Terminal 21 Nears Completion

Posted on 29 March 2011 by christao408

In November 2009 I first wrote about the construction of a new mall at the northwest corner of Sukhumvit and Asoke roads called Terminal 21. I visited the subject again in February of this year as part of an entry about the profusion of malls being built along Sukhumvit Road. In the weeks since, I’ve stopped by the site, which is easily visible from the outbound platform of the Asoke BTS Skytrain station, to view the last steps of construction.

Since the mall is literally right next to both the Skytrain station (elevated) and the subway station, it should benefit from easy access. But, in a city with strong sunlight, heavy rain showers, and lots of traffic, the more convenient and enclosed you can make that connection, the better.

Because of that, one of the things I’ve been observing and thinking about is how the main entry area (shown above) will connect with the two rail stations. You can see the long concrete deck that will be the main entry area, wrapped in green construction netting. One entrance is on the left, outlined in red metal beams, and the other is at the right end where there is a bit of a canopy being constructed.

On the west end of the deck, I can easily see how a bridge might be built to connect to the Skytrain station, which has blue-covered stairs seen on the left of the picture. In this picture, taken a few weeks ago, I anticipated the potential bridge with orange lines.

Sure enough, by last week they were pouring the concrete reinforcements for the bridge and I imagine in another week or so they will be laying the beams for the bridge. This will lead directly to the entrance of the Skytrain station, which I fear is a bit small to deal with the amount of passengers that may be passing through the space.

The more uncertain question is what they will do with the other entrance to the mall. In the picture shown above, taken a few weeks ago, they were demolishing the sales office for the mall and I anticipated (in orange lines) that maybe a bridge would be built connecting to the escalators that descend to the subway. The escalators are in the building with the bright blue roof that has one red segment. While some re-jiggering of the wheelchair ramp in that area would be necessary, it seemed to be an easy way to get people directly to the subway, short of a tunnel leading into the station itself.

After they demolished the former sales office and finished off the edge of the entry deck, it is no more clear what they will be doing. Certainly it will be some sort of bridge, but how it connects to anything else remains a mystery. Complicating matters further, there is a narrow alley you see in the photo above. This space contains a small shrine that belongs to the Asoke fresh market, located in the building with the dingy white-washed wall. Any bridge connecting to the escalators to the subway would have to cross over this alley. I guess there is little to do but wait and see.

One other thing that caught my eye: there seems to be a “moat” built around the edge of the mall. The other day there was quite a bit of water flowing down it. Not sure if this is part of the drainage system and will be covered with grilles or what.

The other night while waiting for the train after my Thai lesson, I noticed they had the interior lights on for the first time. It may be a bit hard to tell, but the interior is largely finished. They are laying the tiles on the main floor and most of the shop entrances are decorated already. I think they will be open in the next few months.

Not that far away from Terminal 21 – in fact, just two subway stops north along Asoke/Ratchadapisek Road – There is another mall being built. This is Central Plaza Rama 9. There is an additional development that is supposed to happen behind it – a large four-tower condo complex. In fact, the developer was floating the idea of building a monorail that would go down Ratchadapisek Road (to the right in the picture above) and connect with the Airport Rail Link terminal at Makkasan.

The view above is looking east from atop Fortune Town IT Mall, with the Thailand Cultural Center off to the left and Rama IX road following the bridge on the right. Pardon the inexpert job done stitching three photos together to create this faux fisheye lens effect.

Food in Bangkok – Khao Mok Gai on Convent

Posted on 22 March 2011 by christao408

Flipping through Khun Chawadee’s book Bangkok’s Top 50 Street Food Stalls, I got an itching to try the Khao Mok Gai vendor on Soi Convent. Khao Mok Gai, which alludes to a mountain of rice burying chicken, is the Thai take on chicken biryani. Doubtlessly Indian in origin, the dish traces its more recent roots to the predominately Muslim south of Thailand. It is a dish that is simultaneously simple and complex, one that rarely fails to satisfy.

