Bangkok Nov 2009 - Day 1 (Drink, Eat & Sleep!)

Bangkok Nov 2009 - Day 1 (Day 2 & Day 3)

Nothing is more relaxing than a weekend getaways to a destination where all you do is sleep, eat, spa, eat and sleep. One of my favorite destinations to achieve such a weekend is Bangkok (BKK), Thailand. It has been a while since my last visit, 1 year and 6 months ago to be exact. With the cold spell hitting Hong Kong in the middle of November, with a few close friends of mine, we decided to head to BKK for a warm and relaxing weekend. In order to maximize our pleasure and minimize the use of available annual leave, we took the daily last flight to BKK on Friday. By the time we arrived, it was almost midnight BKK time.



After we checked in at the Banyan Tree Bangkok, it was almost 1am but after a full day of work and 2 hours of flight time, we were in need for a drink! We were lucky enough that the famous open-rooftop Vertigo restaurant & bar on the 61/f was still open for drinks! Woohoo!!



In order to get to the rooftop area, you need to climb the very steep stairs on the side of the building. It was rather dangerous in my opinion and Ladies with HIGH HEELS and SHORT SKIRTS, please be careful!



Nice view indeed but the heat wave and dampening humidity hit you right in your face! Within minutes my jeans were starting to feel sticky against my legs. Alright, you don;t need to know that but I just cannot imagine people dressing up and eating at this open-rooftop under such weather conditions!



We were here for drinks and drinks we shall get! I ordered something interesting, Mekhong Thai Whiskey, which is Thailand's first domestically produced branded golden spirit accordingly to wiki. It was quite smooth but rather weak in my opinion. Perhaps I have been indulged with the luxury of single malt whisky a few times too often in Hong Kong?



For some odd reasons, we were all physically tired but mentally all excited, perhaps because we were away from Hong Kong and from WORK! We just did not want to sleep yet even the time just passed 2am (3am HK time).



So what was the first thing to do at this hour? EAT!!! We wanted to order KFC but was told by the Concierge that only 24-hours fast food outlets in BKK were McDonald's and Burger King. Ah well, we can always order room service and so we did. To our surprise, the late-night menu was rather extensive in terms of different cuisines and took us a while to decide what to order. At the end, Thai food all the way!! While waiting for the food, I was attempting to make myself a cup of coffee to keep myself up using the provided coffee machine, but after studying for well over 10 mins, I was still starching my head. They should have used a Nespresso machine, simple and easy to use!



WOW, not only was it fast (less than 15 mins), it was quite humm ... nice? Considering it was 2:30am, I have to give their service a two thumbs up!



(1) Khao Phad Kaprao
(Beef fried rice, hot basil sauce, fried egg)
Laugh all you want, but it was good and I enjoyed it very much. Perhaps it was because I was hungry and I was in a wonderful mood but the fact was that the the flavor was just right in terms of the spiciness and the fried rice was well prepared with a good texture to it (without rice being too sticky and the individual rice can be easily separated.) Not to mention the fried egg (and its yolk!). I love eggs and it went very well with any variations of rice in my opinion! What a wonderful dish to start my BKK trip!



(2) Phad Thai
How can a Thai meal go without Phad Thai! Flavors were rather light but the texture of the noodles and prawns were great! A bit more tamarind sauce would be nice.



(3) Hokien Mee
(Wok-fried noodles, pork, squid, prawns and vegetables)
Not exactly traditional Thai food but looks Thai enough to me. Plenty of ingredients but texture was overly moist. Flavors were alright, with a bit of chili sauce on the side made it a delightful dish indeed. Keep in mind that it was 2:30am and it was room service, I truly consider this "mid-night" meal a wonderful meal indeed.



We were all very full by the end of the meal but to top it off, we ended the meal with some exotic fruits! With a full and satisfied tummy, it was time to sleep in the heavenly bed!!

Likes:

• Great Service at the Banyan Tree Bangkok!
• Khao Phad Kaprao - right degree of spiciness

Dislikes:

• Hokien Mee - a bit too moist

~ The End of Bangkok Nov 2009 - Day 1 of 3 ~

Bangkok Nov 2009 - Day 1 (Day 2 & Day 3)



Banyan Tree Bangkok

21/100 South Sathon Road

Bangkok, 10120, Thailand

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02-6791200


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