Originally we were going to go to the Caribbean, thought about it, and decided to go to Thailand instead because the food is better. (No shade against the Caribbean, I've been a few times before and we're heading there this Christmas!) Here's everything we ate in Bangkok (though we had actually had better food in Samui - more on that in another post!):
First up, we arrived late on our first day so wanted somewhere near the hotel for food. Really wanted to go to Woo Tender but it was closed when we got there, despite Google Maps saying contrary, so ended up at Yoka Yoka, a Japanese restaurant. It was nice enough, but nothing special, so you can probably give it a miss. (Let me know if you make it to Woo Tender though - anywhere with a wagyu katsu sando on the menu gets my approval.)
Breakfast was had at the hotel - we stayed at the
Conrad in an executive club room, which meant we could have it in the Executive Lounge on the 29th floor. There's a small buffet there, as well as an a la carte menu from which you can order two dishes each - the Thai omelette was, by far, my favourite dish on that menu. We also had afternoon tea in the lounge, and canapes and alcoholic drinks most evenings (5.30-7.30pm). We did have drinks a few times at Diplomat Bar, the hotel's main bar, and some food and drinks by the pool. Which only served to highlight how great it is to have all those free drinks and food in the Executive Lounge - definitely something to take advantage of, if you book that sort of room.
On to actual food places though. Our favourite dinner was at
The House of Smooth Curry where we plumped for the tasting menu (some dishes pictured at the top of this post). The spice dry curry with wagyu was my favourite dish, but it was all yum. This was our most expensive meal in Bangkok, a city where you can spend a few quid on a tasty street food dinner or, equally, a few hundred pounds at a restaurant for a tasting experience. We also had dinners at
Err (we'd seen it on Somebody Feed Phil and it was a good spot) and
Breakfast Story (it was late, near our hotel and they were still open so not somewhere we'd have chosen, necessarily - food was fine).
If you're after the aforementioned cheap street food, let me tell you about
Kuay Jab Mr Joe. Delicious crispy pork for a mere 80 baht (around £1.90). For the same price you can also get kuay jab, which is the crispy pork, in soup with rolled rice noodles. (Option to have it with offal, too... we did not.) It's popular for a reason, and should definitely be on your list. The other great street food we had was from the
Nong Duck Noodle stall in Chinatown. And that was even cheaper. We enjoyed duck noodle soup for 60 baht (£1.45ish), and the pieces of duck were amazing. And plentiful. We also stopped in at
Laoteng for dim sum whilst we were in Chinatown.
It's not a meal, but I am also going to mention sriracha. The sauce came out of Thailand and whilst the family that made it split into three different sriracha empires, the 'Gold Medal' version has been made and sold from the same place in Bangkok since 1932. Which is quite something! We bought both the mild and spicy version to bring back home from their shop near the Grand Palace - if you're also a fan of the sauce, I suggest you do the same. Search for
Hattakamamakarn in Google Maps.
When you're researching Bangkok, you'll likely read about Khao San Road, Bangkok's party road. To be honest, we did not see the appeal. We walked down it, and just saw the usual bars, stalls, restaurants and weed shops. Sure, there was a stall selling edible insects (and another had alligator), but these aren't uncommon nowadays. Maybe back in the heyday of the Thailand backpacking scene, it was more unique? We had a drink round the corner in Soi Ram Buttri at
Moonshine Bar, which was a bit quieter, before we headed off to Chinatown (Yaowarat) for dinner.
And that's where we ate in Bangkok! I'd probably embrace more street food next time - I feel like we didn't eat enough of it, but it's a big city and sometimes you're just not in the right place. Jodd Fairs, for example, was a street food market we wanted to eat at and it never timed for us. I'd really recommend Mr Joe, The House of Smooth Curry and Nong Duck Noodle though. And, of course, picking up some sriracha sauce at Hattakamamakarn! x
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