10 Can’t Miss Foodie Experiences in Bangkok!

Bangkok has such a wealth of fascinating food experiences to offer. From Michelin-star haunts to street stalls, mom-and-pop operations to the finest hotels in the world, great food is served literally everywhere, that it’s impossible to name the absolute ten best “must” visit places. However, as a guide for the first timer or the uber-enthusiast, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, a local hotelier, entertainer and foodie, has compiled a list to get you started. Bon appetite!

1) Market Breakfast

A morning stroll through any fresh market in Thailand is a fascinating experience. A variety of breakfast foods and snacks are sold at myriad stalls. Many Thais eat a full breakfast of rice with a selection of side dishes, including curries, to stock up on energy for the rest of the day. In general the most popular snacks are pla tong koh (fried dough) and kanom krok (coconut milk pancakes). Both taste great with traditional Thai coffee, tea or warm soymilk. More robust choices are kao tom (rice soup) and joke (rice porridge), with pork, egg, sliced ginger and a sprinkling of crispy fried dough.

2) Hotel Buffet

The “all-you-can-eat” concept is thriving in Bangkok, especially in hotels where food connoisseurs are in constant search of the best local eats and value. Five-star chain hotels featuring ultra-luxe Sunday brunches with free-flow alcohol, cheese rooms, live entertainment and imported delicacies are all the rage. The most popular of these is the pricy Four Seasons’ Sunday Jazzy Brunch, which combines food from all their five outlets. If you’re looking for something a little more wallet-friendly but equally delicious, the Patummat buffet at the locally owned and operated Siam City Hotel is impressive; it has endless variety, top-notch presentation, guaranteed freshness and innovative monthly themes.

3) Roadside Noodles

A true lunchtime staple for Thais, you simply can’t go wrong with these flavourful noodles. Patrons can individually spice up the basic dish with vinegar, sugar, fish sauce and ground chilli. Without a doubt kuey tiew is the best way to fill up quickly and easily. There are an endless variety of options available, from fried and dried to those with and soup or gravy. Not to mention accoutrements like chicken, pork (minced or sliced), pork balls, beef, beef balls, fish balls and everything in between. Bangkok’s best stalls are noted in numerous local guides, but you can pretty much find tasty noodles on every street corner.

4) Som Tum

Like Americans craving hamburgers, every once in a while a Thai will have an intense craving for som tum. It is everyone’s favourite dish. Made of raw papaya (or sometimes even carrots, apples or mixed fruit!) shavings, dried shrimp, crab, lime juice, garlic, fish sauce, palm sugar and chilli, the dish is Isaan cuisine’s most popular specialty and most famous export from the north-east of Thailand. Som tum is almost always accompanied by grilled pork, chicken or fish. In particular, nam tok, medium rare barbecue meat mixed with herbs or lap, heavily seasoned minced meat. Note: only try Isaan food after your stomach has become accustomed to strong seasonings.

5) Salt

It is difficult to pinpoint the style of cuisine this new and hip eatery has to offer. What it is safe to say is that it’s delicious! The menu covers a variety of Japanese fish (sushi, sashimi), salad and sous-vide meat dishes, along with some comfort foods like barbecue ribs, pastas, salads and pizzas. There is also an extensive drinks list of original cocktails, perfectly chilled whites and robust reds. Prices are amazingly cheap for the quality. Outdoor seating under a canopy of lush trees is pleasant during the cooler months. Located in a newly revitalised part of town called Aree, this up-and-coming neighbourhood is where all the hipsters come to see and be seen in the suburbs.

6) Normandie Grill

For a Paris-inspired stratospheric French gourmet experience, this place inside the world-famous Mandarin Oriental, the Grande Dame of all Bangkok hotels, is a must.  Here you get French cuisine accompanied by the best in Thai service. The restaurant is the only place in Bangkok where a necktie is still mandatory! Always a treat are the cheese and dessert trolleys, pushed tableside at the end of the meal; a concept which they have kept since I was a child. It’s simply delightful to freely pick and choose as many types of cheese or pieces of cake as you wish. Although very expensive, the set lunches are attractively priced.

7) Greyhound Café

This inventive local start-up is getting ready to branch overseas. Located in major high-end malls around the city, Greyhound Café serves up local delights and gives a good indication of where the Thai palette preference is headed. The bare-essential décor and “I’m hip” service attitude (a local rarity) are clearly not the reasons why patrons are so loyal. The true reason lies in the menu, featuring home-style Western, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese recipes. Most popular is the salmon sashimi in spicy sauce, complicated noodles (you do the work here), Thai-style spicy spaghetti and fried chicken wings.

