wrong side of the river

damnoen saduak floating market

hearkening back to the thai days of old when daily life centered around canals and rivers and boating was a major form of transportation, damnoen saduak floating market has preserved a microcosm of thai traditional life along the river...plus a few hundred foreigners.more than anything, damnoen saduak is a good photo spot, catching vendors selling from hand-paddled longboats. there are also some decent eats from boat vendors. but, i'd recommend heading to other places to get a more authentic taste of thailand.i was surprised at how small the floating market is: take a stroll down both sides of the canal and you'll be back to your starting point in half-an-hour. in general, i was underwhelmed by the place; it felt a little contrived and hokey, like people dressed as wenches and peasants for a renaissance fair. you could buy your typical tzatchkis here, though you'll get a better price for the same things at any other market in bangkok. and after 10am the canal was a boat-to-boat jam of all the longboats of foreigners in the canal. i'm not sure how true this is, but a curious anecdote about damnoen saduak i learned from my thai studies is that it's a bit like the shepherdsons and grangerfords of huck finn. apparently, the two banks of the canal have feuded for years, creating a competitive and self-serving culture. after visiting amphawa floating market, just 13km away, i realized what a floating market could be. go there instead.

thai francophiles rejoice!

savoury gastrocafe

any place that has "gastrocafe" in it's name has to be worthy of a check out. (also, any place with really plush seating is worthy of a check out).

savoury gastrocafe is the meeting of many contradictory things: s.e. asia meets france. utilitarian meets frivolity, clean, definite lines meets velvety sofas. and i LIKE it.
it ended up being a nice find since we weren't expecting much in the food court of siam paragon, but this little philippe starck-esque cafe was a perfect place to relax for a few hours while sipping iced drinks . all the food other patrons were eating was a little hard to not stare at. most of their food is less fusion and more separate-but-equal thai and french-esque.
i'm definitely going again. high marks on everything:
- environment - one of the only restaurants i've found that prefers silence over background music, options for seating, mid-bright lighting, waiters are attentive but let you do your thing.
- eats - delish. by biggest beef with fusion food is that it can often just mean blander, but all of the entrees and desserts were rich and delicious. pan-fried baby sea bass with herbed butter was well-seasoned (yeah, i sopped up all the butter. sue me.). duck confit was a fantastic combination of crispy duck served with grilled eggplant, squash and such.
- desserts. oh, the desserts. you could go for just desserts. the almond dacquois was fantastic - very nutty, moist, perfect ratio of pastry-to-cream-to-fresh-fruit. flourless chocolate cake was decadent. crunchy almond meringue with candied almonds layered with a smooth, light custard was divine, though you can't eat it without completely destroying it. the strawberry millefeuille 3 flaky layers of pastry, berries, and cream were light topping a generous lake of strawberry melba sauce.
sweet pea flower lemonade was light and pure and blue until you add the lime juice.
almond dacquois, with fresh fruit and fresh strawberry puree. sweet pea lemonade (which is actually limeade) behind.

savoury gastrocafe: lowest level of siam paragon in siam square. drinks around 100-200B, entrees around 250+B, desserts 100-200B.

crepes & co. with company

johnny depp. musical theater (or theatre if you feel so inclined). one guy. sorry, dave. unfortunately, the conversation wasn't guy-friendly, but thankfully, the food made up for it.

crepes & co. was a little on the pricier side for crepes, but you gotta get the namesake of the restaurant. it was nice that we had a large enough group to have a little taste of a variety of sundries. there's a little more of a mediterranean-euro flare to their dishes, which makes the french crepe a little more interesting. favorites were
unfortunately, i didn't have the foresight to jot down which crepes we ate, but all the sweet, savory and dessert crepes we got were fantastic. i really liked one that had a camembert, fruit, and walnuts with honey (drool). and the sangria was irresistible.

crepes & co. has great indoor and outdoor seating, with a contemporary, dark wood/canvas style of decor. candlelit, spacious, natural, tropical bungalow feel.

