Maeklong Railway Market (Thailand, Bangkok)

Maeklong Railway Market

Three weeks before my trip to Bangkok, I spotted a Half-Day Damnoen Saduak Floating Market & Mae Klong Railway Market Tour deal on Deal.com.sg. I was elated as I have been wanting to visit both places. With this deal, I was able to solve all the logistic issues as both places are more than an hour away from where I was staying; Baiyoke Boutique Hotel - Bangkok. After consulting those traveling together with me on this trip, I bought the deal which cost S$26 (624 Baht) per pax.

After purchasing the deal, arrangements were made for the local guide to pick us up at our hotel. The pick up time is typically 7am to 730am.

The Maeklong Railway Market is located in Samut Songkhram is 37 miles (60 km) west of Bangkok. The travelling time from our hotel to this station took around 1 hour 15 minutes (subjected to traffic conditions). In Thai, it is called ตลาดแม่กลอง (Talad Rom Hoop) which when translated means 'Market Umbrella Pulldown'. The Maeklong Railway Market is probably one of the most famous (and unique) open air market in Thailand; popular among locals and tourists. The market is open daily. It is not famous because of the products available, but because a railway train runs right through the market daily - seven times a day! 

Maeklong Railway Station

The tour guide first brought us to the Maeklong Railway Station where the train from Ban Laem Station would stop over for a period of 15 to 20 minutes.

Maeklong Railway Station

It is important to visit the station as it would give an accurate timing of the train arrival. The rough schedule of the train can be seen through the white notice board. However, that schedule is subjected to changes. A more accurate timing was reflected on the red board. As shown on the above photo, the train would arrive at 8.55am. As we arrived at 845am, we had 10 minutes (sufficient time) to make our way to the market which was just next to the train station.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej

The portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej; King of Thailand. You can find smaller portraits of the king and the royal family in many Thai places (e.g. restaurants, malls, shops).

Maeklong Railway Market

Upon entering the Maeklong Railway Market, you may notice that it looks just like a normal market with awnings / umbrellas extending out of the shops so that the market is sheltered. A busy thriving market.

There were different varieties of vegetables, fishes, seafood, shellfish, oysters, meat, fruits, spices, handicrafts and even toys available in the market.

Maeklong Railway Market

Well, if you still thought that it looked like a normal market, you will notice that in the above photo, the railway track is actually the pavement which people are using to access the market. It really does look like a normal pavement! The only tell tale sign is the two pieces of metal rail which are at times covered by goods. As you can see, the walking way is actually quite tight and narrow.

Before the train arrives, there would be two 'warnings', both in the form of sirens.

After first siren

After the first siren (five minutes before the train was to arrive) was sounded, a stream of people in the market (mostly tourist) started walking past us as they went about looking for a safe spot to stand. The kiasu and kiasi ones like me would have already chope secure found a safe spot to stand.

The market looked more empty as all the tourist either moved to the sides or move out towards the Maeklong Railway Station. Only the experienced vendors and locals continued with their normal routine as if nothing was going to happen.

After second siren

Once the second siren was sounded. The vendors in the market started moving their stuff that were of a certain height away from the tracks. In addition, they had to shift the awnings / umbrellas. Everything went like clockwork as it was a daily routine for these vendors.

Maeklong Railway Market came to a standstill as the vendors held on to the poles supporting their awnings / umbrellas.

Once everyone got the first sight of the train, there was a sudden and continuous burst of shutter sound!

This was the reason! The background shows the Maeklong Railway Station. Look at the crowd gathered  just in front of the station! Everyone was waiting for the 'star' to 'walk' down the red carpet hoping to get the best shot!

View of the train as it was approaching

The vendors had gone through such routine so many times that they were all experts in this. Some of them left their goods (of a certain height) right next to the track!

Back view of the train that just went past

The train past dangerously close to everyone. Another step forward, we would have been run over by the train. In fact as the train went past us, I overheard someone shrieking 'Oh my god, oh my god, so close!'.

After the train went past, the market was transformed back to its original form in a flash and everyone continued with their usual activities.

So what happened to the train? Well, it was parked at Maeklong Railway Station, where it would stop over for a short while (around 20 minutes) before making its way through the market (again) to Ban Laem Station.

We went on board the train for a short duration to take photos of the interior of the train. Do be careful as the steps were steep and the floor of the train was wet (as it rained at around 8am).

