Showing posts with label Pratunam. Show all posts

[FOOD] 20150113 Pratunam Food Street (near Big C) @ Pratunam, Bangkok


If you are staying nearby Pratunam area and looking for breakfast after your comfy sleep in your hotel, why not head down to the food street at Ratchadamri Road, nearby Big C supermarket if you have already tried looking around Pratunam Morning Market.

The food street mainly caters for office workers who are off to work early as I observed most of the customers are mostly locals who are buying breakfast along the way to work. The food street stretched from the bridge at Ratchadamri Road down to the Big C Supermarket. You may also find some clothes vendors along the streets as well.

There are more food choices here compared to Pratunam Market as the later mostly cater the clothing market. You can find variety of food from staple rice and noodles, or street snacks and food like sweet potato balls, fish cakes, pandan kuih etc. You can even get a quick fix with a cuppa from the cafe or road side coffee stall, or a milk tea as an alternative.

This post will mainly introduce the morning session of the food street. When the sky turns dark, there will be another shift of food vendors that will gather in front of Central World.

Ratchadamri Road (both sides, from bridge until Big C)
Nearest BTS Station: Siam Station
Telephone: N/A
Opening Hours: Morning

TO GO


Just take a walk from your hotel location towards Big C supermarket or Central World Mall. If you are taking a cab, just head to Central World will do. Alternatively, you may walk from BTS Siam Station (all lines) from Siam Paragon towards Central World direction.


SPECIALITY


Staple food like rice, fried or soup noodles and vermicelli are common breakfast for South East Asian countries. You may find these food commonly available around streets of Bangkok.

Sweet or Savoury Crepe - 20 Baht for 3 pieces (RM2.20)

Different flavours of crepe from the sweet to the savoury. The fillings includes grated coconuts, cereal, nuts or fruits. 


Came across this fish cake stall which sell deep fried fish cakes. The fish cake will then be cut into slices and then topped with special green chili sauce which is sour and spicy and some cucumbers. 

Deep Fried Fish Cake - 20 Baht for 1 packet (RM2.20)

It may look like normal fish cake from the outside but it taste surprisingly good until the extend that I purposely went back the next day to look for it but found out it was not there. Probably on alternate days or free for all basis. It has a texture of tofu but flavour of fish. Coupled with the sour and spicy chili sauce makes a delicious and appetizing combination.


Next will be the coconut crepe or kuih like. Not sure what is it called in Thai. It's actually a batter with coconut milk and then pan baked till cooked with toppings like corn, yam, chives or original flavour.


The stall is manned by an old lady, constantly preparing batch and batch of the coconut snack.

Coconut Milk Kuih - 20 Baht for small packet

The old lady will randomly pack the different flavours for you and it's available in small portion (20 Baht for 16 pieces) or big portion (30 Baht for don't know how many pieces). This coconut snack is savoury with the strong presence of coconut milk. I personally like the corn and yam flavour, but it tend to be a bit too salty for me. Grab some water after that!


Not forgetting the delicious pork satay (skewer). It is much cheaper here that each satay cost only 7 Baht. The uncle handed me 3 pieces fresh and hot from the grill and offer me for 20 Baht. I obliged. Locals tend to pair the pork satay with sticky rice. Very friendly couple.

Thai Milk Tea - 25 Baht (RM2.80)

After so much food, it's time to get something to quench my thirst. I noticed many locals went to this stall at the side of the alley instead of the ones at the main corridor. It must be either cheaper or better in quality, or maybe both. I pointed to the old lady for a milk tea and she understood. The tea here in Thailand is different from ours in Malaysia. It's a kind of red tea which is literally red in colour when brewed. Hence the milk tea is more to orange colour instead of brown colour like our teh ais. The flavour is also different from our Cameron Highlands Teh Boh, and I should asked for a kurang manis version instead as the sweetness level is pretty much like our fellow mamak stall.


Local snacks like crackers and fried anchovies are also available in this market. I asked for a sampling but didn't like the flavour.


Not forgetting the famous Thai Fried Chicken, which can be found every where around Bangkok. There's a famous one at this location, in front of Central World during the night shift. The fried chicken here has a harder curst, which I believe they have add glutinous rice flour in their batter prior to the frying.


Everything can be grilled, even the stick rice and eggs are not exempted!



Yes, even bananas can be grilled.


Found my sweet potato balls in front of Big C. I asked for a 20 Baht mixture of both types and the vendor happily agrees even though his normal price is 50 Baht for more because I told him I'm very full from all the previous samplings. Nothing much to shout about the sweet potato balls as the night market in Malaysia has better ones.


Last but not least, I found the Pandan Kuih in front of Central World. It taste like Pandan Pancake but lack of a wow factor. This packet also cost 20 Baht, as it is pretty standard pricing for street food in Bangkok.

SUMMARY


What a filling food hunt along the food street and you need to come back in the night for the second round of hunt. However, the food quality here maybe a mix of high and low. Hence, hunt your food diligently!

Taste
☆☆☆☆
Huge variety of local street food but the quality might be hit and miss
Value
☆☆☆☆☆
Most of the food are priced at 20 Baht
Service
☆☆☆☆
Most of the vendors are very friendly to tourists
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
by the road side
Opening Hours
Everyday
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A

GPS: 13.747701, 100.540810
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[FOOD] 20150112 Honggi BBQ Seafood 洪记烧烤 @ Pratunam, Bangkok


I was looking for some place to have some good Thai food for dinner and stumbled across this roadside stall located next to Shibuya 19 called Honggi BBQ Seafood or 洪记烧烤 in Chinese.

