Category Archives: Good For – Late Night Dining

Best Bangkok Mango Sticky Rice @ Sukhumvit Soi 38 (And Wanton Noodle)

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Sukhumvit Night Food Street (Sticky Rice and Wanton Noodle)

Address: Thong Lor Station Exit 4, Sukhumvit Soi 38

Opening hours: Some stalls open at 6.00pm, and some at 8.00pm till late

Introduction

Sukhumvit Soi 38 is an ordinary road by day and transformed into a food street by night. There are about twenty stalls here that offers quite a variety of Bangkok street food here like Papaya Salad, Skewered BBQ Meat, Duck Noodle, Fresh Fruit Smoothies, Pad Thai, the famous Mango Sticky Rice and Thai-style Wanton Noodle.

Sukhumvit Soi 38 is directly across Thong Lor BTS station Exit 4. Apparently the Pad Thai there has quite some reputation but we did not have the stomach after having the famous “Best Bangkok Mango Sticky Rice” and the Thai-style Wanton Noodle. I always wanted to do a comparison between the SabX2 Wanton Noodle and something else so this is the one.

Click here to view my full list of Bangkok Food Itinerary

Bangkok Best Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Neeo Mamuang)

Everyone surely will have a mango sticky rice or two in Bangkok, but what about the “Best Mango Sticky Rice”? Apparently, the one with such reputation is not from a restaurant, not from an eatery and definitely not from a cafe but this road side stall at Sukhumvit Soi 38. Turn right at the blue and white umbrella at the foreground as shown in the above pic to locate this stall. Remember it’s something something something 38. LOL. Any helpful soul to translate?

I was pretty curious what actually contributed to this roadside stall for their “Best Bangkok Mango Sticky Rice” reputation. I can’t be sure is this the Best Mango Sticky Rice, but this is one of the best i had so far. I had reviewed Mango Tango previously and talked about how fresh and sweet their mangoes are, surprisingly, this street food stall’s are as good, if not slightly better.

But i have to emphasis that it’s still a personal preference for individual’s criteria for a “good mango sticky rice”.  Some mango sticky rice’s are good for their coconut sauce while the glutinous rice don’t add much flavor to the overall taste except for it’s texture. This glutinous rice is flavorful, with sweet blend of slightly salty and sweet taste and the aromatic coconut sauce completes the whole package. Good mango, good coconut sauce, good rice and a bonus – good price.

Crab Meat Wanton Noodle

Apparently the wanton noodle is one of the popular stalls which has quite some good reputation online. The unique thing for this  Thai-style wanton noodle is they added fresh crab meat as the ingredient. I can’t remember the exact price but i remember it is not expensive at all. There is a good local crowd queuing at this stall when i visited.

The noodle dry is springy and the texture is quite delightful. There is a tinge of shallot and pork lard fragrance upon having my first bite. The fresh crab meat don’t exactly affects the taste much but is a nice addition to the ingredient. Unlike the Sabx2 Wanton Noodle ,this noodle is less flavorful and i can taste the sweetness of the noodle. I would like this version if i am looking for something lighter, but I thought that the SabX2 Wanton Noodle fairs better than this in term of the overall taste.

The soup is also lightly flavored by the Chye Poh (preserved radish) and the soup is pretty good and i actually prefers the soup version to the dry. I normally prefers a dry noodle over a soup noodle anytime but not this one.

Conclusion

This is my first visit to Sukhumvit Soi 38 but definitely will not be my last. I thought it is an awesome place to indulge in Bangkok’s Street Food Culture to try out the wide variety of street food here.

I would love to try out the Pad Thai and it’s a pity i didn’t have it for my last visit. If you are visiting here, don’t be like me, for visiting this place with an almost-full stomach.

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Thip Samai (Phra Nakhon – Bangkok) : “Best Pad Thai in Bangkok”

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Thip Samai

Address: Thip Samai, Phra Nakhon, จังหวัด กรุงเทพมหานคร Thailand

Operating hours: Daily 6:00pm to 12:00am

Introduction

A quick Google of ‘Bangkok best Pad Thai’ will return quite some results for ‘Thip Samai’. The location of Thip Samai is rather off from the main shopping district but is it worth the travel for the ‘best Pad Thai in bangkok’ ? This is my second visit to Thip Samai. From the Grand Palace area (specifically from The Deck@ Arun Residence), i took a tuk tuk that took me less than five minutes to reach.

Same as my previous visit, comparing to Sabx2 Wanton Noodle which is mostly filled with tourist, Thip Samai is mostly filled with locals.

Thip Samai basically offers many variations of Pad Thai (glass noodle version, with extra prawn, wrapped in omelet or even a version without the rice noodle). Yes, and one more thing that I like about Thip Samai is for it’s cleanliness of the shop. Eating in a dirty eatery is the last thing to worry about at Thip Samai.

Click here to see my list of consolidated Bangkok Food Itinerary

Pad Thai

I ordered the omelet version and the prawn version. I remembered the prawn version was a little sweet for Singaporean taste the previous time but this time it’s perfect.

At Thip Samai, every plate of Pad Thai is freshly prepared and served piping hot to your table, and it comes comes with a portion of bean sprouts, fresh lime and chives.

Adding the lime, chilli flakes and crushed peanut is a must to bring out the flavour of the noodle. I tend not to judge a food’s taste by Singapore standard, and as we know, Bangkok food tends to be sweeter. So for those who don’t appreciate sweet savory food, you may find this Pad Thai, or any other Thai food in Bangkok, not as appealing to you.

Their Pad Thai is more to a dryer version but the noodle is well-coated with the tamarind & fish sauce and i can taste the sweetness and the fragrance of the Pad Thai with every mouthful. This dish is especially enjoyable with added dried chilli flakes.

I requested for no bean sprout but they totally excluded everything except the noodle, egg and prawn. LOL.

Orange Juice

If it is your first time visiting Thip Samai, you can try their freshly squeezed Orange Juice. What’s so special about this orange juice? They don’t just add pulp into the juice, but chunks of Orange fruit. That is why they specifically instruct that the juice must be finished within the same day.

Braised Pork Bee Hoon

Facing the road, on the left side of Thip Samai lies a roadside stall call “Tee Yen-Ta-4”. This little stall was crowded and filled with patrons which made me really curious about the food that they are selling. On every table, the people are either eating a bowl of Yong Tau Fu Soup or something that looks like Stew Pork Bee Hoon. So i took the plunge and ordered a portion for myself too!

This Bee Hoon tasted really homely, like the kind of Bee Hoon that i had at my Primary School Canteen. The soup is surprisingly good, but some may say probably it’s because of the MSG. The soft-stew pork and the turnip goes pretty well with the soup and bee hoon.

Conclusion

I think it’s not hard to guess my verdict for Thip Samai since this is my return visit to this place. Thip Samai may not easily be the best of the best Pad Thai in Bangkok, since there should be ten over thousands of stalls selling Pad Thai in Bangkok. But when a place sells Pad Thai and just Pad Thai alone, and manage to prosper with almost full house during my both visits even at such an inconvenient location, this says something about the quality.

Moreover, what is a Bangkok trip without trying out their “Bangkok Best Pad Thai”? If i’m coming back to Bangkok in future, i will try to visit this place again.

Directions and Map

I don’t see any MRT or BTS station nearby. For both times, i took a cab down and the cab driver managed to locate this eatery. From google map, apparently it appears that it is within walking distance from The Grand Palace (about 15 minutes) but i never took the walk so if anyone tried walking from The Palace to Thip Samai, feel free to share with me.

