Bangkok (8-12 Aug 2013)

T and I celebrated our first year anniversary at Bangkok. I am thankful for the year of marriage. It has its share of ups and downs but I love every moment of it.

Day 1

After clearing the immigration at the airport, we took a train from Suvarnabhumi airport to Phaya Thai station. From Phaya Thai, we transferred to the BTS line to go to Ratchathewi station. The whole journey took about 30-45 minutes. It was a breeze. I strongly recommend this mode of travel as it saves  time from being caught in the Bangkok jam. The spacious interiors in the trains has ample room for luggage.

Airport train

Airport train

Through Booking.com, we made reservations for our accommodation at Siam Swana Hotel. The location of the hotel is one of the best - just a 5 minutes walk to Ratchathewi BTS station. One of the disadvantage was that the 3 storey hotel does not have elevators. We were assigned to a room on the 2nd floor. The porters helped us with our luggage. The room was decent, clean and fully-equipped, but the television cable only offers 1 English channel. (CNN) It didn't concern us that much since we were out most of the time.

Siam Swana

Siam Swana

Siam Swana

At nightfall, we settled for dinner at Central World, and did some shopping at Big C and retired for the night.

Day 2

The 2nd day started early as we head to Yaowarat (Chinatown) for breakfast at our favourite HK noodle stall. Being a weekday, we were the only 2 customers. We ordered some delectable dim sum as well. I love Yaowarat for its strong cultural influence and traditional fare and street food.

Dim Sum menu

HK noodle menu

Shrimp dumpling soup

Interior of the HK noodle house

After breakfast, we took a walk along the many lanes in Yaowarat before we head for Sampeng market. One of our 'missions' for the trip was to purchase canvas cloth for T's sister. It took us close to 30 minutes to get to Sampeng to a wholesale cloth centre - China World. It' is a crafter's paradise. Every shop in the building offers myraid of cloths, silk and lace. I was tempted to purchase some for myself!

Cloth aplenty!

and more cloth...

After our shopping spree, we headed back to Yaowarat for lunch at a local restaurant. The rest of the evening was spent at Pratunum market and having a well-deserved massage near our hotel.

Day 3

Half the day was spent at Chatuchak market. From Ratchathewi BTS station we took a train to Mo Chit station where the market was located at. It drizzled alittle when we arrived. Shortly after the rain stopped, the crowd started pouring in. It sure was a busy day!

It is a yearly affair for us to visit a e particular slipper shop at Chatuchak to replentish our footware. The rubber slippers are very comfortable. This year, they start making birkenstock-like sandals too. For lunch, we headed to a small bar tucked in a corner that serves seafood paella and ice cold beer - perfect for the humid weather. The chef dances to the music as he cooks the paella. The jazzy music and cooking show draws ample crowd.

Map of Chatuchak market

Dancing chef cooking paella

Tasty paella

Lovely alfresco seating at the Paella bar

Rubbit slippers

Day 4

As our favourite hangout, we returned to Yaowarat for breakfast and shopping on the 4th day. Breakfast was freshly steamed dim sum and traditonally brewed tea. Yums! We spent the rest of the morning/afternoon shopping for local dried food, fresh produce, street food (my favourite roasted chestnuts) and souvenirs.

Mushroom wanton

Shrimp siew mai

Har gow

Dried seafood

Charcoal grilled cupcakes

Apart from its prime location, Siam Swana Hotel is also famed for its sushi bar - Sushi Masa. We had lunch there.They serve a wide array of fresh sushi and is very popular with the locals. We didn't like it that much, but it sure was popular! The restaurant/bar is full-house throughout day and night! One of the most premium ingredients they served was horsemeat. Their signature dish was the flame-grilled salmon belly sushi. Almost every dinner ordered a plate of that (including us).

Sushi Masa menu

Sushi Masa menu

Salmon sashimi

Unagi & grilled scallop sushi

Grilled salmon belly sushi

We spent the evening shopping at Tesco and getting a really good foot massage at Lek House. Lek is highly recommended! Located just beside Holiday Inn Express (National Stadium), it provides superb massage services. The ambience is clean, relaxing and safe. Dinner was at 8-Ramen - T's favourite ramen joint.

