Among many districts in Bangkok, the one i have a love-hate relationship with is Chinatown (otherwise known as Yaowarat due to the main road cutting through)!
It has so much to do, whether in the daytime (read: sampeng lane) or night-time, and the love i had for it even culminated in a couple of times that i actually stayed in the White Orchid Hotel (now renamed, and likely renovated, as Hotel Royal). The hate is mainly due to the terrible traffic jam and the lack of nearby subway and BTS stations.
Whatever the case, the crowd at night in my recent visit was amazing! How could there be so many people?! The rage now is apparently the toasted bread with fillings; good for me since i don't like to take carbohydrate-heavy stuff at night!
My main objective was 合記林真香 for their signature food souvenirs; namely the dog shit (kow sai) although i think there's a need to assure you that the pork-based item just resemble the canine output. Click here to find out more!
Chinatown is a foodie district, especially at night when street vendors literally took over the roadside, and it would be a real pity if tourists, like us, visit without having anything down our throat.
Usual favourite would be the green shirt (T & K Seafood) but i honestly feel that their standard is no longer as good as in 2010 when i posted about it. My last visit in 2017 was a major letdown and i swore to give future chances to other restaurants in the vicinity.
I was rather happy with Lao Li Shark's Fin Restaurant (海外天) in my 2016 visit and since i am bringing along a new travel mate; we guess it would be safer to bring him to an eatery that we had tried before.
As our dinner was thipsamai just an hour earlier; something light would be preferred. Hence, let's go with a claypot serving of shark's fin soup for sharing!
And a bowl of bird's nest for each of us! As there was quite a bit of ice, i would suggest you leave it until the end when the ice has melted for that nice and sweet soupy ending.
By the way, i am not getting into the debate of shark's fins. If i want to care about the suffering of animals, i wouldn't want to touch any meat as food too. We can say how cruel it is for the shark to drown to death without their fins; have we also considered that the hens that lay eggs for your consumption might have been stuck in that tiny cage for years! Drowning versus emotional /physical torture.
Peace; time to drink the bird's nest soup!
Just my short post on Chinatown at night. I think a more substantial post should be in the work and i must make sure to keep my tummy empty and to visit maybe around 5.00 pm when the lighting condition is better.
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Click here to find out what else i did on my most recent 4-Day Bangkok trip!