The vendor in question has long been a fixture on the sidewalk along Soi Convent, just off Silom Road. Just down from the Starbucks and in front of an Irish Pub, the khao mok gai vendor’s cart perches on the edge of the curb with a half-dozen folding tables and plastic stools set out beneath umbrellas.

The menu is rudimentary. The khao mok gai comes in three ways: regular for 30 baht (US$1), rice special (extra rice) for 35 baht, chicken special (extra chicken) for 45 baht, or double-double for 50 baht.

The dish is not fancy – a piece of chicken with a heaping pile of turmeric-stained rice. Fried shallots and cucumber slices garnish and a dish of sweet chili sauce is on the side. The rice is tasty and the chicken flavorful, though.

Don’t skip the soup, which comes on the side. Made with bits of chicken, herbs, and fried shallots, they serve this plain or spicy and its rich flavor hits the spot.

Like all street vendor places worth their salt, this cart gets very busy at lunchtime and they make their day’s wages or so. Don’t dilly-dally. Eat your food, pay your tab, and get moving!

For an alternate (and Xangan) version of biryani, check out this video I made about a visit to the kitchen of Dr. Zakiah back in 2009!

Food in Bangkok: BKK Bagel Bakery

Posted on 20 March 2011 by christao408

First it was the cheesecake; now the bagels have arrived. There seems to be a growing affinity for things New York (or, at least, things perceived to be in the New York style) here in Bangkok. This trend first caught my attention a few months ago with the opening of NYCC – the New York Cheesecake shop at the Crystal Design Center. In the last few weeks we’ve added another source of New York style carbs to the local dining scene: bagels.

While I’m no bagel expert, I do recognize that a really good bagel must be boiled before it is baked. Simply steaming them (as is done in a lot of faux bagel shops) just produces doughy round bread. In fact, last October I made two attempts at making bagels, just to understand the processes better. Thankfully, I don’t need to rely on my own bagels anymore as I can now stop at BKK Bagel Bakery to purchase some freshly boiled and baked bagels.

Tawn and I made our first visit to BKK Bagel Bakery during their soft opening in late February. At this point they had at least a half-dozen types of bagels, several types of cream cheese spreads, and also several sandwich offerings. Sadly, the pastrami recipe has not yet been unveiled. We tried a simple toasted bagel with a cream cheese and olive oil spread, which had a nice, nutty taste.

I tried a roast beef sandwich that was alright but nothing to write home about. Besides using iceberg lettuce, the roast beef was a little dry. All of the flavor came from the generous helping of whole grain mustard. For the price – about 250 baht (roughly US$8) – it was a little pricey.

A week ago, I stopped by a second time to bring home some bagels for breakfast. The bagels themselves are quite nice with a good chewy texture and dense crumb. Again, I don’t claim to be a bagel expert but these certainly remind me of the bagels I’ve bought from bodegas in New York City. I’m eagerly awaiting their attempt at pastrami, though.

Located in the ground floor of Maneeya Center, adjacent to the Chidlom BTS station, BKK Bagel Bakery should have a ready supply of customers: not only is Chidlom in the heart of the high-end expatriate community but the Foreign Correspondents’ Club is located in the Maneeya building, too. I wonder what will be the next New York food to be introduced here?

Around the City

Posted on 18 March 2011 by christao408

Saturday morning so I’ll wrap up the week with some bits from around the town:

Several of our friends here work for the UN, various non-government organizations (NGOs), or are attached to various embassies. They find themselves attending any number of conferences that seem to exist for no purpose other than to keep all these governmental and non-governmental actors busy. Here’s the title sign for a meeting one friend recently found himself in:

The International Orientation Conference on UN and ASEAN Mechanisms and Conditions for a National Plan on Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Co-hosted by the Ministry of Defence, Kingdom of Thailand and German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG).

Whew! Pause for a deep breath after saying that. I’m just curious how the German-Southeast Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance managed to have only “CPG” for its initials. Shouldn’t it be GSCEPPGG?