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Mr Jones Orphanage (Bangkok – Thonglor)

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Mr Jones Orphanage

Address: SeenSpace Thonglor 13, Bangkok, Thailand 10110

Operating hours: 10.00am to 12:00 midnight (last order at 11:00pm) daily

Introdution

Mr Jones orphanage is located at the ‘atas street’ of Thonglor. You may have noticed that the address is exactly the same as Roast Coffee and Eatery. Yeap, this cosy little cafe is at level one of the SeenSpace, just below Roast Coffee & Eatery. I guess as a child everyone would had dreamt of such a place where there are endless candies, cakes, chocolate and ice cream. Mr Jones orphanage is exactly such a place, only that you need to pay for it. LOL.

I would have to say the selling point of this cafe is the design of their cafe instead of just food. Upon entering this “wonderland”, on the left lies a kitchen that is literally full of pastries, with the ceiling decorated with a giant wooden clock.

In the middle, there is a long table arrangement that reminds me of of mini Harry Potter’s Hogwarts dining hall.

On the right, it’s labelled as “The Playground” where there is this large carousel-design dining table in the center. The area is the most well lit and if you want to get some good food shots, dining at this area will never go wrong.

However, I am most impressed by their attic dining area and this is where i choose to have my meal. There is a ‘secret attic’ that is leaded up by a flight of narrow wooden stairs. I have to bend my knees and lay low so that my head won’t knock onto the ceiling while exploring the “secret hiding place”. Low seating sofas and tables are placed at various corners of the attic with decorative items like toy soldiers, library books and plush toys are scattered all over the dimly lit attic, with no ‘adult’ (the waitress) looking at what you are doing.

It’s like you had been transported out from Bangkok, and into a place that only exist in a story book.

As i reach there quite early at about 11 am, i had the whole attic to myself with the freedom to walk around, sleep flat on their sofa, or do anything you want. Best chill-out place ever.

Click here to see my list of consolidated Bangkok Food Itinerary

Pastries and cakes:

Since I just had my breakfast at Roast Coffee and Eatery, I didn’t get to try Mr Jones’ main course and I only ordered their desserts. Mr Jones Orphanage do offer brunch menu like Egg Benedict, Sandwich or a full breakfast platter. But now the problem is, WHICH DESSERT SHOULD I ORDER?! There are a wide selection of desserts like Lemon Meringue, Passionfruit Sponge Cake, Rocky Road, Chocolate Fudge cake, Coconut Cake, Chocolate Ferraro, Oreo Pie,  Berry Sponge and even M&M + Kit Kat cake, which they call it the “Kit Kat Monster”.

In the end, i finally settle with their coconut cake at 100 baht (cus Thailand is famous for their coconut), Chocolate Ferraro at 110 baht and their Chocky Mud Pie (135 baht).

Their coconut cake is divided into four layers, first layer with the fresh coconut shavings, then the coconut cream, the sponge cake with a layer of fresh coconut meat sandwich between the sponge cake. I thought this is something that is not commonly found in Singapore. For those who like coconut, this is worth a try.

The staff recommended their Chocky Mud Pie and this pie was served piping hot from the oven. Nothing beats a molten chocolate center that goes with a mouthful of dark chocolate ice cream.

Conclusion

Mr Jones Orphanage has actually little main courses to offer therefore i would suggest having your breakfast at Roast Coffee and Eatery at level 2 and pop by to experience this cafe and to have desserts. Don’t be fool by it’s plain-looking main door.

I think it’s worth the visit cus this is something that we don’t have and will not have in Singapore. And apology if my photos focus a little too much on the interior design instead of the food, but that is because i really really like the interior of the cafe. Definitely an eye opener and a place not to be missed, especially if you are already at Thonglor area.

Directions

The nearest BTS station to Mr Jones Orphanage is Thonglor station and takes a 15 minutes walk. Direction is exactly as coming to Roast Coffee & Eatery. Taking a cab to this place will be much easier. If you choose to walk, you just need to walk on one straight road on Sukhumvit 55 and turn left into Akkhara Phat when you see a building call “Home Place”.

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