kind cab driver to bring me over the Prathu-phi Pad Thai. Being the origin of all Pad Thai recipe in Thailand, I was wondering how "legendary" will the Pad Thai be, while being sceptical over the "mass production" method. The restaurant is full of patrons, including the roadside corridor outside the restaurant. Mostly locals who got off work late or dropping by for supper or take away.


The restaurant uses hot flames from the charcoal instead of gas stove, just like how it was done during their inception. Charcoal fire also gives a better aroma and is much hotter than normal gas stove, making the cooking harder as you required to stir fry as quickly as possible to avoid over-burnt.


The cooking starts off from a big wok and then segregate into smaller plates of Pad Thai for the next station to do a fast stir-fry action with intense fire with additional toppings or ingredients according to the order.


Those who ordered the Supreme Pad Thai will be sent to the next station for the omelette wrapping where you can see the worker skilfully wrapped each plate of Pad Thai in a blink of an eye, like a machine.


The finished product will be transferred into a clean plate and garnished with coriander and chilli. The waiter will then fill his hands with plates of Pad Thai before doing the delivery. It was fun and interesting to see the whole process on how fast your Pad Thai can be served and how efficient the workers work.


My Supreme Pad Thai (85 Baht) is ready in a jiffy and looks very inviting.


Traditionally, Pad Thai will be served along with some raw vegetables such as chives and bean sprout. However, I noticed many locals did not touch these raw vegetables and only concentrate on their Pad Thai. 


Not forgetting the coconut "slurpee" which is said to be a secret recipe passed down by the Queen directly to the owner of this restaurant. It does taste like a coconut flavour slurpee, if you are wondering.


The Pad Thai tastes good with nice flavours but was not as good as I expected. Probably I have too high hopes prior to this. The ingredients also seemed "ungenerous" for the pricing of 85 Baht, in contrast to the Pad Thai Fire Look I had in Thong Lo which comes with generous amount of prawns and crab meat, at a cheaper price and better flavour.

SUMMARY


Overall it is still a good and satisfying meal to have especially for supper. However, was slightly disappointed with the taste probably due to the mass production and high bar set by Pad Thai Fire Look that I had previously in Thong Lo. Nevertheless, it is still good to experience the very first recipe and to witness the stations of preparing in Pad Thai Thip Samai.

Taste
☆☆☆☆
Good pad thai
Value
☆☆☆
Pricing towards the high side with minimal ingredients and toppings
Service
☆☆☆☆☆
Despite the huge crowd, service is excellent and prompt with very good manners.
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆
Opening Hours
05:30pm until 01:30am (Daily)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Minimal
Website
Nil

GPS: 13.752750, 100.504708
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[PLACE] 20150113 Thong Lo Food Street @ Thong Lo, Bangkok


Street food is what Bangkok is known for, and to find abundance of street food, you need to find a food street where the food stalls gather. Similar to our Malaysian version of "wai sik gai" (Glutton Street) like those in Jalan Alor, Pudu or PJ SS2, There are many street foods around Bangkok, some open in the morning, some in the night, some all day long.

Thong Lo Food Street would probably be one of the well known ones with some famous stalls around. The Sukhumvit Soi 38 transforms into a busy street after 6pm with shops and vendors opening for business.

The number of tourist is less here compared to hot areas like Chinatown or Pratunam. You may find most of the common street food like soup noodles, rice, pork satay, mango sticky rice, desserts, pad Thai etc including the famous stalls like the Pad Thai Fire Look and Ning Mango Stick Rice that I introduced in separate posts.

Sukhumbit Soi 38 is very accessible via BTS as it is just right below the BTS Thong Lo Station and spans across more than 200 meters. It opens from 6pm onwards until mid night.

Sukhumvit Soi 38, Thong Lo
Nearest BTS Stations: Thong Lo
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: 06:00pm onwards

TO GO


The Thong Lo Food Street is conveniently located under the BTS Thong Lo station. Just take the Sukhumvit Line (Light Green) and exit at Thong Lo station. You wouldn't miss the sight of the busy Sukhumvit 38 street from the station.



ATTRACTION



Restaurants, shops stalls and street vendors are all here waiting for you if you are looking for your dinner or supper.


There are more locals than tourists here but nevertheless you will still spot some around due to its convenience by the BTS station.


Stall selling Thai dessert, which I guessed should be something like the red ruby or sweet soup with condiments.


The famous award winning Pad Thai Fire Look at the alley on the right of the street.


The famous Ning Mango Stick Rice which serves very quality mango stick rice, definitely recommended.


Pork satay (skewers) and sausages like those you commonly seen around the streets of Bangkok.


This fruit juice stall sells cheap and quality juices with price ranges between 20 Baht to 40 Baht, depending on the type of juices.


Passion fruit juice is one of the recommended juices because you rarely see this in other place, but you need to bear with the blended seeds although it is edible.