Needless to say, I have great sympathy for my friends and should probably buy them Starbucks gift cards for their upcoming birthdays.

. . .

With a population of somewhere around 7 million, Bangkok has a fair number of parks and playgrounds. The city does a decent job of this, although many of them are under flyovers and in the center of cloverleafs (cloverleaves?), which exposes them to pollution from passing vehicles. This one is located at the intersection of Petchaburi (on the right) and Ekkamai (the high ground on which I’m standing) Roads, as Ekkamai flies over Petchaburi. It contains several basketball, football, and takraw courts.

This particular playground has been adopted by Muang Thai Life Assurance, what in the US we would call an “insurance” company. This is all well and good, but sadly their company color is a shade of pink that reminds me of nothing more than pepto bismol. And they painted all the walls, benches, planters, and fences in this shade.

. . .

7-11 Trivia time: The three countries with the most 7-11 stores are the Thailand, the United States, and Japan, but not in that order. What is the correct order? Scroll down to find out.

Finally, I spotted this sign while driving in the Silom-Surawongse area. The Bangrak district government (districts being a subset of the larger city of Bangkok) has partnered with the ubiquitous 7-11 stores and you can now lodge comments and complaints directly at the 7-11 stores. While the sign is unclear in both Thai and English, I would assume that the poor cashiers at 7-11 stores are only trained to handle complaints related to the civic governance of the district. They will not be dispensing relationship advice, handling landlord-tennant conflicts, or doing the work that police through be doing.

As for the 7-11s themselves, there are approximately 13,000 stores in Japan, 8,200 stores in the United States, and 5,800 in Thailand. One Thai friend recounted to us after his first trip to the US his surprise at discovering that there are 7-11s in the United States, too. We didn’t have the heart to tell him that 7-11 is not a Thai company.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Old Houses of Sukhumvit

Posted on 17 March 2011 by christao408

The neighborhood I live in – Thong Lo – is part of the “middle Sukhumvit” area in Bangkok. Located east of the old city and not too far from the Chao Phraya River, fifty years ago this area was considered to be really far out in the countryside. Well-off families of merchants and civil servants bought pieces of land for their weekend homes along narrow sois (alleys) that led off larger streets that paralleled khlongs (canals).

Over time, their houses grew with additions for children and in-laws. Trees grew, too, providing beautiful shade and cooler temperatures even as the city and all its ill effects – noise, pollution, pavement, and tall buildings – crept into the neighborhood.

Since there are no annual property taxes (although they are being discussed by the legislature), there is little incentive to sell unused property. As these old homes were encroached upon by modernity, families often fled to other properties and some of the beautiful residences fell into disrepair.

Sometimes the family, or their descendants, will raze the old buildings and construct new ones. That’s happening next door to us as two older houses have been torn down, the adjacent properties have been combined, and a new house if being erected. Of course, this required the removal of some of the beautiful (and tall) old trees because the sons of the owner didn’t want leaves falling into their swimming pool. Instead of leaves, they will get to be spied upon by half of my neighbors.

Many of the older houses are built in a “tropical deco” style and were designed with the environment in mind. With wide overhangs and carefully oriented windows, natural ventilation kept the house comfortable most of the year and air conditioning was rarely necessary as the breezes and large trees worked in tandem to cool the house.

Not so much these newer homes, the designs of which are a mish-mash of styles, resembling nothing so much as a housing development in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Take the above house which is being built on Sukhumvit Soi 10. What is that deck-like structure elevated above the house? It couldn’t possibly be chimneys because why would anyone have fireplaces in Bangkok?

Sometimes the older houses, instead of being torn down, are turned to commercial uses either through lease or sale. Just down the street from us, this beautiful three-story home (a bit hard to see in the background) is being transformed into a new branch of Curries and More, a Thai restaurant operated by the popular Baan Khanita group. They are adding another building that is being built around the existing trees and it looks like the setting will be beautiful, complementing the style of the original house rather than competing with it.

