MBK CENTER FOODCOURT @ BANGKOK, THAILAND
I do apologize for the absence as I was doing my stint in Shanghai. Just got back to Singapore and will be flying to Taipei for a short trip to feature lots of street food! Then after that will be heading on to my new stint in Suzhou, China, where there are a lot of nice and traditional snacks and foodstuff, which I will be slowly discovering them.
I was recently in Bangkok as you can see from my previous post on Bangkok’s Most Hated and apart from what pissed me off, was the great food in the land of smiles. I was checking back my previous posts and was quite surprise that I didn’t write anything about the food in the foodcourt of Mahboonkrung or otherwise known as MBK. For the benefit of those who have not been to Bangkok before, MBK is the MUST GO place in Bangkok. It has almost 80% of all the things Thailand has to offer. From titbits, to accessories, IT stuff, massage places, cinema, restaurants, cafes, supermarket, banks, money exchanges, lifestyle shops, furniture shops, etc… Basically I think you got the idea. And the foodcourt is the best place to try most of some Thai local dishes, in a cleaner environment, if you have a weak stomach. Like most Singaporeans, MBK’s foodcourt is where we usually report to when first reach Bangkok. The food there is pretty good (Thai local standards) but a little more pricey than that of the street. No choice lah, foreigners flood that place daily, forcing price up quite a lot.
So I was there last week, I already knew what I wanted to eat for lunch. But before you can buy your food, please go buy coupons first. Here is all base on coupons, no cash unless for the stalls not within the foodcourt. How much to change? Hmm… I usually change about 300bahts so that you don’t have to run here and there. You can refund balance coupons once you’re done with eating and remember, you have to utilize the coupons on the same day… if not, you’ll lose the monetary value tied to the coupons in your hands!
So after changing the coupons, I headed to my favourite Khao Kar Moo (Thai for Pork Leg Rice) stall. You can let the stall person know you don’t want fats or skin and they will just give you the pork leg meat with some salted vegetables. Add an egg for 10baht. Total is about 55baht (S$2.30). Just love the soft skin (without the fats of course) and together with the sourish chilli sauce, it’s really appetising! Yums!
Portions like the above is actually quite little for a normal adult. So I would usually order a side dish which you can share with whoever is with you. Hoy Tod is like the Fried Oyster in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. But this one is crsipy and assorted seafood. Used to be 70baht but now it’s 120baht.
The great thing about dining in Bangkok, they always have these pharmaceutical companies sponsoring tissues on the tables! Free to use!
As for desserts, look out for the little fruit shops lined on the ‘outskirts’ of the foodcourt. Check out the yellow signages stalls. But prices have gone up a lot for the mango one to about 140baht. Used to be only 80-100baht. But this time I ordered Sticky Rice with Durian instead for 60baht. It was awesome. Very strong in taste, and very fulfilling. If you are packing back to your hotel room, please make sure they tie properly and double pack it. Cos most hotels do not allow you to bring durians into the hotel premise itself. Make sure also the aircon is independant and not central sharing!
Taste: Awesome food quite close to most street food!
Price: Average for some. A lot cheaper than the food court at Siam Paragon.
RTE: Like I said, must report to this place everytime in Bangkok!
Location: 444 Phayathai Rd.,Pathumwan, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. (http://goo.gl/maps/tTF0)