That's all for the Maeklong Railway Market! We continued on with the tour to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market! Watch out for it in the subsequent post!

Maeklong Railway Market (Thailand, Bangkok)
Kasem Sukhum Road, Mae Klong
Samut Songkhram 75000, Thailand

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After You Dessert Café at Siam Paragon (Thailand, Bangkok)

Shibuya Honey Toast with Honey Syrup 165 Baht (S$6.88)

After You Dessert Café; a cafe chain started by a 30 year old Thai lady called Kulapat “May” Kanokwatanawan has been highly raved about online. The cafe specialises in serving toasts and desserts. After You Dessert Café has several outlets in Bangkok. We visited the outlet in Siam Paragon (next to Siam Exchang BTS station) on a weekday at 930pm. The cafe is located at the basement of Siam Paragon, the same level as where Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is located at.

After You Dessert Café at Siam Paragon was modern, cozy, clean and bright. With its wooden furnishing, it looked so inviting and homely.

Although we arrived at 930pm, the cafe was full. There were a few benches located in front of the cafe which gave an indication of the crowd during peak hours. Fortunately for us, the screen located in front of the cafe started flashing our queue number soon after we got the queue number. We were lead to a table located at a corner of the cafe. The cafe seemed popular among the younger generation. 

Menu

Menu

This was the menu on the table. The words were relatively small in size. If you would prefer you can get the A3 menu located at the entrance. It was more enticing as there were colourful photos of the toasts and desserts on it.

Customers would need to order and make payment at the counter.

Honey Syrup and Utensils

There were two staff at the counter where I made my orders and payment. One staff keyed in my order and collected payment while stood behind listening and preparing the utensils for my table. When I got back to my table, the utensils and honey syrup was already brought back to my table! So efficient! We were given the honey syrup as we ordered the signature Shibuya Honey Toast.

Chocolate Lava 145 Baht (S$6)

The Chocolate Lava priced at 145 baht (S$6) was one of the items highly raved about on the internet.

The Chocolate Lava consisted of a small, soft, warm chocolate sponge cake with molten chocolate in it. A scoop of vanilla ice cream and chunks of strawberries were served with it.

Chocolate Lava 145 Baht (S$6)

Look at the molten chocolate flowing  (oozing) out! The chocolate sponge cake was delicious! It was not sweet and not overly fluffy. The molten chocolate was out of this world. The bitter warm chocolate flowed out slowly as it was so viscous. Each bite of the sponge cake together with the molten chocolate literally got us on a high. Irresistible! Shiok!

The vanilla ice cream deserved a mentioned too as it was not only sweet and yet flavourful.

Shibuya Honey Toast 165 Baht (S$6.88)

The signature Shibuya Honey Toast cost 165 Baht (S$6.88).

The Shibuya Honey Toast was essentially a thick big chunk of oven baked toast with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and sugar icing on top. At the side, there was another scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. As you can see from the photo above, the toast has been partially sliced into 9 pieces.

The toast, the most essential component (which can make or break the whole experience) was very well executed; baked to perfection! The exterior of the toast was crispy and slight hard (an important factor for not only the taste department, but also to ensure that the weight of the ice cream on top does not cause the bread to sink in) whereas the interior was warm, soft, fluffy and full of buttery fragrant! Yes, butter was probably added into the toast when it was still hot just before serving!

The burst of different temperatures, flavours and textures in one mouthful was overwhelming (in a positive way) as the different senses in the tongue were teased. Superb! Even the non-dessert person in the group praised this.

Matcha Toast 195 Baht (S$8.13)

The Matcha Toast was similar to the Shibuya Honey Toast. It cost slightly more than the Shibuya Honey Toast. The main difference was that instead of vanilla ice cream, Matcha (green tea) ice cream was used. In addition, Matcha powder was sprinkled on top of the ice cream. The Matcha ice cream was surprisingly good with a great balance in sweetness and green tea flavour. Outstanding!

As the portion of the toasts are big, this is best shared between 2 to 3 persons.

Although we might have seemed to have ordered too much, we polish off all 3 items! The tag line in After You Dessert Café says it all "There's always room for desserts".

There was free flow of ice tea at the side of the cafe for all customers.