Another example, just next door to our condo, is a house that was turned into Red, an upscale Indian restaurant. While the people living adjacent to the restaurant don’t appreciate some of the late-night celebrations held there, the owners have done a nice job using the original building.

Perhaps the nicest example is across the street and a few doors down from us, a company that designs and sells furniture including outdoor patio sets that are perfectly suited to the wide verandas featured in the house’s design.

It is interesting to watch how the neighborhood changes. What started out as weekend homes in the far suburbs has become condos, restaurants, shops, or just rebuilt homes in the vibrant heart of the city. All a part of the unique character and charm of Bangkok.

A Map to the Future

Posted on 14 March 2011 by christao408

As the city grows, as business and tourism rebound after the political upheaval of the past few years, Bangkok’s rail transit gets increasingly crowded. Following the opening of a two-station extension, the first across the Chao Phraya River, the Skytrain recently put into service new four-car trains on the Silom line. At the same time, they have ordered additional cars that should arrive in the next year or so to enlarge the existing three-car trains, all of which will be placed on the Sukhumvit line.

Riding on one of the new trains recently, I was surprised to look at the system map posted over the door and discover nine stations that I had never seen before. In a fit of extreme advance planning, the maps show not only the five stations that are scheduled to open at the On Nut end of the Sukhumvit line in August 2011, but also the four stations that will be added beyond Wongwian Yai station, across the river, sometime in the later part of 2012.

Needless to say, the advance planning didn’t include the “Future Stations” stickers, so for several weeks passengers were scratching their heads, wondering whether the new stations had surreptitiously opened. The stickers have been added, though, so now everyone can admire all of the new stations they have to look forward to.

Along those lines, Tawn and I were on the northwestern outskirts of the city this past weekend visiting friends’ new baby, and we came across two sections of new rail construction, one definitely the “Purple Line” and another that was a bit confusing. It is either part of the Purple Line or else may be part of the Red Line, although I didn’t realize they had started building it.

In any case, I’m excited to see that some significant signs of progress are being made in extending the mass transit infrastructure here in Bangkok. It may take a few more years of pain, but the results should be well worth it. All we need to do now is to integrate the buses routes into the rail system and we’ll really have something going!

Food in Bangkok: Goose at Chua Kim Haeng

Posted on 3 March 2011 by christao408

The final day we were showing our Singaporean guests around, we decided to pile into taxis and travel halfway across the city for some famous Chinese five-spice goose from Chua Kim Haeng restaurant.

This restaurant has been around for decades with two adjacent dining rooms on Pattanakan Road, which is what Petchaburi Road turns into as it heads east of Ramkhamhaeng. They have recently opened another branch.

Jasmine rice.

Gaeng joot gradook muu – Slow-cooked clear soup with pork ribs and daikon radish.

Gapow plaa pad haeng – fried fish maw stir fried dry with green onions served with a sweet chili dipping sauce on the side.

The main course: braised goose, known as han paloh. “Paloh” refers to the cooking a dish with Chinese five spice, but this is a general term in Thai. Each restaurant has its own specific recipe for what those spices are and in what combination.

Chua Kim Haeng is famous especially for its dipping sauce, a combination of vinegar, garlic, and yellow chili instead of the usual green or red chilies. The sauce has a flavor almost of pickling spice and contrasts well with the rich flesh of the goose.

Goose innards. Can you name the parts? Liver, heart, gizzard… yummy!

The Singaporeans loved it. Of course, this is a Chinese style restaurant so they must of felt right at home. In fact, one of our friends ran into someone he knows, another Singaporean who was traveling with his family, sitting at the table next to ours. Small culinary world, isn’t it?

Curbing Our Walking Space

Posted on 26 February 2011 by christao408

After writing about some potentially good news for pedestrians in Bangkok, I have to strive for some karmic balance by writing about something else what is currently underway that is impinging on the foot-friendliness of a soi in my neighborhood.

