Bangkok: What to do and what to eat in the capital of Thailand – 02/14/2023 – Tourism

Bangkok residents are busy: travelers returning to the “City of Angels”, even if they visited it just a few years ago, will notice changes. The impenetrably congested streets of Chinatown and Old Town, with their glorious religious and monarchical enclaves, are finally made accessible by mass transit, with the extension of the Metropolitan Rapid Transit subway service.

And the long, neglected waterfront of the Chao Phraya River now has two huge, flashy real estate projects on opposite banks: the Icon Siam shopping center and the Four Seasons restaurant complex, complete with a water garden and gallery.

Meanwhile, a new generation of chefs, designers and artisans have taken advantage of the pandemic break to open businesses across the city, bringing more talent and fun to an already exotically lively city.

ITINERARY

Friday

7pm: Experience Thai Fine Dining

Chef Thitid Tassanakajohn, known as Ton, owner of Bangkok’s Michelin-starred restaurant Le Du, last year opened Lahnyai Nusara, an intimate restaurant in a living-room-like space amid high-rise buildings. -skies of Sathorn district.

Reserve one of the six tables, in the room decorated with family photos, and embark on Ton’s 12-course menu, which is based on a cosmopolitan approach to the recipes he inherited from his mother, for example boiled eggs with crab meat and truffles . Dinner, with wine, is about 3,800 Thai baht (or $115) per person.

9pm: A night of dancing

Dress without shame and let the vibes of Thai DJs quell your jet lag at Sing Sing Theater, the nightclub that now dominates the Sukhumvit district, with Chinese noir decor lit by swarms of red lanterns and a riot of professional dancers seen from behind screens and balanced on scales, which give the place the feel of a Baz Luhrmann movie set.

Settle into the intimate alcoves and balconies surrounding the stage and dance floor, or dance around the house with a friendly mix of well-heeled locals and members of Bangkok’s foreign community, which now includes many Russian expatriates. Guest DJs and live bands perform at regularly held parties, for example burlesque or Latino nights. Drinks start from 180 baht.

Saturday

7am: Bike around the area

In the 1990s, Co van Kossel, a Dutch resident of Bangkok who died in 2012, pioneered elaborate but surprisingly easy cycle tours around the city and surrounding countryside, which use riverboats to move between city ​​and countryside. Today, a friendly team of young, English-speaking cycling enthusiasts from Thailand has taken over the business, based in a garage and office located in an easy-to-find area adjacent to the River City shopping complex on the Chao Phraya River.

Much of the clientele on the tours continues to be Dutch, and they are a mesmerizing and safe journey through a maze of temples located in alleys and canals (participants load the bikes onto the boats), leading to trails located above the plantations. rice fields between which the city was built, one of which offers a delicious local lunch. A five-hour ride costs 1,850 baht (or about R$280).

2 pm: Receive an ethereal back massage

Visitors often head to Wat Pho (“wat” means “temple” in many parts of Southeast Asia), next to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, to admire the wonderful 46-metre reclining Buddha. But it is possible to find contentment similar to that seen on the face of the statue through a visit to an inconspicuous building behind the temple, where novices learn to master the art of Thai massage art, one of the ancient medical practices to which the “wat” is dedicated.

The massage center, Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical School, is located in front of the main temple building (usually a yellow nameplate is present in front of it). Experience the talent of students with divine foot and back massages, starting at 280 baht for 30 minutes.

4pm: Shop in the arts district

Vietnam war era military jackets? Butterfly collections? Hand-carved cutlery in a minimalist Scandinavian style? All of this can be found in the grand mix of shops, galleries and cafes at Warehouse 30, which encompasses seven colorful, refurbished warehouses and anchors Bangkok’s thriving arts district, which centers around the Thai capital’s commercial hub at River City.

Recover from all that cycling and shopping expedition with a visit to one of the complex’s most popular cafes, Mother Roaster, run by septuagenarian Ploenpit Rianmek, a legendary barista. Rianmek, known affectionately as Pa Pim, brews some of the best coffee in town (from 80 baht, or R$12).

7pm: Dinner at an ex-pharmacy

Bangkok’s Chinatown is a labyrinth in perpetual regeneration. The neighborhood, which for a long time lived surrounded by permanent traffic jams, has now become more accessible thanks to the expansion of the subway system, in 2019. Find Potong, a restaurant that is located on the site of a former pharmacy, in the alley of an alley, it is an adventure in itself.

Head chef Pam Soontornyanakij represents the fifth generation of her family to own and work in this building, after a temporary detour as a cook in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s culinary empire in New York; now, she’s back to bring a dose of Western daring to the fusion of Thai and Chinese cuisines.

