The Street Food

Glorious Food

Many associate the city with mouth-watering food.

The variety is aplenty and you need a strong stomach to contain them.

Staying in China Town is perfect for the adventure.

As soon as you step out of the hotel, you are in the midst of action.

I love to be in the midst of busyness.

It takes your mind off worries and problems as you ponder and gaze around the livelihood of the local vendors.China Town here is easily 5 times the size of Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur.

If anyone has informed you  traveling is relaxing; they are highly mistaken in this city.

Walking around is truly hard work.

You trudge for miles to sweat and then say ; it's fun! Strange but true.

Chestnuts are everywhere. It must be grown locally.

They even provide peeled ones! 

All you have to do is to open your mouth and gobble them down. 

Talk about easy life.

The Thais spoil you.

The Chinese community have a strong love for local sweets; I remember those sweets in my good old town too. Somehow food travels with ethnicity too.

Imported cherries ( I believe) are aplenty here.

The afternoon heat is pacified by these lovely fruit drinks. Lime and pomegranate juices are sold all over the place and are real thirst quenches.

 

These rice cakes are the same as those sold in my hometown and are associated with the "Teochew clan". 

It is true that many Thais of Chinese origin speak the dialect in Bangkok.

I transacted some buys using the dialect.

This plain sticky rice is sold widely here and my nephew would have given up things just to consume them!

These are vegetable concoctions found also in Malaysian night markets.

This is something new to me. I still do not not how to name the fruit. It is in the shape of bananas but I know they are not... or maybe it is a wild version of it ?

This of course is white carrot cake made delicious by adding eggs, eggs, eggs...
it reminded me of those back home.

The locals take raw salted fish, salted egg and all made safe to eat by adding ... lime. 

You are up to the challenge?

 I admit defeat.

This is a most popular appetizer; often served in restaurants before a big meal.

I stood to watch this foreigner prepare the dish under the supervision of  a local girl.

He actually did it and someone actually bought it. Throughout the evening I saw some Caucasians serving meals. What were they doing there? Working to pay for their passage?

I was amazed at the freshness of these sea creatures...prawns, crabs, cockles,shell fish...they had to be as the locals consume them raw ! Oh I seriously think my stomach cannot take it.

All of these taken raw!

The locals have strong tummies.

Fried salted fish sold freely.

Oh don't ask me what they are. I do not know. 

Bananas smoked over a small fire and the rest I fail to explain.

As you trudge along the very busy streets, you can treat yourself to a cup of casual coffee.

 Fried fish paste ( keropok) and sausages; a popular finger food.

These are the sweetest things I have seen; miniature pineapples. Small but sweet.

Not the Malaysian satay but the Thai version.

 Perhaps the greatest food attraction is when you sit along the streets of China Town and call for your food. People queue up for their turns and eat their hearts out. They get excited at the display of food and eat without qualms.

This chillie-steamed fish is sour but really palatable... we enjoyed the hot concoction but I paid it with a price. My tummy gave it and that meant ceaseless toilet moments !

 

The shells are stuffed with crab meat so, so very tasty !

After dinner, you can still try the local fried 'youtiau' served with sweet custard.

Eat them with cofeee.

It will give you a memorable evening.

The Street Food; endless in variety and taste.

The Boutique Hotel

Tugged away in the heart of Bangkok is the Shanghai Mansion, the boutique hotel that housed us for a couple of nights.The external looks humble and when the cab stopped in front of her gates, we wondered if it was the right place.

When you do not intend to plan for anything and when something appears out of sheer cravings, you will end up on a trip that is really free and easy. So, when dad said he needed a break, I was eager to go somewhere not so far.Bangkok sounded perfect. It was to Bangkok then. Air Asia knocks on your door without persuasion and the offer was just too attractive. So a simple booking landed us at the mansion.

Of course the invitation went out to the girls but it was poorly received.

So dad and I took up the pleasure; without the girls.

We were greeted with a very Chinese interior.In all Chinese homes, the fish is a symbol of life and longevity. So there were fishes everywhere to the delight of dad.Overlooking the courtyard pond, are Chinese lanterns that lit up the place warmly. Yes, it was a picturesque sight.

Accompanying the pond, fishes and lanterns, are Mandarin characters which depict long life, wealth, health, happiness and joy. So, some of these good wishes were hung on top of doors as one enters the room. So, Shanghai Mansion is a typical representation of the Chinese crowd. The customers are made to feel good.

At each level of the hotel, are spots for reading, relaxation and small talks. They are cosy corners and evoke many thoughts. However, if you are in Bangkok, there is really hardly any quiet moments for you to relish and be quiet.There is action near and far.

Shanghai images are a reminder of the theme of this boutique hotel; they really keep you aware of the Chinese ethos.

As you move around the place, the typical Teresa Teng music echoes in the background and nostalgia arises.

It reminded me of the trip to China in 2010 and the man who played the er-hu to us.

This man's singing rang in my ears as we moved around the place ; strange how a place can evoke emotions and moods of all forms.

 

The path leading to rooms in the upper floors are laced by lanterns and it reminded me of the movie; 

"Raise the Red Lanterns".

I do not think my mother will like this place as it would remind her of too olden times and old memories of pains and sufferings. But to the arty, this is a good expression of creativity. 

Dad straight away commented on the polished cement rendering floor. He says this simple floor rendering is coming back in great popularity. Clients look for the beauty in the minimalism concept.

The bedroom is also so typically Shanghai. No coffee; only Chinese tea. Almost all forms of covers are made of Chinese silk, and occasionally some Thai silk comes into place too. However, the toiletries are typically Thai; all in some forms of coconut concoctions...shampoo, soap and fragrances.

Though not very impressive from the external, the insides of the boutique hotel do justice to the name of the place.We were in for a treat when daddy decided that we would be having real hospitable treatment as we looked for places to scour. 

When you don 't plan from the beginning, we had to fall into plans from the hotel !

Slapped right in the middle of China Town which seemed to promise excitement and fun, Shanghai Mansion became the point of action for us.

We wanted to have a real look at the China Town. 

Back home, dad will never concede to the plan of walking around Petaling Street though I definitely would.

In Bangkok he is coerced into it; you don't fly thousands of miles to sleep only, do you?