Our friend Jackson is in town from San Francisco, his first time back since late 2006. The other evening we took him for dinner to Sukhumvit Soi 38, a side street near the Thong Lo BTS station known for its nighttime eateries.
Both sides of this Bangkok soi are lined with food shops that spill onto the streets, offering nearly every type of Thai food you can imagine. The food is very fresh, very cheap and very authentic. Because of the location – lots of expats live nearby – some concessions have been made to non-Thais for everyone’s convenience. For example, it is increasingly common to find laminated menus that have some of the more popular items with both English and Japanese names. If you want some of the more obscure items, though, you have to read and speak Thai.
Regardless of your Thai literacy, no corners are cut when it comes to preparing the food! This is the real deal.
Fatty pork (roasted then fried in oil for an extra-crispy skin) served over rice with a Hoisin-type sauce.
A “red soup” with various pork parts including cubes of boiled blood.
Borrowed from Malaysia and Singapore: chicken and oily rice.
Wide rice noodles stir fried with egg and shrimp – kind of like pad thai but without the tamarind sauce.
Everyone’s favorite – and also a Malaysian import – chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce.
One of the nice features of Soi 38 is that if you are sitting in one vendor’s building, you can still order form other vendors elsewhere on the soi. They will deliver the food to you, collecting the money and then returning for the utensils and plates later on. Each vendor uses a different type of plate, so it is easier to identify what belongs to whom.
Here’s a little video:
While eating, the rain started to pour outside. After several hot days with no rain, we seem to be back into the typical rainy season cycle. Building humidity and clouds throughout the day, giving way to intense storms for thirty minutes or an hour in the late afternoon or early evening.
Above, Jackson dodges the rain.
Since there was nowhere to go and no way to get home without getting soaked, we stopped in at a massage parlor around the corner for a 90-minute foot massage. This was a very “old school” parlor, Chinese owned with the menthol smell of balm thick in the air. My masseuse was a blind man who was surprisingly in tune with the knots in my feet and lower legs. What the parlor lacked in ambience, the masseuse more than made up for with skill.
christao408 
OMG that makes me so hungry >_<
Mmmm… it all looks good except perhaps the soup with the boiled blood cubes (what in the world do those taste like????).
Wow…these look really good.I’ve been wondering if the Thai food we have here in the States are actually authentic…The last time I went there I was 8 years old…maybe I should revisit Thailand
wow, that’s awesome! i really need to start traveling outside of the country… if nothing else than for the food. it looks delicious!
Watching the video brought back fond memories when I ate at one these local eateries (near Silom). I still crave for the delicious chicken over rice….roast pork…pad thai, soup noodles, etc. And of course, how could I forget those plastic plates and flimsy metal soup spoons! Each dish costs around 90 baht?
Hey Jackson! Have fun in the big Mango!
I love these little snippets of life in Bangkok. Your videos are getting better and better.
I liked reading your Xanga today because it reminded me of being in Japan. I’m hoping we can live there again one day. The food looks amazing!
Sounds like a good night out. Judi
I would have walked in the rain. But the foot massage for ninety minutes!!! OH MY GOD Chris, will you take me there when and if I come there? A blind masseuse to boot. Of course her fingers found all the knots. Great pictures and the video.
foot massage… after walking the whole day, is one of the must do activities for me in Thailand too.
I am very afraid to seek massages in Thailand. I am sure you know why. PS: I saw Chandini Chowk to China in my flight from Kolkata to Delhi last night. How in the world did you survive that movie? It was so incredibly stupid! No wonder it was a major flop here.
OMG! At the mention of “fatty pork”, my mouth started salivating!!
Greetings to Jackson. Hope he enjoys the visit without your family attached.
Looks so good! It has sealed the deal for lunch today – Thai Smile.
@murisopsis – Glad I could help!
@jandsschultz – I’m sure he feels like something is missing.
Great video/post!! You were really able to convey the feeling of being there, even though I am miles away! I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand–and the food looks so good! I will have to save this one for future reference.
wow, that all looks so appetising… and non-kosher… thank the gods I don’t stay kosher then XD gotta find some recipes for that stuff, love Asian food… how can you afford it, and then a massage!? oh wait, yeah… you have a job… gotta get myself one of those. XD
@mezz09 – Well, as cheap as things are here, affordability isn’t as much of an issue. Yes, though, the food isn’t kosher. Thais have a big love of pork!
@lil_squirrel4ever – Thanks; the scene really captured a lot of what life in Bangkok is about. Or, what it can be about, depending on the type of experience you seek out.