Day 3: Shangarila Restaurant, Central World and Pratunam Shopping Belt

It was Day 3.

The cute little one was still in bed
My itinerary and travelling information

We lazed around for a while and took a cab to Shangarila Restaurant near Chong Nonsi BTS Station

I wanted to try its famous Peking Duck
We got worried when we saw the 'Medium' sized duck (900 baht)

The delectable skin
Er ... we have to do it ourselves ... ?
"People do it in Singapore for us," remarked William.

Here it goes ...

"Well ... it's not extraordinary ... I've tasted better ones in Singapore ..."

The remaining duck meat was deep fried it seemed, because we asked for 'no spicy'

The interior

The structure. Very Chinese style

Review on Shangarila Restaurant:

The Peking Duck was average (yeah, I know. 'Average', 'passable', 'okay'. But it is really how I feel about food in Bangkok).

If you ask me, I would not go back there for the duck again.

The restaurant is also well-known for its lunchtime dim sum. However, we could not finish our duck as it was, so dim sum was out of the question.

I took a look at the dim sum menu. Some of the items were really cute. They made them in the form of fish and other creatures, but out of the twenty-odd items in the menu, about 16 consist of shrimps or prawns.

The taxi-driver did not know the place, but he made the effort to call the restaurant to find out about the directions when he reached Chong Nonsi BTS Station. I really appreciate that. I was glad I put the phone number down. You really never know when you will need it!

Address:

Shangarila Restaurant
154/4-7 Silom Rd
Bang Rak, Bangkok
Phone: 02 234-9147

Nearest BTS: Chong Nonsi
Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm
Opening Hours: Sat – Sun from 10.00 am. – 02.00 pm. and 05.00 pm. – 10.00 pm

"I want to try"

We walked to Chong Nonsi BTS Station because I wanted to check another famous seafood place nearby, Lek Seafood.

We climbed up such a long flight of steps.

I got down from the opposite side of the BTS Station and found Lek Seafood just below it, beside Shangrila Suite, a hotel with a restaurant, also with Peking Duck as its signature dish!

A pity Lek Seafood was not opened. If it were, I would have tried its prawn and oysters, for all the fame they are worth, although reviews have it that the standard has been declining. Too much hype it seems.

Address:

Lek Seafood

156 Soi Phiphat, Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road, Silom, Bangkok
Nearest BTS: Chong Nonsi (just beside/below the BTS)
Opening Hours: Daily from 05.00 pm. – 11.00 pm

We took a train to Siam Station because many people alighted at the station to go to Central World.

I realised that everywhere I looked, cars were everywhere

Central World

Linkway from BTS to Central World

We were seduced by the delicious-looking ice-cream

Where we rested our feet at

I only remember the flavours being very sour: mango, chocolate, and don't know what

Baby looking jubilant and spontaneous

"Very sour!"

We did some unsuccessful shopping at Central World, went into its Isetan and were both shocked to exit from Isetan to find ourselves standing just opposite Big C. We were back at Pratunam area!

Street food in Pratunam area

I told William we ought to visit the Pratunam Wholesale Market. It'd be such a shame if anyone asked how the Pratunam Market was like and we said we didn't know although we stayed in the area.

"My oh my ... so this is how it looks like ... erm ... forget it, let's go ..."

Tuk-tuk

Tuk-tuks are known to 'chop' tourists. They do not go by meter, but charge tourists a price. They usually start at 200 baht if the ride would cost 80 to 90 baht by meter. I thought it would be great to have a taste of how it was like to ride in one, but I did not feel comfortable getting 'chopped' as tourists.

I read many unfavourable reviews about tuk-tuks. One went as far as to say not to take a tuk-tuk even if they pay you to ride in one. Another said she got such a fright riding in one because the driver was reckless. Before she could calm herself down, she reached her destination.

It did look precarious - like a motorbike on the road. I had a baby with me so that was a minus to begin with.

Day 2: MBK Shopping Mall & T&K Seafood

After our lunch (or dinner) at Cabbages & Condoms, we took a cab to MBK Shopping Mall. I bought just about all the souvenirs (mother of pearl bracelets, keychain, Thai stamp collection, tissue box, ashtrays etc) there at a souvenir shop and ended up spending about S$70 at just one shop alone.

The little one kept crying because her father needed to leave her for a toilet break

Saw this - '榴的华' - at a supermarket

Modified aromatic coil in the form of ancient mosquito repellent coil

Funny T-shirts

We could not get a cab to go to Yaowarat (Chinatown) for dinner. None of the drivers wanted to go by meter and some simply refused to go to the area. We decided to take trains there (BTS, then MRT).

National Stadium BTS skytrain platform

Skytrain tickets (20 baht per pax)

Give up your seat to these people, monks included.

We took a long walk to the MRT. We had to get out of the BTS station first.

The MRT token (18 baht per pax)

Inside the MRT

We took a cab from Hua Lampong MRT to get to Yaowarat, T & K Seafood, just about 37 baht. The cab fare starts at 35.

The dingy and cramped interior, compared to the spacious but pasar malam styled exterior

Crabmeat fried rice

Grilled Babylonia Areolata (200 baht)

Grilled prawns (150 baht)

The actual size of the peeled prawn and the areolata. Just use a fork to pick out the meat.

Fresh oysters (40 baht)

Shark's fin

Curry crab

Review on T&K Seafood:

Both of us agreed that T&K fared better than Lao Li in terms of shark's fin and the food in general.

We had 2 servings of shark's fin with crab meat, 2 servings of fresh oysters and 2 bottles of coke. Other than that, the rest was 1 serving each. The bill came up to just 1540 baht.

The signature dish, curry crab, was not spicy at all. I would not say that it was 'delicious' either. It was passable (still).

We could not finish the areolata. We only managed to clear 6 out of the 13. They were plain and rather dry since they were grilled. Although sauces were given, they did not improve the taste significantly.

The shark's fin was okay. Not fantastic, but better than Lao Li's.

The grilled prawn was fine. Fresh I suppose. I could have more if William wanted more too, but he did not.

I enjoyed the oysters most. I asked for two more after I downed the first two.

Out of the three famous restaurants in Yaowarat ie. Lao Li, T&K and Nam Sing, I would give my vote to T&K - for the efficient service as well!

Address:

T&K Seafood (Chinatown)
49-51 Soi Phadung Dao, Yaowarat Rd. (corner Thong Suphan No. 453)
Tel: +66 (0) 2 223- 4519
Opening Hours: 4.30 pm -2 am