Day 5

We took a metered taxi from Siam Swana to Suvarnabhumi airport on the last day. It cost approximately 300B. We enjoyed our stay very much (as usual) and perhaps we will return at the same time in Aug next year :)

Pietro Italian Restaurant

A group of us were craving Italian cuisine, so we decided to visit Pietro at Jalan Kelulut. Pietro means Peter in Italian. Needless to say, it was opened by Chef Peter Neo who is known for his authentic Italian cuisine. A cab from Yio Chu Kang MRT to Jalan Kelulut takes about 10 minutes.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by the great hospitality of the servers and Chef Peter himself. The place smelled like olive oil and pizza while the ambience was cosy. Each table was served with freshly baked bread with a unique garlic dip. We ordered melon and parma ham for starters, seafood linguine, vongole, pork belly and carbonara for the mains, followed by a funghi pizza and delightful desserts such as the molten chocolate cake, orange panna cotta and tiramisu.

Prosciutto di parma

Seafood linguine

Vongole

Funghi pizza

Roasted pork belly

Molten chocolate cake. Orange panna cotta. Tiramisu

The pictures speak for themselves. We enjoyed the food, particularly the desserts, which was surprising. Of special mention, the orange panna cotta was refreshing to the palate. A small bite leaves me craving for more! Pietro is worth a visit if you are looking our for an 'ulu' dining place to catch up with friends and family, though it may be on the pricier side.

Malacca

My adventurous family decided to go on a trip to Malacca. We rented a vehicle and drove towards Malacca. The whole journey took about 3-4 hours. We also made a pit-stop at Muar to hunt for the infamous Muar otah otah. This is my first visit to Malacca and I enjoyed it throughly, sans the mild haze on the first 2 days from Sumatra.

Malacca is a shopaholics paradise. We stayed at Hatten Hotel - it has a prime location. Very centralized. It has undergorund links to 3 major shopping malls with many surrounding eateries and common amenities.

View from Hatten Hotel

On the first night, we visited Ann's Kitchen. It is a local penarakan restaurant that serves delectable and authentic Penerakan cuisine! The head chef - Mdm Ann was even invited to NY to cook at a United Nations event!

Yummy Kueh Pie Tee with a thin-crispy shell

Tofu salad

Braised Chap Chye

Assam fish

Certificate of Appreciation to Chef Ann from UN!

On the 2nd night, we visited the infamous Jonker street. It has a traditional 1960s vibe. Retro music permeates the whole environment. A leisurely stroll along the streets leads to interesting sights of street food, trinkets and local produce.

Local dim sum

Toys

Magnets

BBQ cuttlefish

 

Cendol

We spent the third day crusing along the sea, visiting historical sights and enjoying excellent street food. It was a wonderful trip!

Smokey island

Singapore has been shrouded by haze these 2 weeks. The haze is caused by illegal burning of land and forest in Sumatra, Indonesia. The air quality had risen to a hazzardous 400 range this afternoon.
I miss the clear blue skies that we often take for granted. Hopefully there will be some rainfall in the coming days or weeks to improve the situation.

Esarn Thai Food

I had been attending Thai language classes for more than 3 months now. Apart from wanting to communicate better with the Thais during our yearly volunteer trips, T and I also enjoy travelling to Thailand. We love Thai food.

There is a particular eatery which we recently discovered along Thomson road. It is called E-sarn - which means North-East region of Thailand. Esarn is the place where Thai papaya salad (Som Tam) was first created. This region is predominantly agricultural. Majority of the population are involved in farming and agricultural activities. Steamed glutinuous rice (Kow-neuw) is the staple in this region. I enjoy Esarn cuisine very much due to the generous use of fresh ingredients and herbs.
When we chanced upon this restaurant, I was delighted! This might be the place that I'll visit every week :)

These were the things which we had ordered during our visits at Esarn Thai Restaurant.

Thai basil chicken with rice

Thai Tom Yum seafood soup

Grilled beef with Esarn seasoning

Esarn spicy soup & stir-fried vegetables

My favourite - Ruam Mit with red ruby, jackfruit & atap seeds, drizzled with rich coconut milk