Yaowarat aka Bangkok’s Chinatown by night is no stranger to anyone who enjoys food hunting. However, do you know that Yaowarat by day also offers any foodies a piece of paradise as well? Let’s walk with me to this beautiful Chinatown of the Land of Thousands Smiles where we undercover more gems in this part of the Bangkok.
We started our food trail with my kind of comfort food, hot and soupy FTW. It is kinda silly that I always forget to get the name of the shop despite coming here so many times. One of my good friend loves the roasted pork here while some other friends like the Thai Style Kway Chap that it offers. 
All I can say is that the nearest landmark is Hotel Royal Bangkok @ Chinatown, the former White Orchid Hotel, and this shop is just located directly across the street.
This is NOT the place to go to if you are feeling hungry and not willing to wait. Lunch crowd is horrendous while in the morning you would see a few locals enjoying a good bowl of comfort food. For 2 bowls of Thai Style Kway Chay (tastes similar to Singapore’s pig organs kway tiao soup), a small serving of pig trotter and roasted pork would set you back with about 260 baht. One of my besties loves the roasted pork so much that she can easily polish a portion all by herself. 
Located side by side the Thai Style Kway Chap shop is the Thai Style Dessert Shop. Another of my Malaysian friend raved its large varieties of desserts with generous serving of liao (ingredients). Be sure to leave some stomach space for it ya.
Just a few shops away from the Thai Style Kway Chap is the not-to-be missed fishball noodles. A bowl of it will set you back at 40 baht. The springy egg noodles is paired with an assorted fish paste themed ingredients. One of our favourites was the prawn balls which has small pieces of water chestnuts to give it some textural bite. Yummy much.
Tel: 081- 7325955 / 089- 8887448
The best thing to buy for any foodie is definitely food. One could never miss some of the “gao sai” aka pork floss sticks from 林真香 (Lim Jing Hieng) when you are in Chinatown. According to my Thai friend, the most authentic shop and the oldest one around would be this shop. So the next time you are in the vicinity and wondering which is the “Real” shop, here is it. If you like preserved meats, I saw quite a selection here too.
林真香 Lim Jing Hieng
390 Yaowarat Road Chakrawat Samphanthawong Bangkok 10100
Tel: +66 22245296, +66 22245239, +66 816388932
Email: limjinghienggoldshop@gmail.com
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For those who have tried goose meat would tell you that the meat is more moist, tender and slightly more fatty as compared to duck meat. As a teochew, the teochew style of braising the duck has been one of my favourites. With more than 50 years of experience doing that, Lao Tang has won my heart offering a different rendition of the traditional teochew braised meat.
Lao Tang Stewed Goose
467/1 Yaowarat Bangkok 10100
Tel: +66 22216070, +66 892158760
We have all heard about the cheap bird nest that is selling in the evening along Chinatown’s street. But how about a range of bird nest from different grades? This is one of my favourite place in Yaowarat which I discovered during this trip. The live live must go place for me. Not for the shark fin lah but for the bird nest.
Besides the 100 baht bird nest, there are grade three bird nests and grade one bird nests that are served in coconut husk. We went for the grade three steamed in coconut (250 baht) and this is like the most delicious bird nest that I have ever tasted. There is an option of hot or cold and I chose hot one. Super GOOOD. I like how the coconut juice sweetens the bird nest and gives it a beautiful coconuty aroma. Nothing too overwhelming. Super yummy! Highly recommended the hot one.
For those who do not like coconut, you can choose the usual bird nest affair with a price tag starting from 100 to 1000 baht.
After having the bird nest, the restaurant offered a cup of specially concocted tea for us to cleanse our palatte. For those who whould like to have a meal here, the menu offers dishes similar to Nam Sing and T&K.
Mui Leng Shark Fin Bird nest
507 – 509 Yaowarat Bangkok 10100
Tel: +66 22216395, +66 900012800
Operating Hours: 11.30am to 11pm
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When my Thai friend told me that there is a shop selling chinese sausages, I was elated. Any liap cheong lovers out there? Guess what, you can choose from those super fatty kind (180 baht per kg) to those with super lean meat (300 baht per kg). This is no ordinary shop loh, besides having a long history of chinese sausage making, you can even see how the process is being done just inside the shop. Totally in love with the traditional heritage that Chinatown in Bangkok is offering. I guess this is not something you will see everyday right? The beautiful teochew speaking lady boss was even proudly showing us that they were featured in newsapapers too.
P.S: Just walk into the alley from Yaowarat road where there are many shops selling bird nest and shark fin, it is located on the left.
Guang Fu Ji (廣福記)
26 Plangnum Road, Samphantawong, Bangkok 10100
Tel: +66 22210266, +66 2248351, +66858096004, +66 900192102
As much as I like how modernised and clean Singapore’s Chinatown is, the old heritage of Bangkok’s Chinatown offers a piece of history which totally intrigued me. Besides cheap shopping from sampeng lane (stationery, balloons, hair accessories, fake lashes, dried goods…etc), Yaowarat by day in the morning also offers foodies a wide choice of food which is not restricted to street food only. So cheak them out if you are free in the morning and not knowing where to head to. Do share with me where else in Chinatown is good for me to check out too.
Also if you are wondering what can you do for a 2 days short getaway in Bangkok, my friend, Bino, has came up with a perfect 2 days itinerary for a short getaway in Bangkok. Do Check them out.