Too much spicy food in Bangkok and need something thats lighter? Try the congee stall as well as it serve Cantonese-liked porridge which is cooked into very fine and almost watery texture. The one in the picture above is the salted egg with mince pork, Chinese style.


Last but not least, a glimpse on my dinner, the Pad Thai by Pad Thai Fire Look.


SUMMARY


Overall the Thong Lo Food Street has many to offer especially with the famous stalls around to guarantee your journey here. The price seems to be on the higher side with minimum cost per dish of at least 40 Baht and up. However, the people here don't speak Englishv very well, most of the ordering are done by pointing and numbering. Those stalls who are familiar with tourists will have a picture menu ready and you just need to point. It may not be the best food street, but it also will not disappoint.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
who can resist food street??
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
food by the street, but that's what makes it delicious
Entrance Fee
Nil
Opening Hours
06:00pm onwards (Daily)
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A

GPS: 13.723467, 100.579003
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[FOOD] 20150113 Pad Thai Fire Look @ Thong Lo, Bangkok


Pad Thai is the Thai version of Char Keow Teow (or Char Keu Tiow) to us in Malaysia. Both are basically stir fried flat rice vermicelli but what sets them apart is the vermicelli and the taste. Pad Thai uses a thicker version of vermicelli which has chewy and tangy texture while the Malaysian Char Keow Teow is a thinner and softer version of the vermicelli. Taste wise, Pad Thai is towards the sweet side while Char Keow Teow is towards to savoury side. Pad Thai vendors can be found every where in Bangkok.

I went to Thong Lo Food Street for my dinner and to search for this little hidden stall that's at the side alley instead of the main food street. The Pad Thai was so good that I need to have a separate post for it instead of summarized within the Thong Lo Food Street Post.

It may not seemed like one but this stall, which is known as the Pad Thai Fire Look (sorry didn't managed to get any of the Thai name) is one of the award winning Pad Thai and was crowned as the best Pad Thai some years back, as shown by the newspaper cutting displayed at the stall.

The stall is manned by a middle-age man, very cool guy and never smiles (maybe that's how it gets its name of Fire Look??). All he does is just stir frying with his spatula and wok but his pad thai is one of the best I have tried, even better than the famous Pratu Phi Pad Thai.

Right side alley, Sukhumvit 38, Thong Lo
Nearest BTS Stations: Thong Lo
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: 06:00pm onwards

TO GO


The Thong Lo Food Street is conveniently located under the BTS Thong Lo station. Just take the Sukhumvit Line (Light Green) and exit at Thong Lo station. You wouldn't miss the sight of the busy Sukhumvit 38 street from the station.

Once you are at the street, you need to locate the side alley at your right side, behind the fruit juice stall. Inside this alley is where two hidden gems are located along with a Korean food stall operated by a Korean lady. The Fire Look Pad Thai is located at the end of the alley, which is also a seafood stall.


SPECIALITY



The view from above at the BTS station. The whole stretch of the street are all food stalls while the Pad Thai stall is located at the right alley seen in this picture.


The stall is actually like a seafood stall, serving various other dishes. But right below the sign board you will notice his claim on the champion of Thai cooking contest.


Communication was a big challenge as they don't speak English at all. I checked the menu displayed at the stall to confirm that this is the Pad Thai stall I was looking for and saw the newspaper cuttings. I asked the girl, who is also the stall assistant whether they have Pad Thai because most of the menu displayed are seafood rice dishes. The girl nodded her head, and I said "Pad Thai, one".

The man in the beanie is the main chef while the other guy in black shirt apparently is co-chef, mainly preparing other meals like the seafood rice dishes. I noticed some tourists asked for Pad Thai after my order but was told "no Pad Thai..", not sure whether it is communication error or just sold out.

The Famous Fire Look Pad Thai - 70 Baht (RM7.70)

The Pad Thai took some time to reach my table. First glance, I noticed that this Pad Thai is very different from the normal Pad Thai with its abundance of condiments and ingredients. Most of all, the pieces of crab meat on top that justifies the price of 70 Baht. Trying hard to list out the ingredients which includes chives, tofu pieces, dried shrimp, omelette, prawn, fresh mango and crab meat. It's accompanied with condiments like lime, bean sprout, mint and chives.

The ingredients overwhelmed the noodles and I wished it had more noodles because one plate is not enough!

SUMMARY


Overall a very enjoying plate of Pad Thai with its rich flavours and generous ingredients that justifies the price of 70 Baht. Would definitely come back one day to try it again.

Taste
☆☆☆☆☆
One of the best Pad Thai with generous ingredients.
Value
☆☆☆☆☆
That crab meat alone justifies the price.
Service
☆☆☆
Very mean guy, communication difficulty
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
Opening Hours
06:00pm (Daily - I suppose?)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Nil
Website
Nil

GPS: 13.723178, 100.578379
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