crepes (sweet and savory) range from 150-300B. drinks 50-200B (depending on alcohol)
located at 18/1 sukhumvit soi 12 (closest BTS @ asoke)
webby: www.crepes.co.th

i did it myself at greyhound cafe

thai culture seems an antithesis to the DIY (do-it-yourself) culture of the west. why do something when there's always somebody to do the job for you?
greyhound cafe epitomizes the DIY trend and manhattan cool (well, as much as a restaurant in bangkok can be) - which makes great ambience, but not always the most convenient experience. the furniture we were seated at, for example, was a table that was coffee table height while the chairs were taller and loungy so that our knees came up to table level and you're in half-reclining position. not exactly the most convenient arrangement for eating, but i felt cooler.
both entrees we ordered required assembly: dave's "DIY nachos" and my "complicated noodles" (yes, that's really what they're called). the grilled chicken with the nachos was surprisingly tender and generous for the amount of tortilla chips, which makes it feel more like a meal. making DIY nachos inevitably becomes the construction of each individual nacho, which is nice if you're anal or a "perfect bite" kind of person. my "complicated noodles" did live up to their name and actually required a little bit of brain power. how do you combine square sheets of noodle, ground seasoned pork, cilanto/mint sauce, and lettuce? first attempt at rolling all the ingredients in the noodle turned into an acrobatic juicy mess. second attempt at eating components individually didn't make it fun or as tasty. the final engineering solution was placing the flat noodle on my spoon, then piling the rest of the ingredients on top and then shoveling it all in my mouth. i'm still not sure that was right, but it made it taste good and i wasn't covered in juices. i do highly recommend the dish, though. the flavors mix and complement each other really well and the diversity of textures (crunchy, crispy lettuce, spicy ground pork, soft tender noodle) make a great dish.

ooh, drink highlight was the chinese plum sprite float which sounded too interesting not to order. chinese plum frozen into ice cubes thawing in sprite made a refreshing, robust, tart, unique drink. nicely done. and of course, it had to have a little DIY in it, too. the sprite comes in a separate glass pitcher so you can add it yourself.
left-right: complicated noodles, DIY nachos, chinese plum sprite float

international/fusion cuisine. about 200+B/entree (cheaper for the asian dishes), about 100B/drink
located at thonglor soi 15 "j avenue" (additional locations at emporium, chit lom central, siam center, la villa)
and for you web-savvy: http://www.greyhound.co.th/

who's the king? dosa king!

on a random exploration into nana chard to find indian food, dosa king caught my eye.
for one, it's rarer to find restaurants that serve south indian food, and for two, especially one that specifically announces its dosa. dosas inevitably remind me of one of my old roommates' mom, who would always make dosas for us whenever we stayed over. dosas are large, thin, crispy, savory crepes that may or may not have filling (usually a potato bhaji) and served with sambars and chutneys. dosa king had a pretty good regular masala dosa that was especially crispy, had good sambars with it (i think one was a yogurt and one was a lentil), and a mildy spiced potato/onion bhaji. very homey.
lexie and i also ordered their vegetable korma (creamy, comforting vegs), kabuli channa (tomato based chickpeas dish), and garlic naan (buttery and garlicky enough)."
bev-wise, i had the badaam milk, a pain i subjected my-lactose-intolerant-self to because of its deliciousness: mildly sweet, almond milk spiced with cinnamon and cardamom. lexie got a creamy, tropically mango lassi that was also delightful.

badaam milk, mango lassi, and dosas with sambars.

vegetarian north & south indian food. about 150B/dish; about 100B/drink.
located @ 153/7 sukhumvit soi 11/1
and for all you web-savvy: www.dosaking.net

serithai park

so, i'm discovering that bangkok has all these parks tucked back in sois that you need to be a little savvy to find (or have a friend who runs a lot).
sirithai park flanks a canal/khlong that you could walk along for around 2 hours, i've heard. in the park, it's wider so that it's more like a lake. it's got some nice gazebos, paved paths, and plenty of carpety-grass for picnicking (i strongly suggest an isaan picnic).
plus, like any good bangkok-ian park, it has tai chi in the mornings, draka courts, evening dance-aerobics. downside is if you want to play soccer - none allowed on the pristine grass.

located on Serithai Soi 43, (about 200m into the soi) across from the Bueng Kum District Office.

In high school my favorite week of the year was Spirit Week, when everyone dressed up in different themes for each day. In Bangkok, every week is Spirit Week. But its not like high school where you can be Too Cool or Indie to participate. Here it is SO COOL to participate! This is the most spirited city! That said, I have to say--- my strongest recommendation for Bangkok so far (in my 5 days here) would be for this: Holidays.

Holidays are awesome!! Here is a short list of reasons why.
1) Everyone has off work!
2) Themes!! Such as decorations and spirited clothing/jewelry/patches.
3) Races. Who doesn't love a road race?
4) Special songs. :-)
5) Food and treats
6) Kids performances!
7) Balloons.
8) Fireworks and other firey things

All of these things were featured on the King's Birthday, December 5th!! The day included waves of yellow, candlelight ceremony, Thai dancing, beer and lots and lots of sanuk. I can't wait for the next holiday.