The problem with getting too comfortable is that we often take things for grants and don't really wish to venture beyond the unknowns.
That's how i feel whenever i am at Bangkok's Chinatown (known as Yaowarat) as i have been there so many times. Want food souvenirs, i would go 合記林真香. Want shopping, sampeng lane is the place. How about bird's nest and shark's fins? Well, it has been Lao Li Shark's Fin Restaurant (海外天) for the past few visits.
I am feeling way more adventurous in my recent trip to Bangkok as i decided to try a new place (recommended by eatingthaifood.com), by the name of Burapa Bird's Nest which is pretty near Hotel Royal Bangkok Chinatown (previously known as White Orchid Hotel).
Decor within the shop; traditionally Chinese with wooden chairs and jars and jars of pricey bird's nest of all grades! Imagine paying S$6,000 for a kilo of dried swallow's saliva; p.s. that's not even the most expensive!
Usually, the service staff would pass me a menu. At Burapa Bird's Nest, the friendly lady just started putting out metal carrier with numbers like 300, 1000 and 2000 and introduced the types of cooked bird's nest they have! And yes, the numbers represent the type and corresponding value and since i am no wealthy man, i made do with the mid range; the 500 baht blood bird's nest.
Complimentary chrysanthemum tea which i thought was a nice gesture! Most of such teas served in Yaowarat are too sweet but this was just nice to quench your thirst in the hot and humid Bangkok weather.
What's this sia?! I normally get just my bowl of bird's nest and nothing else! Aside from the spoon, there were ginkgo nuts and also a portion of sauce which i presume (and it really turned out) to be honey.
All the aforementioned only means one thing; the bird's nest would not be sugar-laden and it's up to you to decide how sweet you want your soup to be! And for those who dislike ginkgo, you can give it a miss too.
Difference between bird's nest here and elsewhere; undiluted with ice with generous strands of bird's nest in every scoop. Mom should have been here as i know how much she would have enjoyed this!
Let's drizzle the honey to enhance the taste as pure bird's nest without any sugar would be bland. A few friends asked what's the point of eating bird's nest then? I have no answer as i simply loved their taste and since i don't have the financial capability to eat them every day; their supposed nutritional effects were not felt.
Added in the ginkgo nuts and it's a complete yet blissful bowl of bird's nest that's an utter enjoyment! I bet you this would be my stopover every time i am in Bangkok!
Poor Alex didn't know how to enjoy the ginkgo nuts so i would do the nuts some justice by taking all of them; additional good stuff for my body and brain anyway.
I seriously didn't have enough and it didn't help that the bowl was rather small. Nevertheless, it was my best experience of bird's nest so far and it's worth every, single cent! Missing it right now....
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Address
63 ซอย Plaeng Nam Rd,
Khwaeng Samphanthawong,
Khet Samphanthawong,
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10100, Thailand
Map
As above
Pricing
Blood Bird's Nest - 500 baht a bowl
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