Tags
Asia Today, Bali, Bangkok, Barrio and Co., bars, Bikini, Blu Cafe, Burger, Chatuchak Market, Copper Kitchen and Bar, El Mercado Grocery and Wine Suan Phlu, Frestro, From Monet to Kandinsky, Grab taxi, Jewelry Trade Center, Kynd, Liquor, Night Rooster, Piri Piri Chicken, pizza, restaurants, River City Bangkok, Seminyak, shopping, Spice by Chris Salans, Terminal 21, Thailand, Toolbox, Tropic City, Ubud, Uncle Rock, Wat Yannawa
Are you a creature of habit? I definitely am! On my most recent trip to Bangkok and Bali, I vowed to try several new places. I made it through maybe half of my “new” places list.
I started off in Bangkok. That city is famous for its many malls, as well as its many markets. If you get off at the Siam BTS stop, you’re right in the midst of four malls – Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, Siam Center and MBK (I think). The first few times I was there, I was confused as to which mall I was in the majority of the time. Now, however, I’ve realized that Siam Paragon seems to be the nicest, in my opinion, by far. Even though Bangkok’s malls seem excruciatingly clean and organized, they don’t really give me shopping fever. I much prefer to shop at the markets; it’s more fun. There was, however, one mall that intrigued me – Terminal 21. Said mall was supposed to have various floors named after and themed after several famous cities throughout the world. I looked up the easiest way to get there (the Asoke BTS stop gives you direct access), then specifically made time to make my way to it. My first impression was that it was adorable! Some of the floor themes were Paris, Tokyo, London, Istanbul and San Francisco. They even got the heart sculptures down for the San Francisco floor! My favorite floor, though, was Tokyo. It was filled with cutesy little boutique stores, most of which seemed to be having sales with many, many clothing items priced at 200 to 300 baht (approximately $6.50-$10.00). I found the cutest punk/goth store called Uncle Rock. The Tokyo floor also appears to be the one with all of the lingerie stores, which are located next to each other, one by one. While at Terminal 21, I took the time to eat at Piri Piri Chicken. It seems that there’s one in San Francisco proper, though I’ve never eaten there. I’m happy to report that it was pretty good.
Another mall I ended up at was River City Bangkok. I wasn’t there for shopping purposes, however, but to see the “From Monet to Kandinsky” exhibition in one of their art galleries. The exhibition was quite unique. I also stopped into another art gallery there. As for the shops, they seemed a little pricey and geared more towards tourists; none held my interest much.
A place I’d failed to notice on my last stay in the Sathorn area was El Mercado Grocery and Wine Suan Phlu. Rumor had it that they were purveyors of fine cheese and charcuterie. I honestly wasn’t expecting much, but was impressed by their selection of cheese, charcuterie, pastries and… wait for it… real French wine! Back in my hotel room, I was further impressed by the decadent religeuse chocolat that had been calling my name at El Mercado! Suffice it to say that I made a few more visits buying more pastries, even picking up a few to take over to my friend’s apartment. He was wholly impressed as well!
A jeweler that I’d bought a few baubles from in the past follows me on IG, in fact, we follow each other. They sent me a message letting me know that they’d moved from their spot at Chatuchak Market to the Jewelry Trade Center in Silom. I waited until my very last day, about an hour before I needed to head to the airport, to look for them in the Jewelry Trade Center. Am I ever glad I did! The Jewelry Trade Center on its own is enough to make me go bankrupt. However, it’s also located next to the Fashion Outlet and a ton of street food. Due to my limited time, I zipped right through the Jewelry Trade Center. I did find my jewelry and I did buy another bauble, but the damage could have been worse – much worse – had there been more time!
As far as things to see, I took a Grab taxi to Wat Yannawa, a temple in the shape of a boat. It was quite interesting and the surrounding buildings were beautiful. There was a great view of what I believe to be the abandoned “ghost” building. After taking pictures, it was a short walk to the Saphan Taksin BTS stop to get back to the Sathorn area.
The last three of my new places in Bangkok were bars – Tropic City, Asia Today and one whose name I’m going to keep to myself. Tropic City was a great little bar – tropically themed, as the name suggests. The vibe was moody and intimate with great cocktails. I happened to meet a couple there, who were also living in San Francisco. Much like me, they live in San Francisco, but prefer L.A., and they love to check out “trendy” bars while traveling. We exchanged IG information and met up the following evening for a little bar hopping. They’re the ones who told me about Asia Today, as I’d never heard of it. Asia Today is apparently owned by the same people as Teens of Thailand. I prefer it to Teens of Thailand, though, as there’s more space, a seemingly more local crowd and they give me options other than just gin drinks! I had something called Cocoa Shoot, which I loved and, yes, it DID taste like chocolate. The other couple and I discovered the secret place together. I’ll just say that it’s a restaurant/bar with a shabby chic interior and live music. The food was ok, the drinks were better (and beautiful) and the live music was great. In fact, I returned there alone the following evening, giving myself ample time to enjoy the music.