This stall only opens at night as I don't recall seeing this during day time. The exact location is actually at the corner of Shibuya 19, next to McDonalds and opposite 7-11. The Platinum Fashion Mall is actually located at the opposite side of the main road. Apparently this seafood BBQ stall is operated by local Chinese and the waitress can converse well in mandarin.

They have typical Thai menu as well as BBQ seafood. The price, however, is not very friendly and probably a tourist trap. Taste wise is just mediocre.

Honggi Seafood Restaurant
Soi Phetchaburi 19, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Nearest BTS Station: Nil
Telephone: N/A
Opening Hours: N/A

TO GO


I wouldn't recommend you to dine here as you have other better alternative else where. However, if you must, it's located at the corner of Shibuya 19 Ground Floor, opposite a 7-11.



SPECIALITY



As you can see from the above the setup is pretty simple with the BBQ grill facing the main road while the kitchen is actually located at the back.


They have various seafood for grill which include squid, fish, clams and prawns. As I will be heading to T&K seafood in the next few days, I have skipped the BBQ seafood and opt for normal Thai food. Oopps, I did order a BBQ Squid.


The BBQ squid is just mediocre and no where near the one I had at Number 6 in Phuket. This squid cost me 250 Baht. That's an expensive squid.


The Stir Fried Minced Pork with Basil is also just so so. Maybe I have set the expectation too high after all the nice food I had for the past few meals.


Last but not least is the Seafood Tom Yam Gung or sour spicy soup, which actually taste quite good. 

Overall bill came to about 700 Baht (RM70) for two, which is quite expensive for a roadside stall like this to be honest. Although the food was ok with price clearly stated on the menu, but it felt like a bit ripped off.

SUMMARY


Overall it was not an enjoyable meal due to the higher expectations. I can get this kind of quality easily in Malaysia at cheaper price. Not really recommended unless you have no other options. If you are nearby Pratunam and looking for dinner, would recommend you to try the road side stalls near Center World. 

Taste
☆☆☆
mediocre food
Value
☆☆☆
not worth for a setup like this.
Service
☆☆☆☆
acceptable service
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
by the roadside
Opening Hours
N/A
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Limited
Website
Nil

GPS: 13.750987, 100.538308
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[PLACE] 20150112 Pratunam Market @ Pratunam, Bangkok


Pratunam morning market is one of Bangkok's main market place and also Thailand's largest clothing market. The famous Platinum Fashion Mall is also evolved from this clothing market.

It spans across roads, streets, corridors and even back alleys. Price ranges from the cheapest garments, as low as 30 Baht up to few hundred Baht. You will be able to find all sorts of clothings and apparels here, mostly made in Thailand like t-shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, Thai silk handkerchiefs, under garment etc. However, the fashion or design is pretty much...individual taste.

The morning market start as early as 5am and then the vendors will pack up around 8am and move to some other market while the next vendor will move in and set-up to continue the afternoon market. What impresses me is the way Thais make use of every possible opportunity to make money, be it from creativity or through hardwork.

The morning market is located right under Baiyoke Tower I and Tower II, in between Ratchadamri Road and Phetchaburi Road. Besides clothings, the market also sells various souvenirs, handicrafts and not forgetting street food.

Pratunam Morning Market
Nearest BTS Station: Nil
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: Always (Retail is from 10:00am until 09:00pm)

TO GO


Unfortunately there's no direct access of BTS to Pratunam area and the nearest BTS station will probably be Ratchathewi Station (Sukhumvit Line), but that will also take about 15 walking to reach the station. Taking public cab or tuk tuk will probably be a better option if you dislike walking but be mindful of the traffic as well as the price charged by your tuk tuk driver.

If you are travelling on foot, the market is located right opposite Platinum Fashion Mall, Just set Baiyoke Tower as your landmark as you definitely cannot miss the 85-storey building from afar.


ATTRACTION



Street vendors are seen every where, carrying various merchandise like handicraft, souvenir or food to be sold to the public.


The market starts from the wider streets in the open air and slowly span into each corridor and alley. Not a single space was spared.



Narrow passage in between clothe stalls selling cheap knock off or locally made shirts. 


A street vendor pushing his cart to his designated location during the shift.


Well, here's one of your landmark. It's the rainbow coloured Ibis hotel, if not mistaken.


Not forgetting food vendors selling breakfast along the streets, which is also my main reason here because my hotel is just nearby the market. It's breakfast time!!


Thai version of nasi lemak? It's actually stir fried minced meat with rice and egg.


Aunty, your grilled fish looks tempting but too heavy for breakfast!


At last I settled down at this stall because there's no other place where I can sit and eat. Noticed that many tourists also stopped at this stall probably also due to the same reason. It was quite an unique experience to sit just right beside the hawker.


Nothing fancy about this soup noodle, at least the toppings are generous enough.


The juice stall is just next to the noodle stall, so I bought a pomegranate juice to compliment my breakfast. Nothing to complain for a 40 Baht juice. This type of juice stall is very common around the streets of Bangkok. 


Stumbled across this fried pork belly stall nearby. The locals will usually accompany this fried pork or grilled pork with sticky rice. It's sold by weight and I bought a small packet to try out. Nothing fancy about this stall, maybe will try another one to benchmark. It's similar to our Chinese style five spices fried pork, minus the five spices.

SUMMARY


Cheap clothes for everyone! This is what Pratunam market has to offer but its design might not suit for those who are in the fashion front. However, normal casual wear can be found here and with the price of below 200 Baht for most of the items, it's a steal. Oh ya, not forgetting the options of breakfast too if you are staying nearby.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
cheap clothes, cheap product.
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
It's a market!
Entrance Fee
Nil
Opening Hours
Everyday, 24 hours
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A

GPS: 13.752662, 100.539746
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