“Soi” is a word in Thai that is often translated into English as “alley”. It means a smaller street, often not connecting, that branches off a major road. The neighborhood I live in is in the midst of a veritable maze of sois, some of which have footpaths (sidewalks) and others of which don’t. One main soi on which I regularly have to walk has undergone some road construction this past week that ended up with a pedestrian unfriendly result.

This particular soi is called Thong Lor Soi 9, indicating it is the ninth soi off a larger street called Thong Lor – which is itself a soi of Sukhumvit Road, Sukhumvit Soi 55, to be precise. (Confused yet?) Soi 9 parallels a small khlong (canal) that is really more of a drainage ditch with some stagnant water in it. There isn’t much space and when you walk along it you have to be careful of passing traffic. Thankfully, though, there is a wide dirt shoulder that you can step onto if you become concerned about the passing vehicles.

Two weeks ago when I saw workers shoveling gravel along the khlong side of the soi, I was optimistic that perhaps they would widen it just a bit, making a little more room for the many pedestrians who walk this soi from the residential area to the main street where all the shops and markets are.

Unfortunately, the plan was not to widen the street but instead to add a curb along the side of the existing street. Not that I’ve seen it happen, but perhaps they are suddenly concerned about vehicles ending up in the ditch like some pilot of a South African 737. Or, more likely, they are trying to channel rain water into the storm drains (concrete rectangles with metal grates in them in the picture below) instead of into the khlong.

The net effect for pedestrians is that now you really have to walk in the street. An easy step off the street now involves stepping over a curb and onto uneven ground, increasing the risk of tripping or ending up on your butt in the khlong.

From a pedestrian perspective, the best solution would probably be to install a wide pipe in place of the khlong and pave over that area with a wide footpath. They did this on part of Sukhumvit Soi 38 (above) and it is beautiful. Yes, there isn’t as much greenery although that could be addressed in several different ways. But you do have one of the widest, smoothest footpaths in the city, complete with ample curb cuts.

I’m curious to see whether Thong Lo Soi 9 ever receives similar treatment. For now, I’ll just have to be that much more careful when walking along the soi.

50km of Skywalks to be Built in Bangkok

Posted on 24 February 2011 by christao408

Bangkok has a unique street-level culture. Footpaths overflow with food vendors, hawkers, beggars, and motorbikes. Sometimes there is even room for pedestrians. This sidewalk chaos is simultaneously the charm of the city and the bane of its residents’ efforts to get from place to place. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has announced big plans to move the pedestrians above the crowd onto a 50-km network of skywalks.

In the future, it seems we will all be computer animated!

Dubbed the “Super Skywalk”, this network would connect existing Skytrain stations with nearby businesses, much in the way the Ratchaprasong shopping district is connected to both the Chidlom and Siam stations. Ambitious in scope, the skywalks would not only follow all existing Skytrain lines, they would also trace new paths above busy streets like Thong Lo, Asoke, Ramkhamhaeng, and Whithayu (Wireless).

Map from the BMA showing the proposed Super Skywalk network.

The entire network is slated to be complete in four years, with the first portion, 16 km following the Sukhumvit line from Nana station to Soi Baring (Sukhumvit 107, end of the extension to the line that should open later in 2011), set to open within 18 months. Interestingly, some of the sections such as Thong Lo and Ramkhamhaeng follow routes Bangkok’s governor has proposed for a monorail line. There has been no explanation if those plans are still underway.

The pedestrian bridge built under the Skytrain viaduct, heading east from the Asoke station.

I’ve written previously about various pedestrian bridges being built to connect to Skytrain stations and I’m certainly not the first person to think that a wider network of skywalks would encourage more use of the mass transit systems.

There are many questions to consider, though. Will these new skywalks be kept clear of vendors? Some of the elevated footpaths near Siam Square often look like a repeat of the sidewalks down below, minus the motorbikes. Also, will the skywalks result in diminished business for the vendors along the street or even for regular, fixed businesses? Considering that the governor has also proposed creating designated spaces for the vendors similar to Singapore’s hawker centers, perhaps this is part of a larger plan.