I highly recommend After You Dessert Café! This is a die die die must try!  We had no regrets ordering the 3 dishes. Ironically, this place which I am highly recommending does not serves authentic Thai Food. Price wise, although it was on the higher end, I thought that it was money well spent (worthwhile) as the food good! The Chocolate Lava and Shibuya Honey Toast were totally out of this world. Do give it a try and let me know what you think.

ps: if you intend to patronise during peak hours, be prepared to queue/wait  for as long as half an hour.

After You Dessert Café (Thailand, Bangkok)
Siam Paragon Ground Floor (basement), beside Gourmet Market
991 Rama 1 Road
Khet Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Tel: +66 02 610 7659
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 1030pm
Website

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Twinings Tea Boutique, NaRaYa & Krispy Kreme (Thailand, Bangkok)

After our dinner at Joom Zap Hut, our next destination was NaRaYa at Siam Discovery. Along the way,  we past by Twinings Tea Boutique which was located on level 1 of Central World. 

 Something caught our eyes. Something that looks bright, cheerful and colour!

Macarons

Well, it was Macarons which were on display at a strategic position to tempt attract passersby! They looked too good to resist! So much so that we had to stop to purchase them.  

Macarons

We purchases 5 Macarons in total to bring back to the hotel for 'supper'. The Macarons were quite good. The two outer shells were crisp and the cream inside was not overly sweet. Each Macarons cost 40 Baht (S$1.67)! It was a real steal considering the quality and taste.

After the purchasing the Macarons, we continued our journey to the west NaRaYa at Siam Discovery. Interesting, although it was raining, our journey from Central World to Siam Discovery was sheltered! From Central World, we had to make our way to Siam Paragon, Siam Centre and then Siam Discovery which was a good 15 minutes walk!

Temporary tunnel between Siam Paragon and Siam Center

The reason why there was no need for any umbrellas (i.e. it was sheltered) was because of these! Temporary tunnels (like those used in Barclays Premier League) along with anti slip mats were used to ensure that commuters or shoppers were fully sheltered from the rain.

Temporary tunnel between Siam Center and Siam Discovery

In addition, there were cleaners constantly mopping the entrance and exit of the tunnels too. Amazing Thailand! Such excellent thought and service! Kudos!

NaRaYa at Siam Discovery

At last we reached NaRaYa at Siam Discovery. The shop opens daily from 10am to 10pm. NaRaYa is a Thai company that designs, manufactures and sells fabric bags and accessories. It has outlets in Asia, Europe and Middle East. In Bangkok, it has over 15 outlets! NaRaYa is widely known for their quality fabric, colours, designs and low cost. It has been able to sell products so cheaply partly because the manufacturing is done in Thailand; low cost country, where labour is cheap and there is better control).

NaRaYa locations in Bangkok (click to enlarge)

The irony was that we did not know that NaRaYa had an outlet in Central World - the place where we had dinner at! I have appended NaRaYa outlets' locations in Bangkok for easy reference.

After shopping at NaRaYa, we proceed to Siam Paragon to purchase Krispy Kreme Donuts for the next day's breakfast.

We arrived just before 9pm (their closing time). Most of the donuts including Original Glazed were sold out.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Having left with no choice,we purchased the Dark Chocolate and Powdered Strawberry Filled. Each Doughnut cost 35 Baht (S$1.46). They were just way too sweet.

After buying the donuts, we proceed for our supper at After You Dessert Café which I will be rating as a die die must try. I shall post on that in the next post.

Twinings Tea Boutique (Central World)
Level 1, Atrium Zone, CentralWorld
CentralWorld 999/9 Rama 1 Road
Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand 
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm
Website

NaRaYa (Siam Discovery)
Room No. 107-108, 1st Floor, 989 Rama1 Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330,‎ Thailand
Tel : +66-(0)-2658-0110 
Opening Hours: 10am to 9pm
Website

Krispy Kreme Donuts (Siam Paragon Shopping Center)
G Floor, 991 Rama 1 Road
Khet Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Opening Hours: 10am to 9pm
Website

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Joom Zap Hut at Central World (Thailand, Bangkok)

Joom Zap Hut located at level 6 of Central World was located together with Bar B Q Plaza as both restaurant chains belonged to the same company, the only difference was the type of cuisine they offered. Joom Zap Hut specialises in Thai style (mookata) barbecue and steamboat while Bar B Q Plaza offers Mongolian and Japanese style barbecue and steamboat. 

Joom Zap Hut  and Bar B Q Plaza

There were lots of seating capacity at Joom Zap Hut and Bar B Q Plaza. When we visited during dinner time (on a weekday), the restaurant chain was half full.

