Entree Kibbles: SOOK Siam at ICONSIAM Shopping Centre in 2022

I am no stranger to ICONSIAM, and correspondingly, to the fascinating SOOK Siam within Bangkok's biggest shopping center but since it had been more than two years since my last year; it's hard not to take any photos!

Frankly, it wasn't on my itinerary, and the main reason was convenience as we decided to talk a ferry after exploring khao san road and one of the stops happened to be ICONSIAM.

Many shopping malls, to me, are just shopping malls and developers and operators need to work extremely hard to set themselves apart from their competitors. At ICONSIAM, the most unique attribute would be SOOK Siam.

It's an arena that brings you to another world so different from the bright, classy, modern shopping mall setting. Some called it an indoor floating market whereas I like to put it as a traditional Thai night market with comfortable air-conditioning.

To me, despite the water features, the fact that the boats were fixed to a position and can't navigate in the water means it would be a sham to name it as a floating market.

Space was huge and it's nice to check out every nook and cranny! Like this pretty secluded area with earthen pots and brick wall with crosses as design.

Having been to a few night markets in Thailand, notably the traditional one at Krabi Town, I noticed there's always a stage for entertainment, which you can also find at SOOK Siam.

And with the bulbs hung across the main event hall, it did give the nostalgia vibes. If not for the ceiling, I could persuade myself this was an outdoor market in the highlands.

At night markets, food would always be the main draw although I always feel that the stall composition shouldn't be majority food as we all only have one stomach and there's only so much one can stuff into his/her tummy!

As a 'market' that operates throughout the day from 10.00am till 10.00pm and the advantage of being housed in a shopping center thronged by both locals and tourists, there were just too many food stalls! My eyes kept veering left and right and my mind simply couldn't decide what to eat...

Moo ping was an obvious choice and at just 15 baht; much cheaper than what we can get in Singapore, and with an authentic taste! Some moo ping in Singapore had an awful taste.

Freeze dried maggots! 250 baht was expensive, especially when I didn't remember they were tasty. If freeze dried honey bees were available, I would consider.

Fried durian! I should have requested for a sample as they appeared to be no difference from potato chips! Said to be number 1 in rayong, the Thailand province known to be the "second largest durian producer", pricing starts from a wallet friendly pack of 35 baht.

I was captivated by the above and decided to sacrifice my limited stomach space for these little pieces of edible art from Chada Pavilion! Click here for my review.

While there were plenty of branded boutique stores within ICONSIAM, the non-food stalls at SOOK Siam focused on items you can find at night markets. Don't you just love the cute dog / cat imprints?!

Potted plant workshop, in Thai! I was given a pottery workshop voucher for Christmas last year and validity is in 3 months' time! Time to arrange so that I can work my way to be a pottery master!

Soy wax scented candle; supposed to be healthier than normal candles. The above were from del'luna scented and you can check out their instagram here.

Surprisingly, Alex was interested in the coasters! Unlike me, he was hardly a shopper for things, other than gaming accessories. In addition, he isn't a foodie; which means it's hard to get him to try new things!

I think it's some exhibition on sustainable construction.

Explored enough and it's time to leave! As in to leave ICONSIAM; I didn't even bother to check out the rest of the levels since I figured there's either nothing new, or I couldn't afford them. *shrugs*

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