8) Mango & Sticky Rice

Thai mangoes are the most delicious in the world and the best way to enjoy them is with this summer dessert, traditionally available from March to May. But since the delicious nam dok mai variety is cultivatable year round, you can now enjoy this superb dessert any time of year.  The sticky rice is mixed with coconut milk and palm sugar, then garnished with a slightly salty coconut cream and sprinkled with fried sesame seeds. Served with fresh juicy mango, the combination of tastes and textures is electrifying. If you happen to be in Thailand during our summer, do try the smaller ok long mango variety (with a light yellow flesh) with a more delicate flavour and texture as well.

9) Chinese Dim Sum

One thing the Thais and Chinese have in common is a love and respect of good food. Both nations are renowned for their healthy appetite. Bangkokians have a fine tradition of enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch of dim sum with family and friends. The city is certainly not spoilt for choice, from China Town all the way up the Chao Phraya River, connoisseurs can be found munching on delightful bite-sized treats. One of the most popular destinations is Lin-Fa, located in the Siam City Hotel. This five-star legend has been serving up delicious dim sum for almost 20 years to a client list of local celebrities, politicians, sportsman and dignitaries. This is truly a must of visitors. Highly recommended is their weekend all-you-can-eat dim sum brunch.

10) Local Thai Cuisine

As a local Thai, it is extremely difficult for me to pick one, or even two, “Thai” restaurants to recommend, simply because all our food is really good. The cuisine is now world famous and even foreigners are profiting from its proliferation of admiration and success. Just recently Bangkok was honoured with the opening of two such eateries: Nahm, headed by Michelin-star chef David Thompson and Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin (a Michelin-starred Danish molecular gastronomy outfit). In reality, there are just great eateries all over the place, serving an endless variety of specialties. In Bangkok and every other major city and province, each community has its own “famous” restaurants and specialty cuisines, just ask a local. Although I hesitate to recommend a Thai restaurant, I can safely say that the best and most authentic Thai cuisine only exists in Thailand!

Khao Chae

History:

When relentless summer heat is bearing down on the Land of Smiles, people young and old look to a unique and nostalgic flower-scented rice dish called khao chae to cool off.

Curiously, the dishes origins are not related to hot weather at all, but rather go back centuries to when the Mon people occupied the Central Plains. As part of their annual celebrations to mark the first day of the lunar calendar, they offered gifts of khao Songkran, or songkran rice, to the female New Year guardian spirit. The name was later modified to khao chae because a special variety of rice, soaked (chae) in water, was used. Thanks to King Rama V (circa 1868-1910), who was extremely fond of khao chae, the dishes’ popularity spread far and wide in subsequent years as it was adapted from a simple Mon recipe into the complex, multi-dish variety found today. And though you don't need to be hi-so (high society) to enjoy it, due to the elaborate process required to make the side dishes it's only widely available in April, the month of the Thai New Year.

Preparation:

Khao chae is no simple dish to prepare, careful skill and time must be administered in its production. For example, ordinary jasmine rice is too soft for its purposes, so the firmer khao taa haeng variety is used instead. It is first cooked in the normal way and then thoroughly rinsed under running water several times to remove excess starch. Then comes the secret ingredient: flower-scented water. A large pot is filled with water and half a dozen fresh jasmine blossoms are added. Then a small flower-scented candle is floated on top of the water, lit, and the pot covered loosely with the lid for 15 minutes. More blossoms and a candle with a different scent are then added and left for another 15 minutes. And finally this is repeated for a third time. The scent from the candles and the natural oils from the jasmine permeate the water. This specially prepared water is then sprinkle liberally on the rice, which is then cocooned in a cheesecloth and steamed over boiling water. When ready for serving, the rice is transferred into a bowl, covered with more of the fragrant water and accompanied by a few small ice cubes and more of the flowers.

Eating:

That was part one, part two concerns the accompanying side dishes which are the real the star in this meal. Recipes vary but the essentials remain the same. Most of them tend to be sweet, except for one (young green peppers stuffed with minced pork). One prominent must-have is deep-fried kapi (shrimp paste) balls, which are coated in ground coconut, battered and deep-fried to golden perfection. This also goes well with kra-chai, or fresh Chinese ginger, which is usually served along with other fresh vegetables such as cucumber, spring onions and raw mango. Shredded sweetened pork or beef and chai pow (Chinese radish) is also vital. In most khao chae sets, the radish (or sometimes turnip) is caramelised to a glossy sheen. Other sides include boiled salted egg, pla naem (powdered dried fish meat), deep-fried red onions, stuffed sun-dried sweet chillies, fried shallots and sweet crispy fish.

Get it!:

For two weeks (11-30 April) Patummat, Siam City Hotel, will be serving this tasty and popular dish as part of its daily lunch (Bht 764 ++) and dinner (Bht 934++) buffet service.

Open daily for lunch 11:30 – 14:30 and dinner 18:00 – 22:30.

To make a reservation, please call 02-247-0123.