It will be interesting to see if and when this project actually is built, what the effects are. Original article in The Nation newspaper.

Bangkok’s Top 50 Street Food Stalls

Posted on 20 February 2011 by christao408

Food in Bangkok. While my blog covers a wide range of topics, “food in Bangkok” would be a fair summation of one of the major topic areas. About the same time that I started my “Great Eats in Bangkok” video series, covering various types of food that you really must try while you are here, I had the fortune to be introduced to the author of the newly-released book, Bangkok’s Top 50 Street Food Stalls.

Enjoying a pre-dinner drink as I waited for guests at Soul Food Mahanakorn, the owner handed me a copy of this book and asked if I had seen it yet. Thumbing through the well-organized pages, each of which lists another great street food vendor, I expressed my admiration. At which point, Jarrett introduced me to the author, Chawadee Nualkhair, who was dining at the table just behind me.

I know what you are thinking. “If ever there was a book I would have bought Chris for his birthday, this is it.” Right? Of course you would have. No need, now, since I already have a copy. You can get one from local Bangkok bookstores.

It turns out that Khun Chawadee is the person behind the useful foodie website Bangkok Glutton. A Thai who was raised in western Pennsylvania state, she has split her time between the US and Thailand for the last fifteen years. Bangkok’s Top 50 Street Food Stalls grew out of her desire to eat great Thai food when here, combined with the usual apprehension most foreigners have when approaching Thai street food. We’re unsure what the food is, what the specialties are, how to order them, and how to eat them once they are served.

Khun Chawadee’s book does an excellent job of laying all that out in the picture-rich pages. There’s even an explanation of the seating arrangements, what condiments and utensils are on the table, and whether or not there are restrooms at the shop. Talk about handy information!

After a few email exchanges, Khun Chawadee invited me to join her for lunch at a Muslim restaurant in Banglamphu, the shady older area of the city located between the Chao Phraya River and backpacker headquarters Khao San Road.

After I arrived at our designated meeting spot more than a half-hour late (note: river taxis are not as fast as you might think), Khun Chawadee led me on a brisk walk down Phra Athit Road, around a few corners, and down the street. Our destination:Aicha Rot Dii (“Aicha Good Taste”) Restaurant, a literal hole-in-the-wall that many people would pass by, not realizing what good eats are inside.

From the street side of things, all you see is a narrow walkway passing a food vendor. But if you walk in, you pass a long row of prepared food that opens into an interior courtyard, clean and relatively well ventilated. The menu is Thai Muslim, meaning mostly southern Thai style food. Much of the influence comes from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India and beef is the meat of choice.

Our meal included an oxtail soup that was wonderfully gelatinous. Unlike western-style oxtail soups, which are often tomato-based and very hearty, this soup had a clear broth with fried shallots and herbs and was very light but full of flavor.

We tried a noodle dish called guaytiaw gaeng nua, a curried beef noodle soup. The noodles are hidden under this spicy curry broth but the beef was very tender. The curry was very nice, too.

We tried two rice dishes, khao mok gai and khao mok nua. The name “khao mok” implies “buried under a mountain of rice”, so the dishes are chicken and beef, respectively, served with a heaping portion of a biryani-style rice. Of the two, I thought the beef was better. The sauce, which at first glance you might fear to be a horrendously spicy chili sauce, is actually made with cilantro, lime, and sugar and is very sweet and sour. The rice itself was a little disappointing, lacking in flavor compared to other khao mok dishes I’ve had. The beef, though, was very tender and flavorful.

P1090940

The seating place is friendly to foreigners with large pictures of all the dishes on the wall with their names in both English and Thai. You can pretty much just point and eat. Beverages run the range of sodas, waters, and some Thai juices. Be sure to bring your own napkins.

This was a pleasant discovery. More pleasant was the opportunity to meet Khun Chawadee and learn a bit more about what drives her passion for Thai food. Find out more about the book at Chawadee’s blog. She’s also on Twitter as @bangkokglutton.

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

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