Bangkok - Taling Chan Floating Market

On one of our mornings in Bangkok, we took a bus out to the outskirts of the city to visit Taling Chan Floating market.



It reminded me a lot of Xochilmilco in Mexico City. It is definitely much more of a tourist attraction than a working market, but it is primarily patronized by locals.



There are a number of restaurants on a floating platform in the canal, and ladies in their little floating kitchen are pulled up alongside.



You order from your waiter and pay ahead of time. They in turn purchase the main food items from the ladies in the boats and plate it up for you.



We had a whole fish, which was delicious.



While we were there, we also took a boat tour on the canals.



We stopped in at a little temple area that was densely populated with roosters - both real and artificial.



The motors on the canal boats are no joke - these guys aren't messing around!

Bangkok - Feasting Along Chinatown's Plaeng Nam Road

We didn't have to go far to find food in Bangkok - what with all of the food around Yaowarat Road and the side-streets off of it.



One side-street in particular, Plaeng Nam Road, captured our attention. One night, after having already eaten earlier but needing a little something extra, we were seduced by a satay place.



Beautifully tender and flavorful pork satay with a luxurious peanut dipping sauce. We inhaled these.

We had passed by a place serving up food on hot, steaming skillets a few times and eventually stopped in one night for dinner.



Chilli basil noodle:



Not super attractive, but certainly tasty. Savory and spicy.

We also had their fried oyster omelet (Hoy Tod):



Also very good. Here is the setup where they were getting the skillets piping hot:



When you can eat like this without going much more than a block from your hotel, you know you picked a good place to stay!

Bangkok - Fried Fish Balls, Market Streets and Khao Moo Daeng

Our first morning in Bangkok, we rolled out of our hotel hungry. Fortunately, we found a guy frying up fish balls on a little side-street off of Yaowarat Road:



Served up hot with a sweet and spicy sauce, these were a perfect way to start the day.



At least somewhat fortified, we set off wandering around the Chinatown alleys, where all sorts of stuff was for sale.



Including a place that specialized in pork rinds - I don't think I'd ever seen this much pork rind in one place before.



Lunch was Khao Moo Daeng (red pork rice):



Three types of pork - sausage, bbq pork and pork belly, served over rice and topped with a really flavorful sauce.



The place we had it was called Si Morakot, not far from Wat Traimit (a temple housing a ginormous gold Buddha). Khao Moo Daeng is all they make, and they do it well.



The place was efficient, friendly and bustling with locals having lunch - exactly kind of spot where we love to eat.

Bangkok - Getting our bearings in Chinatown and Kuai Chap Uan Photchana

Our first evening in Bangkok, we headed out from our hotel on Yaowarat Road in Chinatown into the bustle of the evening street food scene.



Lots of activity, and lots of food. Our first snack was from a stall that was serving up both sweet and savory versions of what I think was Kanom Buang:



We opted for the savory version. Almost like a taco, we weren't quite sure what was in them, but they were tasty.



We had dinner sitting out on the street in the overflow of a place called Uan Photchana.



The dish here is Kuai Chap, a peppery pork soup with a really interesting style of spiral-rolled rice noodle. Served with pieces of pork, a variety of pork offal and an egg, it was delicious.



Right by our hotel, this seafood place was doing a crazy busy business, with a whole brigade of cooks working out on the street:



The next morning, you would never have known it had been there: