In case I’ve not mentioned it (much!) before, my favourite place to be in Bangkok is by the river. In fact, this applies to my home city of London too, and pretty much to every city I’ve ever been to. If it’s not a river, any body of water will do. There’s just something I love about watching the inevitable activity that comes with water, and Bangkok has this in spades.
We’re back in Thailand for a couple of days before we head home and if we’ve not been by the pool (the water theme continues) then we’ve been by the Chao Phraya. Two locations in particular have enticed us, an old favourite and a new find.
The old favourite is Be My Guest, a riverside restaurant that we return to every trip, regardless of whether we’re staying at the Millennium Hilton (next to which it sits) or not. Neither this nor the new find is flashy. We’re talking friendly, characterful places here, selling the equivalent of street food at reasonably elevated prices to match their riverside locations. I’ve eaten much more expensively while I’ve been away but this was my favourite meal, watching the darkening sky reflected in the CAT building that my husband loves.
The menu at Be My Guest contains plenty of simple Thai favourites, plus a few dishes to test the more adventurous. We started with an appetiser of shrimp cakes while we enjoyed our first beer. I’ve never eaten anything quite like these donut shaped nibbles anywhere else, but they’re a good start for an evening on the Chang!
When we were ready to move on to food proper, it had to include the Wing Bean Salad. I’ve never seen one of these beans whole, and I have no idea if you can buy them back home, but I adore the variety of textures and the delicately balanced flavour of this gently spiced (by Thai standards) salad.
I was meant to order the red curry to avoid the strong Thai Basil that my husband dislikes but I got distracted and ordered the green curry instead. As predicted, it was indeed full of Thai Basil, and in my opinion was all the more delicious for that. Soft, plump prawns and chunks of small green aubergine in a heavily spiced, creamy coconut soup. Mmmmm. I have yet to find a green curry outside Thailand that comes close to this.
I went off-menu for the last dish because I had a craving! Chicken with garlic and pepper is one of my favourite Thai stir fries and the staff were very happy to make it for me. It totally lived up to my expectations and the husband loved it too, vegetables and all!
We crossed the Chao Phraya back towards our hotel before finding our newest riverside haunt, and also returned to it the next day for lunch. Jack’s Bar is a haphazard bar-come-restaurant that sits, in part, directly over the water. It’s busy with a mix of Thais and foreigners of all ages, and the staff are smiley and fun.
Lunch was an extended affair over a few beers, giving me time to just watch the river. The number and variety of boats that pass by is a constant source of amazement for me, and the occasional wetland bird floating by atop a piece of water hyacinth adds to the interest.
Thai fishcakes, flavoured with red curry paste and kaffir lime leaves, followed by fried rice and a puffy omelette is the simple lunch I remember from my working days living in the city. I love this food as much as anything more fancy and will miss it when we head home.
Indulgent Journeys 