Heyhey chewys! We have finally come to our fourth and final Bangkok blog post! I was feeling kinda emo on the last night of our trip because time passed way too quickly. We had so much fun in BKK, eating shopping and sightseeing! Next time honeymoon how? Sure emo until very jialat one. LOL. We wanted to get the most out of whatever remaining time we had left in BKK so we chose to check out early and leave our luggage with the conceirge. Decided to forgo hotel’s buffet breakfast as well, so that we could hunt down the famous Bangkok boat noodles. Word has it that everyone should go to Victory monument for the best boat noodles! π
It was really coincidental that we bumped into our cab driver whom we had hired to take us sightseeing on the second day of our trip! This time, we told him that it was our last day and we just wanted to try the boat noodles at Victory Monument. The hubs asked him what are boat noodles called in Thai and he replied, “Kway Teow”. Hahaha seriously? π
Victory Monument! I’m sure it will look more stunning at night. π
Not exactly what I would like to see before a meal! But anyway that’s how we knew we were on the right track. Our online research tells us that the boat noodle shops are located along the canal.
We walked past a number of boat noodle shops and weren’t sure which was the one everyone was raving about. That was until we saw some Thai workers clad in orange, and we knew this was it! Beatrice Tan also blogged about her experience at this stall but I first got to know about this place through J2Kfm’s blog.
Interestingly, we read from various blogs that nobody ever leaves without eating a few bowls of boat noodles in a single sitting because the serving is very small. Most people order at least 5 bowls and probably another 5 when they are done with the first 5. LOL.
We didn’t want to be too ambitious, so we ordered 4 bowls to be shared amongst ourselves for a start. We were also served with two metal cups of crushed ice, so we thought we had to order some drinks by default. Haha.
Here are some facts about Bangkok boat noodles. Apparently, boat noodles are not called boat noodles for nothing. Bowls of noodles served in thick and savory broth were originally sold and served from boats along canals and floating markets. Other than dried spice and herbs, a little bit of pork blood is also added to further enhance the taste of the broth. If you have read our post earlier this week, and wonder how does this differ from the boat noodles we had at Chatuchak market, I think I kinda prefer the latter although I like the novelty of these being served in small portions at Victory Monument. The flavor of the broth was intense, but not as full-bodied as the one we had just the day before. It was also slightly saltier (which explains the need for free bottled water on each table? Idk..) in my opinion.
One of the waiter seemed to be ‘peddling’ some of the fried stuff and asked if we wanted any of these. Asked him what were these and he was smiling sheepishly at us. Actually none of them spoke English. Oh wells. Found out from J2Kfm that these were Salt & Pepper Crispy Pork Rinds. Something to go along with your noodles and if you like fried cracking stuff, you will like this.
Lo and behold! Both misterchewy and I managed 9 bowls in total. We probably could stomach a couple more bowls but we had to think ahead, for lunch! π
Clearly, the husband gave his stamp of approval. Everything totalled up to SGD4, including drinks! Cheap right? π
Now here’s the details:
Sutyot Kuetiau Lua Payak
Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Took the BTS to….
Mahboonkrong (MBK) Center! Time for some serious last minute shopping! Actually, I had never felt so stressed shopping before. Had to constantly keep track of time and we were brisk walking from shop to shop, machiam GSS going to end soon. Hurray! We managed to get our Paul Frank iPad covers! π
Back in Singapore when we were planning our itinerary, I thought it would be nice to go to Siam Ocean World at Siam Paragon. However, it did not materialize in the end because I kinda feared that it would be too kiddish for us and we would be bored out of our wits. Maybe we can bring our little Chewys there in a few years’ time π
The cab driver who dropped us off at Victory Monument earlier recommended Ban Khun Mae Restaurant. He mentioned “Khun Mae” in short. Hubby Chewy was very eager to try their food and after shopping at MBK, he pulled me into an Apple store and approached the customer service people behind the counter. I was trying not to laugh because the Thai staff couldn’t understand him of course. We didn’t know how to pronounce “Khun Mae” properly and any slight variation in pronounciation could lead to an entirely different meaning all together, or it just doesn’t mean anything at all. Suddenly, one of them exclaimed, “Khun Mae!” and everyone went, “Ahhh Khun Mae!” LOL. It was hilarious!
We got one of them to write down the name of the restaurant in Thai, along with its address so that we could ask for directions along the way in case we got lost. And with that, we managed to find Ban Khun Mae. Nice to know that the restaurant had been awarded Certificate of Excellence for the year of 2012 by TripAdvisor! It had to be good right? *Rubs hands in glee*
Ban Khun Mae is kinda like a family restaurant and it has been around since 1998. It is located in the heart of Bangkok, in the area of Siam Square. Prices are wallet-friendly and you get to enjoy authentic Thai food in a casual and comfortable setting.
Hahaha. Fourth consecutive day of stuffing myself with food food food! I got chipmunk face alreadyyy..
Since this was gonna be our last proper meal in Bangkok, we had to order the Tom Yam Kung (170 baht). The soup was spicy enough to tickle our taste buds and the ingredients were really fresh.
We were eager to try the Deep Fried Squid Seasoned with Garlic and Pepper (220 baht) when it was served. However, it was a little disappointing. Both misterchewy and I agreed that it was somewhat tough to chew. The tentacles part was pretty alright though.
We felt that the Deep Fried Marinated Chicken wrapped in pandan leaf (120 baht) was well done. Juicy, tender and fragrant best describes this dish.
I think this was our one and only Mango Sticky Rice (150 baht) that we had throughout our Bangkok trip, which is kinda sad. LOL. The mango was really sweet! Who would have known that mango could go so well with coconut and rice? π
The bill amounted to less than SGD30 for the above dishes and two fresh coconut drinks. On a random note, I look quite small here. LOLOLOL.
Ban Khun Mae Restaurant
458/6-9 Siam Square Soi 8, Rama 1 Road,
Patumwan District, Bangkok 10330
Tel. (662)250-1952-3, (662)658-4112-3
Opening Hours
Daily 11am – 11pm
Started to emo again after lunch because it meant that we had to go back to our hotel soon to collect our luggage. Boohoohoo. Passed by Krispy Kreme and after finding out that misterchewy had not tried it before, we immediately joined the queue and bought two Original Glazed donuts π Yummyyy!
Krispy Kreme! When are you ever gonna come to Singapore?!
At the airport checking our boarding details!
For the benefit of those who are wondering, misterchewy and I arrived with a half-filled luggage on the first day and we went home with a full one and an additional hand-carry which we had packed into the luggage before we flew to Bangkok. We bought mostly clothes at Platinum Mall but we didn’t buy alot also.
Deng deng deng deng! I was searching high and low for Luk Chup since day one but only spotted it at the airport! I wanted to buy more but it was the only pack left D: Basically, these are a type of Thai dessert made from mung bean flour and are shaped like various fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, banana, cherries, mangoes and chilies. It has a unique sticky texture and is very sweet! Bali Thai used to sell them but I can’t find them anymore. Heard that these can be found at Golden Mile!
Me and my favorite Thai dessert were reunited! And I’m gonna eat you~ Nom nom nom π
Some of my last few shots together in Bangkok after checking in our luggage and before boarding our plane.
Goodbye land of smiles! We look happy but actually I was really reluctant to leave Bangkok! Sob sob.. But nevermind, we are about to start planning for our next trip which would probably be our honeymoon after our customary wedding! YAY! π π π