This results in dishes such as a traditional cream of corn that she serves with smoked salt and over brioches. The chef’s efforts were rewarded with the house’s first star in the Michelin Guide, in November. The tasting menu costs 4,800 baht per person; book in advance.

10 pm: Discover secret bars

Over the last ten years, Bangkok has transformed itself into one of Asia’s great cocktail hubs. The best of Potong’s burgeoning bar scene can be found just a short walk away, including Teens of Thailand, a cozy jewel-box place serving gin cocktails; the Tep Bar, which is housed in an old shop and specializes in an herbal liqueur called “ya dong” and uses local fruits and spices; and one of the city’s hottest new establishments, Tropic City, a Thai bar with a dizzying array of rum cocktails. Cocktails at these bars start at 300 baht (R$45).

Sunday

10:00: Enjoy the art on one of the riverbanks

The Four Seasons complex, which opened in late 2020, revolutionized the dismal stretch of river that began south of the Taksin Bridge. Escape the dense urban environment and escape to breezy courtyards that surround pools built on raised terraces, outdoor art installations and leafy fig trees that spill down to the riverbank. Head from the lobby to the water past the tiny Art Space museum, a sprawling whitewashed studio where a rotating calendar of modern art installations, curated by the Bangkok Museum of Contemporary Art, is always on display.

The museum shop offers a variety of fun and unique items, including a three-metre-long inflatable worm (65,000 baht or R$9,900) and shopping bags with personalized graffiti. As you exit the gallery, you’ll find a popular French bakery, Café Madeleine, serving excellent croissants (95 baht or R$14) and coffee, on a large riverside terrace.

11:00: Have lunch on the opposite bank.

Cross the river on the public ferry (prices start at 13 baht or R$2) and visit the Icon Siam shopping centre. There are few countries better than Thailand at designing shopping malls: Imagine the spaceship of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” perched on the coast (just ignore the lame Western luxury brand logos that dominate the facade) and walk towards from light.

The first floor offers perhaps one of the best eating areas on the planet. Thais crowd the food stalls run by local residents, which ended up replacing many of the much-missed street vendors that sold food on the city’s streets.

Many of the stalls are unnamed and offer only one specialty, such as spicy shrimp soup or “pad thai”, in many cases prepared by the vendor’s family for generations. It’s easy to enjoy a veritable multi-course feast for less than 200 baht or R$30. After lunch, visit the upper-floor veranda to discover an art installation constructed with lights and mirrors called “Infinite Forest”, and one of the best river views.

1pm: Visit a secret garden

Between the city center and Suvarnabhumi Airport, the Prasart Museum is one of the city’s best kept secrets and an excellent introduction to Thai history and design. Created as a personal project by former Bangkok real estate magnate Khun Prasart, the museum spans over five acres of centuries-old temples and gardens, and houses salvaged and restored treasures from around the world.

Traditional Thai handicrafts are featured, for example a very intricately prepared style of decorative porcelain called “benjarong”, and trees deliberately twisted into enchanting shapes. Prasart can sometimes be found there, happily working in his garden and welcoming visitors. Appointments must be made by telephone for visits (tel: +66 2 379 3601). Entry costs 500 baht, or R$77, and includes a guided tour, usually lasting around an hour.

main stops

The Prasart Museum is a lush hideaway displaying ancient Thai techniques in design, architecture and gardening.

Potong is a new, Michelin-starred restaurant serving a fusion of Thai and Chinese cuisine in a former pharmacy in Chinatown.

Co van Kessel offers elaborate and safe bike tours through Bangkok’s urban jungle and into the countryside.

Where to eat

Lahnyai Nusara is an intimate living room-like space offering elaborate meals based on recipes from the chef’s family.

Tep Bar serves cocktails that combine local herbs and liquors in an industrial-chic space that hosts performances by Thai musicians.

Sing Sing Theater is Bangkok’s hottest nightclub, where the rich and glamorous dance in a Chinese noir atmosphere.

The Mother Roaster cafe offers excellent coffee, served by a famous seventy-year-old barista.

Where to stay

The Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River is a leafy, modern new oasis in a former riverside industrial zone. The hotel complex offers gardens, cafes and a contemporary art space. Double nights start at 14,000 baht, or about US$427 —R$2,134.55

The JW Marriott has been recently renovated and has become a very elegant hotel, offering easy access to the lively nightlife and markets around the Sukhumvit district, with rates starting at 6,300 baht, or R$ 960.50.

Hotel Villa Bangkok, formerly Villa Phra Sumen, is a great choice for those looking for low-cost, modern rooms along the Rop Krung waterway in the heart of the historic Phra Nakhon district.

The vibrant Bang Rak neighborhood adjoins Lumpini Park and offers plenty of cheap yet luxurious short-course accommodation, in full-service buildings with concierges and swimming pools.

The New York Times, translated by Paulo Migliacci