#352 เอเชียทีค เดอะ ริเวอร์ฟร้อนท์ / Asiatique The Riverfront @ Bangkok, Thailand
The last time I met Benz was back in 2010 when he just graduated from UBC. We were colleagues working at Honour Roll in UBC and we would sometimes hang out with the other colleagues and go for food marathon. However, after he graduated, he went back to Asia to study Chinese for 2 years before returning back to Bangkok to work. Since we have not met for four long years, we decided to meet at Saphan Taksin Pier.
I arrived first as I did not change my timezone from Singapore’s timing to Bangkok’s timing so I rushed back home from Chatuchak to my hostel and packed a little before heading out. Benz told me to line up for the free shuttle first as the queue can be quite long during the weekends. Fortunately, it was not too long and we could take the ferry that was arriving. He told me that sometimes, the line gets so long until it reaches the BTS station.
P/S: DO NOT GET SCAM BY ANYONE TELLING YOU THAT THERE IS NO MORE FREE SHUTTLE FERRY TO ASIATIQUE. The ferry runs from 4-5pm all the way until 11pm. One of my roomies from the hostel I stayed in told me that she previously got scammed at the pier.
เอเชียทีค เดอะ ริเวอร์ฟร้อนท์ / Asiatique The Riverfront Chareonkrung Soi 74-76
The above pictures depict Asiatique from day to night – just look how beautiful it is!! It reminds me of all the ferris wheels in the world, especially our very own Singapore Flyer. Benz asked me if I wanted to sit on the ferris wheel but I was not really up for it. I think I was quite tired. There are many stores selling inexpensive items at Asiatique and not to forget, many restaurants that offer different cuisines as well. Being in Thailand, I wanted to try Thai food so Benz brought me to a Thai restaurant that serves Northern Thai food and that is none other than…
ร้านยำแซบ / Yum Saap 2194, Asiatique The River Front, Charoenkrung Road, Wat Prayakrai, Khet Bangkor Laem, Bangkok, 10120, 10120, Thailand +66 2 108 4488
The first dish (1st & 2nd pictures) is ส้มตำไข่เค็ม, which costs 63 baht. It comprises of papaya salad with salted egg. I have tried papaya salad at BeerThai in Golden Mile before but never knew about the salted egg. I find that it makes a difference in the dish and helps with the spiciness of the papaya salad. The second dish (3rd picture) is ยำถั่วพลูกุ้งสด, which is none other than the wing bean salad with fresh shrimps. It costs 80 baht. Benz was so nice to keep passing me food as I talk quite a lot while eating. The third dish (4th-6th pictures) is called ลาบหมู, which is minced pork salad mixed with grind rice. It costs 75 baht and it is so spicy that I had to eat it with the ข้าวเหนียว / sticky rice (last picture), which costs 20 baht. Overall, the food was quite a lot for the both of us and we could not finish it. However, it is not bad but I always prefer the street food or non-franchised restaurants to the franchised restaurants. At Asiatique, we had no other choice though. I am very thankful to Benz for taking me out when he was really tired from the previous night out. Benz is also nice to treat me since he stated that I was a visitor. This is similar to the Indonesian culture when you go to Indonesia as a visitor.
แมงโก้ แทงโก้ / Mango Tango Warehouse 1 081-760-1469
Since Mango Tango has been highly raved by Singaporeans in instagram, facebook and all social media platforms, I thought that I should try it out and since Asiatique has a branch of it, Benz brought me there. He gave me a choice to pick whatever I wanted and we could share the desserts. I was too spoilt for choices as there were so many mango desserts to choose from but I ended up picking Mango Tango with Extra Sticky Rice for 160 baht. The set comprises of mango ice cream, mango pudding, fresh ice-cream and sticky rice. Both Benz and I found that as a whole, the dessert is just average. We wonder why people would line up for this and wait for a table to dine here. Again, Benz treated me and I am very thankful for his hospitality.
PAYMENT METHODS: CASH/CREDIT NEAREST STATION: SAPHAN TAKSIN VIA BTS FREE FERRY SHUTTLE
A lot of people think that Bangkok is extremely dangerous but once you head to Jakarta, you would not have the same thinking anymore. Of course, I was not very scared being at Bangkok by myself but with my local friend there, I feel a lot safer and being taken care of. In such cases, this shows that my friend Benz is a very good host and he must be tired because a month ago, his Korean friend also came to Bangkok and he had to show her around. I will be writing more stories about my Bangkok trip soon, till then!
