Monday, June 24, 2019

SURAWONG

The Red Planet in Surawong will be my 7th (after Timog, Asoke, Binondo, Mabini, Makati and Ortigas) since I was introduced by Oskar Haq to the Asian hotel chain.

The convenience, flexible rates and elegant simplicity of Red Planet suits my preference and they don't offer breakfast too which spares me from the monotony of hotel breakfast buffets. 


I booked myself at Red Planet-Surawong for the 34th ASEAN Summit after being allowed to arrange our own accomodation due to capacity issues of they who used to be it. 



Surawong is a striptease and its first revelation is being one of Bangkok's oldest roads that is actually parallel to the more popular Silom Road, both leading to the Bang Rak District which is a gateway to Yaowarat (Chinatown).

And if there is history, there most be good food and that I found in an alley whose names are demarcated by an old market squeezed between Surawong and Silom, Soi Pradit from the Surawong side and Soi 20 Silom from the Silom side.

The thing is, the alley is street food galore from both ends and that is what matters to me. 





I had almost all my Surawong dinners at the Pradit Market: a nice omelette and soso spicy pork neck salad at Mama Mia on Day 1, a sad looking grilled fish at Cheaper and Better on Day 2, a surprising traditional grilled pork at the Trip Advisor-starred Siam House Cafe on Day 3, and the famous Som Tam Jay So grilled chicken wings in the Silom area on Day 4 as the only exception.   


Breakfast is exclusively my favorite fried crispy pork, super sweet Thai coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice that are all sourced from the food stands of the Pradit Market.  


Surawong is accessible by train through the Chong Nonsi Station of the Silom Line via the Siam Station if transferring from the Sukhumvit Line and it is through this interchange and the urgent need to pee that I got introduced to the eclectic food hall of Siam Paragon where high end fine dining collided with classic street fare.

I was of course drawn to the roasted duck and crispy pork stalls but it was the smell of roasting rolled northern Thailand sausages that got my gustatory senses going and right there, I decided to take the train to the airport so I can use my few remaining Bahts to partake 100 grams of the sweet burning meat (and the fresh crisp cabbage leaves that came with the pack) for my lunch.    


Surawong is more than food too and right across the Pradit Market part of Silom Road is the ornate 100-years old Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu Temple while at the corner of Surawong Road and Soi Pradit is the historic Neilson Hays Library.

My stay at Red Planet-Surawong did not end well and my [Neilson Hays] library photo on the right below can illustrate how I felt  after receiving my Red Planet guest folio which triggered an exchange of emails with the front desk...   

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