First came the wealthy and honest pig who chased away the loyal dog with dancing dragons and exploding firecrackers to ward off bad luck amidst a throng of curious adherents of Pope Gregory XIII's calendar who descended upon the world's oldest Chinatown.
I told Neelam and June that it is not actually the right time to visit Binondo but we went anyway since it's their first although we have to force our way through a red sea of riot through Ongpin and the hungry horde lined outside packed restaurants that left us no option but to dine on fake meat at New Quan Yin Chay since Neelam turned out to be a vegan anyway.
It's the Lunar New Year which in China triggers a massive exodus mostly from the cities to the provinces for annual Spring Festival family reunions, and such was the case the next day at the ISEA office where I got reunited with former komrads from PRRM before flying to Bangkok.
I forego a long weekend for my first trip to Bangkok in the Year of the Pig and the third for 2019 so it better be good and it is after finally having time to search for the "unforgettable crab dishes" of Nhong Rim Klong which is a 2.3-kilometer walk from the Ekkamai BTS Station with the guidance of a malfunctioning Google Map that, as the "klong" in the name implies, sits right over a murky canal.
I came for its famous crab omelette which I regrettably found to be too much for one and not really "unforgettable", specially after witnessing to-die-for dishes pass me for other costumers and realizing that I should have asked first instead of relying on online reviews, but nevertheless enough reason to come back someday.
That was breakfast before my meeting with Alex and Bob, and since Val already showed where Kuayjup Mr. JO is located during my last trip to Bangkok, I made an excuse of meeting someone for lunch and hoped into a BTS train for Saphan Taksin and a 1.3-kilometer walk to Bangkok's second-best crispy pork belly [best for me is that of Thanee Restaurant] and a comforting bowl of curly rice noodle with slices of fried pork belly that I agree to be "bursting with intense flavor".
And that is worth the missed long weekend and my mispelled name in a workshop poster where I presented for three minutes after having to travel 4,416 kilometers to and from, but which on the other hand got me reunited to "Cabbages and Condoms", my first serious Thai restaurant experience during my first ever trip to Bangkok and outside the Philippines more than a decade ago, where Gate told me of a place that makes the best sticky-rice-with-mango in Bangkok.
In other words, I walked another 2.8 kilometers the next day before going to the airport for the return flight home, to the Mae Varee Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango at a street corner just after the Thong Lo BTS Station where the sweet sticky rice comes in three colors, smothered with a thick coconut milk, drizzled with crispy rice puffs and the mango turned out bland and anemic compared to the super sweet one I bought off Sukhumvit Road a night ago.
Yes, that below is the super sweet mango from a street stall along Sukhumvit but I had a freshly squeezed orange juice instead of the pomegranate.
I told Neelam and June that it is not actually the right time to visit Binondo but we went anyway since it's their first although we have to force our way through a red sea of riot through Ongpin and the hungry horde lined outside packed restaurants that left us no option but to dine on fake meat at New Quan Yin Chay since Neelam turned out to be a vegan anyway.
It's the Lunar New Year which in China triggers a massive exodus mostly from the cities to the provinces for annual Spring Festival family reunions, and such was the case the next day at the ISEA office where I got reunited with former komrads from PRRM before flying to Bangkok.
I forego a long weekend for my first trip to Bangkok in the Year of the Pig and the third for 2019 so it better be good and it is after finally having time to search for the "unforgettable crab dishes" of Nhong Rim Klong which is a 2.3-kilometer walk from the Ekkamai BTS Station with the guidance of a malfunctioning Google Map that, as the "klong" in the name implies, sits right over a murky canal.
I came for its famous crab omelette which I regrettably found to be too much for one and not really "unforgettable", specially after witnessing to-die-for dishes pass me for other costumers and realizing that I should have asked first instead of relying on online reviews, but nevertheless enough reason to come back someday.
That was breakfast before my meeting with Alex and Bob, and since Val already showed where Kuayjup Mr. JO is located during my last trip to Bangkok, I made an excuse of meeting someone for lunch and hoped into a BTS train for Saphan Taksin and a 1.3-kilometer walk to Bangkok's second-best crispy pork belly [best for me is that of Thanee Restaurant] and a comforting bowl of curly rice noodle with slices of fried pork belly that I agree to be "bursting with intense flavor".
And that is worth the missed long weekend and my mispelled name in a workshop poster where I presented for three minutes after having to travel 4,416 kilometers to and from, but which on the other hand got me reunited to "Cabbages and Condoms", my first serious Thai restaurant experience during my first ever trip to Bangkok and outside the Philippines more than a decade ago, where Gate told me of a place that makes the best sticky-rice-with-mango in Bangkok.
In other words, I walked another 2.8 kilometers the next day before going to the airport for the return flight home, to the Mae Varee Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango at a street corner just after the Thong Lo BTS Station where the sweet sticky rice comes in three colors, smothered with a thick coconut milk, drizzled with crispy rice puffs and the mango turned out bland and anemic compared to the super sweet one I bought off Sukhumvit Road a night ago.
Yes, that below is the super sweet mango from a street stall along Sukhumvit but I had a freshly squeezed orange juice instead of the pomegranate.
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