In Ubud, I ate at three new places – Pizza, Burger, Liquor, Blu Café and Spice. Pizza, Burger, Liquor offered a “grazing” lunch. You pay a single price, then order items off of a set menu. They’re mini versions, but you eat as much as you want of them. They also offer a couple of complimentary appetizers with that. It was a decent deal for the price and the food was fine. Their burger was cooked INSIDE of a bun, then you cut it open with the scissors provided. Likewise, the pizza slices came with scissors as well. Blu Café serves plant-based foods and is located near the Ubud Market, which allows you to get a little shopping in after eating. Blu Café is most famous for their smoothie bowls, which is what I had. It was large, tasty, filling and beautifully presented; that’s why their smoothie bowls are all over IG! Truth be told, I’d already eaten breakfast at my hotel prior to stumbling upon Blu Café, so wasn’t particularly hungry. I managed to finish most of the smoothie bowl, though. Spice is like the little sister of Mozaic, undoubtedly the most famous, high end restaurant in Ubud. My fish at Spice was fine, the wine was nice and the service was extremely good. I liked it, but maybe wouldn’t be my first choice of places to eat. I’ll give it another try in the future, as it wasn’t bad, but just didn’t impress me as much as the hype would have me believe.
Copper Bar and Night Rooster were the two new bars I checked out in Ubud. Although I’ve eaten at Copper Kitchen in the past, I’d never had a drink at the bar. The bar is small and drinks are pricey, but the bartenders were quite sweet. I had a wonderful rose martini. Night Rooster is associated with another high end restaurant, Locavore. It’s located in a little side street off of Jalan Dewi Sita upstairs. The atmosphere felt kind of clubby (NOT the dance club feel), yet relaxed. The cocktails were pricey, but very good. Service was excellent.
Frestro was the first place I ate upon arriving in Seminyak. My tastebuds were craving Italian, so the truffle risotto satisfied that. Both Toolbox and Kynd were less than 5 minutes from my hotel. One morning, since there seemed to be a crowd at Kynd, I opted for Toolbox. I wanted mie goreng, but they only had nasi goreng. I had that with some healthy dragonfruit/watermelon juice mixture and it was all good. The price wasn’t bad. Kynd is trendy with the hipsters, as their food is supposedly healthy and their smoothie bowls are all over IG, too. I ordered the buffalo cauliflower, some noodle dish with shrimp and a watermelon juice mixture. Everything was super fresh tasting, but I was partial to the buffalo cauliflower. Cute décor, great service.
I’ve saved the best for last. Bikini is a restaurant/bar that I’ve heard about for the past 2-3 years, but hadn’t much interest in going to. I only ended up in there because Tiger Palm at Seminyak Village was closing, so I wandered across the street to Bikini. There’s both an indoor and an outdoor bar, but I went inside to sit under the air conditioning! To make a long story short, their bartenders and bar backs are the most charming and engaging that I’ve ever met. Several of them concocted special drinks for me, they showed me magic tricks and flair, and they kept me amused all evening. I ended up going there for four of my five nights in Seminyak. If you’re in the vicinity, you can’t go wrong with service by Putu, Sancaye, Tommy, Martin or Julie.
Side note: The one night I was too tired to venture far from my hotel, I dropped in to Barrio and Co. instead. Just let me say, I regretted that! The main waitress had asked me to pay when I ordered the first drink. I wanted to use my credit card, as my cash was low. She said that 100,000 was the minimum to use a credit card; that was fine with me. After finishing my first drink, none of the waitresses ever checked on me again. In fact, the one who seemed to be serving my table looked directly at me, but ignored me numerous times when I tried to wave her over to get another drink. I finally went to the bar to get a second drink myself. The bartender repeated that the minimum credit card spend was 100,000; explained to him that I’d already had one drink, so was getting another. Once I sat back down, THEN the waitress came to my table – only to yell something & basically throw the bill for my second drink down in front of me. When I’d had enough of the place, I took my bills to the bar (ignoring the waitress who’d ignored me). Although my two drinks were more than 100,000, they told me I needed to pay in cash. I asked why, as both the waitress and the bartender had originally said that 100,000 was enough to use a credit card. Two bartenders conferred amongst themselves, then relented and ended up only charging me 100,000 and not the rest of the bill. I still don’t understand what happened there, but I don’t recommend that place. The bartenders were perfectly nice, but the waitresses were rude and everyone seems confused.