Foodtrip: T&K Seafood Restaurant, Bangkok

I have a confession to make. I am in love with food. I am a hard-core food fanatic. 

This was one of the reasons I was giddy with happiness when I learned that I will be sent to Bangkok, Thailand for a workshop. I've heard so much about Thai food that I just have to see for myself what it is all about.

Ironically, the best meal I have ever had in Bangkok was dished out by a (pseudo) Chinese restaurant. T&K Seafood Restaurant is found on a busy corner in downtown Chinatown. It is not very difficult to miss, because the whole of Thailand eats there. Tables and chairs spill down the lengths of the street, never mind the errant taxi drivers and the dangers of getting hit. What matters is the food.

 

Busy street=Good Food

 

We did not plan to eat there, really. We just chanced upon an english-speaking taxi driver who told us that we should eat there. Now I have always trusted taxi drivers; in fact, here in Manila, I like eating at hole in the walls teeming with all sorts of drivers. That's my indicator that the food is cheap but good.

Anyway, the food is indeed cheap here. The place leans a little bit on the dingy side. Every table and chair in the makeshift restaurant extension found in the street was full, so we were directed to go inside the (real) restaurant. It was full, so we were told to go up. We climbed three (dirty) flights of stairs until we found an empty table. Yes, it is THAT FULL.

Do not be intimated by the dirty dishes =p (Promise, it's worth it)

And rightly so.

The food was amazing. I have always liked spicy food and this is no exception. We got a whole steamed fish for less than 200+ Baht, a plateful of fried rice for less than 100+, a magnificent vegetable dish (a must-try, except I forgot to take a picture) and a panful of steamed mussels (75 Baht). If my Mathematics served me right, we spent about 500+ Baht for the meal, including tip.

 

 

 

I always get dizzy when I'm hungry. In this food trip, I got dizzy because I was full. That was a pleasant surprise every Thai and tourist must get.

HOT TIP:

Eat where the locals eat, that way you are assured of great food. To go to T&K Seafood Restaurant, call them (check picture with the numbers), or have your hotel receptionist write this address down in Thai and show it to your cab driver:

T&K Seafood Restaurant

49-51, Phadungdao Rd, Samphanthawong, Samphanthawong, Bangkok, 10100

What Pho: Visiting the Great Reclining Buddha

The one thing I really like about Bangkok is its "temple component"; that's the phrase me and my friends coined. We resolved to have different components in our Thailand trip: hence, we had the nightlife component, hotel component, hostel component, shopping component, food component and of course, the temple component.

 

With that said, we scheduled a visit to Bangkok's greatest temple, the What Pho, temple of the (biggest) reclining buddha. We managed to squeeze the visit the morning before our flight, and since it was on a Sunday, we were hoping for traffic-free streets, which the Bangkok-gods may have heard, for it took us only a while to reach What Pho.

We paid 50 baht for the entrance to a really big courtyard adorned with magnificent temples and quite a number of buddhas. We paid a visit to each, and I managed to say a wish...well, okay, it wasn't just one wish; I guess I said three.

 

We looked around until we saw a number of tourists huddled to what looked like THE temple. True enough, it was where the Reclining Buddha was housed. He was massive. I was wondering if he was made from pure gold, but I never got to find out. Needless to say, he was a sight to behold and you almost get a certain godly aura just by looking at him.

We spent about 2 hours taking pictures and going around the What Pho. By the time we finished, it was almost midday and scorching hot. We wanted to visit the Grand Palace, which was just walking distance to the What Pho, but we figured we would skip it.

We then went out and walked about a block or so to get a taxi. By that time we were dehydrated and tired like crazy. But my camera was full and my soul was happy.

HOT TIP:

Wear slippers or shoes that could easily be removed, as this is required before you are allowed to enter a temple. Do not wear skimpy clothes (yes, even if it's scorching hot). And most importantly, be careful of taxi drivers offering you to go to the GEM FACTORY. There is no such thing as a gem factory. It's all a big scam and if you fall for it, you might end up penniless in Bangkok.

Win Laser Hair Removal and TCA peel Treatments!

OOO EEEM GEEE!

You guys should enter The Beauty Bin's Giveaway as soon as possible. You will not believe the prize at hand:

Go and get a chance to be hair-free!

Death by Chatuchak

Because I am such a thrifting junkie, it came as no surprise that I almost passed out at Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dubbed as the world's biggest market, there is talk that it houses 9,000 stalls selling various goodies. In fact, the market is divided into several zones: used clothes, clothes and accessories, antiques, furniture, handicrafts, animals, pets, souvenirs and a whole lot more. It is accessible via BTS (skytrain) although you do have to walk a short distance through the Chatuchak Park in order to get to the market.

It was an exhausting but extremely fulfilling adventure. I first thought people to be nuts; imagine, they were carrying lightweight luggage into the market! But after 3 hours of intense shopping, my shoulders were raw from the shopping bag I was carrying and I wished for dear life that I had one of those rolling bags instead.

I also thought the whole market was spaced nicely. There was not a lot of shoving and pushing (like what we get here in the markets of the Philippines), and you can hear Thai musicians braving the scorching heat just to play soothing Thai music. As for the toilets, well, that's another story. Suffice it to say that you better hold on and endure as much as you can.

Be sure to taste the various street food for sale in street carts there. The fruits are to die for, and I did not even care to ask what I was eating; I was so hungry I wolfed down the first yummies I could see.

As for my haul, *clears throat*, perhaps I will show you what I bought some other time. I died for my jodphur/loose tights (yehey!), bags for friends, and shirts for my brothers.

HOT TIP:

Wear very comfortable shoes, you will be walking for hours. Leave your camera; we spent half a day there and I only managed to take 2 pictures! That is how overwhelming it is. Lastly, take a cab on your way home. Trust me, you would not have the energy to walk up a flight of stairs to go to the Skytrain.

Wanting/Needing a Massage

I'm back!

I have truckloads of posts I need to write and pictures that I need to upload, but hey. Allow me to tell you one thing that almost made me move to Bangkok: Thai massage.

It is a dry (meaning, no oil, no balms, no nothing) massage that involves a lot of pushing and pulling and putting pressure on certain points. It is oftentimes painful and will cease to be only when you surrender to the helpless sensation of letting your Thai masseuse who speaks no English knead your muscles into supple perfection. 

I found it extremely satisfying (and I say it with a masochistic laugh). It left me dead to the world and utterly refreshed. I almost forgot about my (numerous) problems, and my never-ending To-Do List.

This Thai Massage makes me want to go back to Bangkok immediately.

P.S. The Doctor is vaIN is having a contest for Manila and NCR Philippine residents! She's giving away a Terra Spa gift certificate for a massage! Hop on over to http://www.vanityclinic.com/2009/11/18/contest-win-a-spa-treatment-worth-p1700/ and check it out. Hmmm...I wish I would get lucky. I think Bangkok has started in me a flurry of massage craving. Note to friends and donors: I want...no, I need, a massage gift certificate for Christmas.

Visit: Marriott Resort & Spa

I was quite fortunate to have stayed at the famous Marriott Resort & Spa while I was in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a lush complex of buildings located at the other side of Chao Phraya River, accessible both via land and by river taxi.

We arrived in the afternoon and was immediately greeted by a very friendly Thai bellboy who welcomed us back, even if it was our first time there. That was what struck me the most about Bangkok; it's people are very friendly without being obstrusive.

The room is bigger than some of the hotel rooms I've stayed in, and the facilities were okay. The bar food was expensive as expected, and the view we had was not as fantastic as we had hoped (think rooftops).

The poolside was amazing, although I never had the chance to take a dip.

And the food? The food was to die for.

My friend actually gained 7kilos (KILOS, ladies, KILOS) from the 5 days we spent eating at their buffet. Breakfast was an assortment of sausages, pastries, a cheese spread, a cereal station, a cured meats section and lots more.

Lunch was more intricate with a salad section, a japanese section, a soup station, roast meats, indian/halal food, and the ever glorious dessert station.

Needless to say, I was dead full every, single day. I was such a glutton that I know that I definitely have to purge when I get back. (I promise you more food pics next; just need to figure out how to go about this water marking business. any ideas?)

HOT TIP:

The Marriott Ferry travels back and forth the hotel and the city. It carries passengers from 6am till midnight. The pier is just right below a BTS station, which makes going around the city much more easier. However, if you are going with a group of 3 people of more, and it is not rush hour, go get a cab. Taxis in Bangkok are much cheaper; drivers are friendly, too! Don't forget to bring a printed copy/map of where you want to go, in THAI.

Feeding Feet to Thai Fishes

Sawadee Ka ~ Hello (spoken if you are a woman)

Sawadee Krap ~ Hello (spoken if you are a man)

Sawadee Ka, everyone! I write to you in the Land of Smiles, Thailand! I am actually in the thick of my workshop, and haven’t really gone shopping as of yet. However, me and my colleagues from the Philippines had the opportunity to visit Sua Lum Night Market last night, and it was just breathtaking.

The most interesting and the most memorable part of it would have to be the Thai Fish Massage, which lasts for about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on your tolerance and your wallet. Basically, a fish massage parlor is just a stall which hosts a huge aquarium full of tiny little fishes which eagerly awaits your feet. I’ve read somewhere that you can find these stalls almost everywhere In Bangkok, but in our case, we found it in Sua Lum Night Bazaar.

It starts off to be excruciatingly ticklish, and therefore would work best if you are with friends, because I guarantee that even the most prudent and the most stoic person cannot help but laugh out loud.

That’s what I did.

In fact, I do not think I laughed. I think I screamed, even, as this army of little fishes came rushing to my feet and started nibbling its way to wherever there was space. Make no mistake. It is not at all painful. The sensation feels like someone just tickled your whole feet in a much more comprehensive manner.

After a while, when the fish has settled comfortably to their nibbling position, I got used to it and found it pleasant. I was amazed that I was witnessing this symbiotic relationship happening at my feet. You feed the fish your dead skin cells, and they clean your feet in the process.

Overall, I think that every single person who visits Thailand MUST go get a fish massage. It’s cheap: averaging 150 Baht for 15 minutes, and 250 Baht for 30 minutes; it’s fun: you are sure to laugh OUT LOUD; and it’s one of a kind.

For now, this ranks way up high on my list of things to do in Bangkok. Of course I have yet to go to the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market, and I have yet to experience Thai Massage.

 HOT TIP FROM A LOCAL:

Are you more adventurous than I am?

If you are, go get a WHOLE BODY fish massage; For 1,000 Baht, you get a tubful of fishes eager to feast on your body. The thought of it makes me shudder, but hey, some people have done it and loved it. Whatever floats your boat, man.