Ah, so we descend onto our last day in Bangkok. It's amazing how the time flew by, and how much we managed to squeeze in, in just under a week. I suppose it helps if you're a super girlfriend and all though.
Brad did keep commenting though, it would always felt like so much time passed by since everyday something big and new was happening…and at home, those big events are usually a little further and fewer in-between.
Fortunately, we hadn't felt like killing each other just yet. Juuuust yet.
On our last day in Bangkok, we popped by Chatuchak market. It's famous, it's huge, there is really a whole lot of stuff to buy there. I didn't really take any pictures, as I wasn't entirely sure what the go was with photos, but did pick up some cute and cheap doggie clothes for Chai (which Brad lamented me doing), and a couple of other cute bits and pieces.
Shopping in general is not Brad's thing, so we didn't spend as long as some other people might. We did however, enjoy the park that is right next to the market, with plenty of green, just so relaxing….
We then decided to make the trek to, what I think, is still one of my favourite places to eat in Bangkok, Ruen Tong Restaurant, which I previously covered here. It's a little bit of a pain to get to via public transport, and even with the business card, taxi drivers couldn't quite figure out where it was supposed to be.
But we eventually got there, and it was so worth it. I was pretty much just craving an awesome yum pla duke foo, after having some mediocre ones earlier in the week and Ruen Tong did not let me down. Sweet, fluffy, crunchy….swoon…sigh…!
Steamed fish cakes…mmm….!
We also picked up Brad's completed suit from Crown Tailors. Doesn't it look fab? I keep trying to find excuses for him to wear it…teehee.
For dinner, we had a local friend recommend a couple of places to us, as I was pulling a lazy blogger move and couldn't be bothered to do the research for myself. I'm allowed to now and then right?
So we ended up meeting another friend, that we were introduced to at the beginning of the week (who texted me complaining that he didn't have anything to wear...boys...), for dinner at Soul Food Mahanakorn in Thong Lor, a very short walk from the Thong Lor BTS Station. I had read via tripadvisor and an assortment of other websites that you generally needed a booking when going here…which we realised upon arriving, as the empty restaurant was actually fully booked out, but fortunately they had a little bar type area on the second floor that they could neatly fit three of us on.
Just perfect!
Soul Food Mahanakorn doesn't really feel like any other Thai place in Bangkok. It's a little moodier, and for some reason it made me think of Studio Ghibli films (I know weird thing to think about with restaurants), hear me out though. The tones and colours of the restaurant made me feel like I was in a forest, it even felt a bit zen like and somehow made me think it looked more like a Japanese place than a Thai food place!
But then it also had walls like this which reminded me of places like Naked for Satan or Chin Chin back home.
The philosophy of Soul Food Mahankorn is pretty straight forward, serve authentic regional Thai food, in a comfortable environment. They've also got some pretty snazzy little cocktails and also source a lot of their ingredients from small farms and aim to go organic and fair trade where they can.
Hard to go past a green vegetable curry, not as thick and creamy as I may be used to in Melbourne, but I did love the bite and flavour it did have. Maybe a little on the weaker side, but still incredibly tasty and perfect for drenching rice with.
I honestly can't remember what these noodles were. Sorry guys. They clearly weren't a stand out with me!
To get our fill of rice and carbs, we got the lamb grapow, with Australian lamb naturally (talk about food miles?!), holy basil, garlic and chili. Oh yeah, and a fried egg with a runny yolk. Over rice. Best ever or what?!
Surprisingly to me, the star of the night was the stir-fried morning glory, with chili and bean sauce. Out of all the dishes we had, we cleaned this one up the fastest. There was something so incredibly moreish about the sauce and the morning glory together, the texture was just right, the flavours were spot on.
Whilst I don't necessarily think the food was the most authentic I had ever had, we all did like what we ate. If you want the real Thai experience, you can probably skip over this place, but if you want somewhere with a nice environment, some tasty cocktails and some tasty food, it's definitely worth considering in my book.
We later ended up meeting with another friend, who took us to another cool bar, of which I can't remember the name, but it was in Thong Lor, that his friend owned. How the heck do I know all these ballers in Bangkok? I'm really not that cool.
We were treated to a new concoction which was not yet bestowed on the menu, but my gosh, I hope it is soon! I don't remember everything that was in it, but it was gin based, there was liquid nitrogen and smoke and the cocktail itself was a glorious light blue colour, which I find quite unusual and not so typical of most cocktails. Oh and you drink it from the jar. Who needs cups?! Smitten. Smitten. And it has to be in Bangkok. Le sigh!
The next day, after a bit of running around and picking up last minute supplies, freaking out that the airport train wouldn't get us to the airport in time, we checked in our bags with Air Asia and found ourselves in the international terminal of Bangkok. What a whirlwind. And how else to end it, but with, a slightly overpriced, but last, Thai iced tea, Singha and som tam?
Bangkok was good to us, and it was a great way for us to start our trip. Accessible, easy to get around, easy to get everything you may need, cheap food, cheap drinks and just so much to do in general. I guess it helped that with Bangkok, I had been before, so I had some idea of what to expect, where to go, how to get around…however…Cambodia on the other hand was unchartered territory for both us…
56/10 Sukhimvit Soi 55 (Thong lor)
Bangkok Thailand
085-9042691
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