Menu - Family Sets

Menu - Supreme Sets

Menu - Beverages

Part of the menus; Family Sets, Supreme Sets and Beverages menu. We ordered the Family Pork Set 435 Baht (S$18.13), Economy Beef Set 225 Baht (S$9.38), Garlic Fried Rice 42 Baht (S$1.75) and Soft Drink (Pitcher) 75 Baht ($3.13).

The Dome Shaped Skillet at the center of the table ready to be used by hungry customers.

The container of ice and bill was placed on a metal rack that could easily be pulled out from under the table. A good way to save space as our table was (later) filled to the brim when the food was served.

Lime, chilli, garlic and specially prepared sauce

The specially prepared sauce; a brownish sauce, mixed together with chilli, (chopped) garlic and lime was a superb dipping sauce.

Dome Shaped Skillet

The Dome Shaped Skillet was customised such that the centre could be used for grilling meat while the sides was used for soup. Upon ordering, the waitress would pour some stock broth over the centre and the broth will flow downwards to the sides.

Family Pork Set 435 Baht (S$18.13) (a)

Family Pork Set 435 Baht (S$18.13) (b)

The Family Pork Set cost 435 Baht (S$18.13) was served in two big plates filled with a generous serving of pork, liver, chicken, fish fillet, squid, shrimp, bacon, udon, kamaboko, narutomaki, sliced cabbage, baby corn, carrot and lettuce.

Economy Beef Set 225 Baht (S$9.38)

The Economy Beef Set which cost 225 Baht (S$9.38) consisted of beef slices, udon, sliced cabbage, baby corn, carrot and lettuce. We had practically no space left to put our bowls and plates to eat when these three big plates of food were served. They should consider having bigger tables.

Garlic Fried Rice 42 Baht (S$1.75)

Garlic Fried Rice 42 Baht (S$1.75)

The Garlic Fried Rice served in a small bowl was topped with chopped spring onion and pieces of fried garlic. It decent with a hint of garlic fragrant. If only fried egg was mixed into it.

Before putting any food on the hot metal pan (Dome Shaped Skillet), you would need to grease it with a piece of pork lard so that the meat would not stick to the pan. While grilling the meat on the pan, you should add in the vegetables into the soup broth at the side to enhance the taste (sweetness of the broth).

The beef, pork and chicken sliced perfectly were of great quality. So fresh and tender that it tasted simply delicious even without the dipping sauce. You may have noticed that the meat were not marinated, they were all raw so that customers can taste the original taste of the meat. I thought that the fish fillet tasted slightly fishy, dipping it into the special dipping sauce made a whole world of difference to the taste. The shrimp (prawn) and liver deserved a special mentioned as they were also fresh and tasted so good.

Over time, the oil and juices from meat and pork lard on the grill pan dripped into the soup broth enhancing the sweetness and flavour of the soup. Nothing is wasted! Souperlicious!

The advantage of the Dome Shaped Skillet was that one could have the best of both worlds; being able to grill the meat or shabu shabu it by dipping the meat into the soup. In addition, customers are able to cook the meat according to how cooked (well done / medium / rare) or charred they prefered.

The disadvantage would be that the cooking process was too slow for us although we tried squeezing in as many pieces of meat as possible on the grill pan.

The total bill was 777 Baht (S$32.38). There was no service charge or any other additional charges. The prices shown on the menu were all nett. The service at Joom Zap Hut was excellent! Every time when we required something, the staff seemed to have anticipated it and would approach us. There was no need for me to turn my head to look for a staff or wave my hands in the air frantically (exaggerating) to get attention.

Overall, I would say that I doubt I will be back anytime soon. Somehow we were not satisfied - did not felt full. Not because the food was lousy, but more of that the cooking process was too slow for us (maybe because the grill heat was not switched to the highest? or maybe we were used to steamboat where more food could be cooked at anyone time).

For fans of Thai style steamboat (mookata), overall the food here are of great quality. The dipping sauce is superb and the service is top notch. In addition, for the quality of food, it is value for money especially if you come from a country with high cost of living (e.g. Singapore). For me, I would rather go for other restaurant / street food.

Joom Zap Hut at Central World (Thailand, Bangkok)

Joom Zap Hut / Bar B Q Plaza

Level 6, Atrium Zone , A616 
CentralWorld 999/9 Rama 1 Road
Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand 
Website

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