I’m in Yaowarat road, Chinatown, Bangkok. And I’ve got the 1984 song by rapper Murray Head, stuck, in my head.
I’m singing…. “One night in Bangkok is enough for anyone” The lyrics are actually.
“One night in Bangkok and the worlds your Oyster”.
I’ve not seen an oyster yet! but the street food in Chinatown is incredible! People are lining up for all kinds of food. There are smells, sights, sounds and neon colour every where, in a nonstop assault on the senses. Tuk Tuk’s whiz by and people push past each other to shove something good in their mouths.
I’ve chosen to stay in Chinatown, because I want to experience and savour everything this street food mecca has to offer! I’ve done the research, looked at many food blogs and food shows, and they all point to Yaowarat road! I’ve managed to find a beautiful room at a chic 1940’s style hotel called Shanghai Mansion.
Yaowarat road is alive. It is about 8:30 pm, saturday night, and it’s still 32 degrees C and about 60% humidity. I’m hungry and thirsty. But where do I start. It’s pretty hard to get a table anywhere. People have been lining up since 5:30 pm. This is the go to place for hungry locals. My wife and I venture down a side street where its a little quieter. Restaurant after restaurant has fresh seafood, meat, and some stuff I can’t really identify. I look for the busy places full of locals, untill I see two seats up the back of one little shop. A very energetic Thai man shows my wife and I to a table, and immediately tries to sell us a dish we havent ordered. I say thankyou in Thai, we’d like to see a menu. He brings a menu and two large beers, (we havent ordered a drink yet). We are thirsty we take the beers. The menu is mainly in Thai, with the odd english word here and there. We look around the tables of people sitting nearby. The food looks delicious!. The joint is full. The Thai man rushes back with fresh squid and tells us, its best in a curry sauce. We accept, and ask for prawns, rice and vegetables to go with it. He rushes into the kitchen with the squid.
In less than ten minutes we are eating. The beer is cold, and the food is delicious. The curry squid is very tasty, and the sauce is so good, I keep mixing it with rice. My wife eats one of the enormous prawns, and then all of a sudden she is full! Whilst I’m still mopping up curry, she very kindly peels the remaining prawns. Pretty soon, I’m full, and after paying the bill, about 1000 Baht, with tip, we head back out into the steamy night air, and make our way back to the very comfortable air-conditioned Shanghai Mansion.
Our first adventure has been a success. We think we’ve paid premium to sit in a restaurant, but we don’t care. For about $20 Australian each, we’ve had a couple of drinks and some terrific local food.
Tomorrow night. Street food….
enjoy the #festivaloflife.
I stayed at; Shanghai Mansion Chinatown.
#festivaloflife 