Where To Eat and Drink in Chinatown, Bangkok
Chinatown in Bangkok is a feast for the senses. The traffic of people moves like a slow river; motorbikes meander through the cars while we occupy what feels like the last spaces on the street. The streets are crowded with people eating, serving, and driving. Looking at the different menus, we find out that Chinatown is not for the faint-hearted or picky eater. Our stomachs are growling, our mouths are drooling, and we start to become impatient for a place to eat. Finally, Kevin likes the beat of T&K Seafood, and we decided to try it. They tell us they only have space inside, to which we agree and follow our server. She leads us up the stairs to a tiny mezzanine, maybe 1.5m from floor to ceiling. At first, I thought I would get a bit claustrophobic, but there was a certain charm in sitting with the locals on the floor between two floors; indeed, something to tell your grandkids one day! After browsing the menu and peeking at our neighbours’ table, we ordered crab in yellow curry, prawns in a sweet chilli sauce, "morning glory”, and grilled cockles. We waited expectantly while the loud teenagers next to us enjoyed their seafood. The waiter’s daughter - she couldn’t have been more than seven as she fit perfectly in the
mezzanine - tried to help the adults with the dishes, drinks and service while occasionally getting scolded for carrying shaky food plates. The food was delicious; to this day, it is our favourite meal of the trip. We were delighted, confirming that this is the city of foodies. Despite sitting on the floor and the walls falling apart, everything around us was very clean. We continued the night out, looking for a drink. There’s not much around the area except for Teens of Thailand, a place that appears in every city guide and is remarkable for its exotic gin tonics, but it was full (of tourists), and it wasn’t our scene. In front of T0T, we found a little alley with a couple more bars, one cheekily advertised as “This bar is better than Teens of Thailand”. Their trick worked, and we went into “Asia Today”. Also very hipster-looking and with slightly fewer tourists. Their signature drinks were all made with regional honey and served in beeswax cups, plus the cocktail guys wore customised themed aprons, which I loved (but it was very dark inside to take pictures of them) - Needless to say, the drinks were also delicious—all in all, a ten out of ten food and drink experience.
