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Snapper's Fish and Chips at Sukhumvit Soi 11

Yummy

This is it, I found my love. I am a Fish and Chips kind of person and I love fish. I have been deprived of good Fish and Chips ever since the day I moved here. Bangkok is full of deceitful western eateries that cooks out horrendous dishes. Most Fish and Chips here are over fried stingy pieces of cheap watery dory that simply disintegrate upon chewing. They do not hold that bouncy tender texture where a good fish should have. And the chips are equally stingy in portions, I normally can count the number of chips easily with all my fingers. And then I found Snapper. Somewhere on Soi 11, not too far a walk from the main Sukumvit, the best Fish and Chips I had in ages. The prices are so reasonable for the variety of imported fish to choose from. Calamari in generous portions separately ordered, the bowl of onion rings I should not have summon because it's really too large an amount for my stomach. Bisque, so thick and full, and the batter on them fish the right way done. A hot tea to end the meal chosen from an assortment of tea presented in a wooden Harney and Sons box. It seems all good western food can only be found down town. It was worth the trip from my suburban house.

Good Tea

Good Food

Another Big River Prawns Restaurant

Sitting by Chao Paya

Bangkok and her surroundings, never short of places to explore and fancy places to eat. A good drive into Phatum Thani and there we found yet another exquisite place for lunch. How we found this place was because we suddenly had a craving for prawns. So we searched the realm of Thai forums and saw recommendations of several eateries near where we stay. We were yet again pleasantly surprised by what we stumbled upon. This restaurant is called Baan Chid Krung. The crustaceans were rather pricy going for 1400 Baht per kilo so we only had two. They weighted 250g each or thereabouts. You can't compare that to river prawns that sells for 200 Baht per kilo elsewhere because the cheaper ones going wholesale at Ayudhya are of a much smaller size. Though we paid hefty for the meal, the setting itself was just worth it. The Fried Rice with Prawn Egg was fantastic too. It was winter cool when we were there in January, it was the perfect afternoon as we lunched and watch the barges and anticipated if the jet skis crisscrossing the Chao Paya will crash into them. Thailand, my food paradise, the reason for my increasing waistline.

Sitting Area

They Alley

BBQ Prawns

A Few Good Dishes

Chillout

TrueLove, Siberian Pet Cafe in Ari

Huskies!!!!

Our 3 pieces of fish fingers and a small plate of dim sum was served. They were just appetizers going for THB 250 per set which included a drink and a dessert that we choose from their display fridge showing a limited assortment of cakes. First come first serve, the early bird get the Tiramisu, it was good. We should have gone for the THB 300 set, which included a main course of larger portions, but we already had our meals elsewhere. Our intentions was to have lunch, but when we arrived there at 1pm, we found out that this place operate 3 sessions per day. The 12.30 pm session was already fully booked. So we reserved for the 4 pm session, not wanting to wait till 7 pm for the last. We went to a nearby mall to satisfy our hunger.

Roaming Dogs

It's another pet cafe that sprouted up and this one has Siberian Huskies all over. After an hour of chatting under the still cool January afternoon, they released the dogs from their kernels into the compound. A metal fence separated us from the canines, also separated our food from their hungry mouths. They have 17 adult Siberians, and a significantly large number of puppies. Everyone eagerly waited for the gate to be opened, so that we could hug and mingle with them large cute fluffy dogs. We knew it was time for that when we were issued plastic shoes that looked the same as those wore in surgical rooms. Part of preventive measures not to infect the dogs with diseases and unwelcomed bacteria. There are rules and regulations that we guest must abide by. We had to rinse our hands in sanitizers before we were allowed to enter the premise. There is a rule book, it was unfortunately printed only in Thai and I had no idea what the clauses were. We are not suppose to stick our hands into Huskies' mouth, poke their eyes and probably not to stick our fingers into their ass. I think we are not to encourage the canines to hump our legs and we should not eat their doggie food. I think the rules should be somewhere along these lines.

Its not a Huskie! Better then Nothing

The handlers herded the canines into secured sections of the compound leaving only a small number of Huskies free to roam, then they released the humans. I had visualized myself walking among excited dogs all scrambling around, jumping and pouncing on me and me hugging them. It did not happen. There was dog to man ratio of 1 is to 6. I suppose the cafe have a reason for doing that instead of letting all dogs loose at the same time. As a result, the scene was of people trying their best to capture the unwilling dogs for a photo opportunity. I guess the dogs already had too much human interactions, so we are just another tree, another fixture in the compound and most of the time, we were ignored. It was funny how some guest ended up trying to catch that odd one out Havanese (i think it is) running among us. And wondered we did, what was it doing there anyways. That was a situation of "no fish, prawn also can", an idiom from the Chinese Hokkien world.

They were so Eager To Go Home

In the one hour petting-zoo session, there were 3 batches of dogs released for us to mingle. A few of them looked to be sick, or maybe they are just old. Dogs like humans don't stay young forever. So there we have it, another new haunt for pet lovers. Should come on a weekday where the man to dog ratio will be better. Bangkok, there is Purr Cat Cafe in Thong Lor which is already famous and then some more. What will Thais think of next? Whatever animal it is, be it rabbits, cats or dogs, keep them coming, I'm lovin it here.

TrueLove Cafe

The Humans are Released

Plastic Shoes

Catch and Take Picture

A Cultural Night in Chiangmai, Khun Khantoke

Entrance to the Dining Area

Arrived late at Centara. We did some waiting to get into out rooms because all guest seems to check in at 6 pm where most of staffs had gone for dinner. After a quick shower and too tired to venture into the city for a meal, we decided to head next door where we saw crows building up. Dinner and cultural show with many traditional dance for less the 500 Baht. Ok I will never do such touristy things, but with my energy already sapped, I went for it. Sat on the floor on Lanna mats and pillows, we were served an assortment of northern food. It's just one of those days where we were lazy to think what to eat and ate what was fed. It was not bad at all, and they kept filling up our dishes when we half emptied them. Free flow the food was but the drinks we had to pay. The neon and stage lights illuminated the place in a kaleidoscope of artificial colors, the mozzies filled the air. They were so brave I could simply pick one of those fat blood suckers off my skin and I felt the fur on its body, that's how big it was. Coated myself in repellent and I was left in peace to enjoy the meal in the cold night.

Lama?

With an onslaught of announcement in multi languages which included English and Mandarin, sharp melodic tunes were pumped from large stage speakers driven by vast decks of amplifiers. It sounded like a Chinese funeral and I wailed in accordance to tradition till my girlfriend smacked me in the head. Thou shall watch thy show and keep silence. Each dance lasted a mere 5 minutes, each with its own meaning. The dancers performed in the middle of the compound surrounded by diners laid back on their stiff triangular sofa. Part of the show included performers mingling with the crowds, terrorizing kids with lama like mutant creatures and ferocious Yak in their spiky glittering costumes. The place was packed full house that night, the servers stepped gingerly among the grid of patrons with heavily laden servings of delicacy.

Dance Dance

We did not wait till the end of show. Having been overfed with a wealth of never ending lukewarm cuisines, digestive enzymes were at work full force within driving us lethargic amidst bright lights and loud music. We asked for bill, strolled about the several souvenir shops and soon retired to Centara a short walk away. Khun Khantoke, a great place for first time visitors of Thailand, see show, eat chow, good in winter conditions, not a sweat broken and beware the mozzies.

Free flow of Food

Sitting on Lanna Sofas

The Yak

Yak Terrorizing Diners

Umbrella Dance

Drums and Boys

The Vicinity