Among the top things one has to experience when in a new place is of course the local food. "Eat like a local", they say.
Eat Like a Local
No travel experience will be complete without tasting the local delicacies. (Imagine traveling hundreds or thousands of kilometers only to eat fast food. That would be really sad.)
It was only a week since the death of Thailand King Bhumibol when we arrived and almost all the people clad in black (even some tourists). Not the best time of the year and definitely not one to set a festive mood, especially at night, but that gesture, seeing locals and some tourists mourn was moving. Solidarity.
Stroll along the busy streets
After checking in, we rested a little and went to walk around the hotel's vicinity.
We first headed to a street towards the left, Soi Phetchaburi 10, and found ourselves walking through a crowded street lined up with different food stalls! (The frenzied scene was really exciting but I was being cautious and did not bring out the phone to take photos just yet.)
The small street was also congested by traffic mostly by tuktuks and motorcycle taxis (single rental motorcycles) and was comparable to a busy street of Manila.
We went back to the main road, Phetchaburi Road, and walked along to the right of our hotel to look for more places to eat until we reached Phayathai Road.
Several big restaurants (like, really spacious) are on Phayathai Road. A common feature of these restaurants are the tables al fresco. Some dining tables are even arranged quite close to the road, a few feet away from the traffic, and some are in very poorly lit areas.
We first headed to a street towards the left, Soi Phetchaburi 10, and found ourselves walking through a crowded street lined up with different food stalls! (The frenzied scene was really exciting but I was being cautious and did not bring out the phone to take photos just yet.)
The small street was also congested by traffic mostly by tuktuks and motorcycle taxis (single rental motorcycles) and was comparable to a busy street of Manila.
We went back to the main road, Phetchaburi Road, and walked along to the right of our hotel to look for more places to eat until we reached Phayathai Road.
Several big restaurants (like, really spacious) are on Phayathai Road. A common feature of these restaurants are the tables al fresco. Some dining tables are even arranged quite close to the road, a few feet away from the traffic, and some are in very poorly lit areas.
It was honestly hard to choose where to eat with all the choices. But for our first Thai dinner, we went to try Monky Town Restaurant.
The More Familiar Pad Thai and Tom Yum
We had Seafood Pad Thai (60 Baht/1.74 USD/86 Php) and Mixed Seafood Tom Yum Talay (120 Baht/170 Php).
Seafood Pad Thai (60 Baht/1.74 USD/86 Php)
Mixed Seafood Tom Yum Talay (120 Baht/170 Php)
We played it a bit safe since we didn't want to be shocked with the taste and all the spiciness (which happened in our second night!), so we ordered pad thai and tom yum which are among the most well known Thai foods.
They also offer different kinds of curries like Red curry, Panang curry, and Green curry, a variety of fried rice, and a bunch more.
Their tom yum and the pad thai especially were good. I found the pad thai to be more on the sweet side which we liked.
The extra serving of the moong sprouts (toge) also made it a delight to eat as it was quite crunchy, in contrast to the 'rubbery' --at least this was-- rice noodles. Their tom yum tasted just a little bit more flavorful compared to what Thai restaurants serve in Saudi Arabia.
A nice first food experience. Nothing fancy.
We'd like to wander farther away from the hotel but we wanted to catch some sleep (we didn't have much the night before due to the time we had to be at the airport) so after eating we headed back to the hotel and prepared for the actual "first day".
Mixed Seafood Tom Yum Talay (120 Baht/170 Php)
We played it a bit safe since we didn't want to be shocked with the taste and all the spiciness (which happened in our second night!), so we ordered pad thai and tom yum which are among the most well known Thai foods.
They also offer different kinds of curries like Red curry, Panang curry, and Green curry, a variety of fried rice, and a bunch more.
Their tom yum and the pad thai especially were good. I found the pad thai to be more on the sweet side which we liked.
The extra serving of the moong sprouts (toge) also made it a delight to eat as it was quite crunchy, in contrast to the 'rubbery' --at least this was-- rice noodles. Their tom yum tasted just a little bit more flavorful compared to what Thai restaurants serve in Saudi Arabia.
A nice first food experience. Nothing fancy.
We'd like to wander farther away from the hotel but we wanted to catch some sleep (we didn't have much the night before due to the time we had to be at the airport) so after eating we headed back to the hotel and prepared for the actual "first day".
