Chinese Foods Market along Itsaranuphap Alley @ Bangkok Chinatown (Near Wat Mangkon MRT Station) [Thailand]

I have to be frank here; it was mere coincidence that I decided to blog about this market as my primary objective then was to check out the nearby Cathay Fish Maw and this market was along the way.

Maybe due to influences from my mom, I am never resistant to exploring local markets, with maybe the exception of wet markets which can be rather disturbing with the smell of blood, the bloodcurdling screams from chickens and the water splashes from fish stalls. 

This particular market along Itsaranuphap Alley is known as Chinese Foods Market and there was less of the wetness, yet would likely interest foreigners, especially non Asians. For example, the use of salted vegetables in our cuisine! 

There were even traditional snacks for you to buy and indulge as you walk along the street. I can recognize a few of time but due to cultural differences, the ingredients might not be the same. 

You know what attracted me the most? The raw and peeled ginkgo nuts; it's a chore to crack the nuts and then peel the layer of skin. Despite my love for cheng tng, I have to yet to learn the recipe from my mom because I dislike spending time preparing the ginkgo nuts, which is essential for me as I love having them in the dessert.

Crispy pork rinds; although I like pork lards, I didn't have the same affection for pork rinds as the taste wasn't as intense and hence, less palatable.

Costume jewelry I think; rings, brooches etc. 

More food; this was a typical Thai meal where customers would buy bags of cooked food, sometimes just one or two, and then eat with plain rice. You can see mobile carts selling bags of cooked food along the streets in Bangkok too. Even for moo ping, some would just buy two or three sticks, with one extra bag of rice as a meal.

A Chinese supermarket; as in stocked with products from China. 

Be amazed by the tall display of instant noodles! Given the population of China, it's a given that competition is stiff and each brand would want to outshine the other. However, I did notice that their more popular ones are the spicy type which I don't particularly like.

Packets of ginkgo nuts! I was tempted but didn't dare to buy as my mom would be a better judgment. Well, she would decide when we visit Bangkok together in three months' time! 

Iced drinks with herbal classics like bitter tea and those appealing to the younger generation; chocolate. I am not sure if I am reading the price correctly but 20 baht isn't expensive.

Tea leaves! Again, no tea connoisseur here and I am quite happy with those cheap tea bags from OJK that cost like S$7.00 for 50 bags. The only expensive one I am prepared to pay is for Yunnan Pu-Erh tea but those I usually would purchase whenever I visit China.

Dried products that would appeal to my mom. Commonly used in Chinese cuisines, especially for soup and braised dishes, which I am a noob to since I am more a baking person. 

Chinese dumplings; from the 'sample' that was shown, I am guessing this would be the kee zhang, which had a alkaline taste and better eaten with sugar or kaya. 

Raw chicken on ice! I think for non-Asians, they would be wondering how we eat chicken feet. Just visit a dim sum restaurant and ask for phoenix claws. 

Unlike some markets in Southeast Asia, this one was particularly clean! I would have loved for some of the cooked food stalls to have some dining area though.

Some of the ingredients Chinese used have to be soaked in water before you can use them; for example, sea cucumbers, bird nests, mushrooms, fish maw etc. Aside from softening, we believe water can remove impurities. 

I don't take organs and there's one particular organ that I can't stand when it was added; the pig's stomach! One man's meat, another man's poison; my mom loves pig stomach. 

Not sure what's this; seemed like meat wrapped with glutinous rice.

Wait, isn't that quite similar to Chinese dumplings then?

Trays of Teochew delicacies; in Hokkien, we called this png kueh but they are usually in pink right here in Singapore. I think the red and green ones have different fillings. Actually right here in Bangkok Chinatown, the older Thai Chinese can still converse in Teochew, so I can ask with my halting Hokkien-sounding Teochew.

Midway through the market.

Preserved fruits; with all the talk on health risks concerning preserved stuff, I think its popularity has waned over the years. Furthermore, Chinese do offer such stuff during festivals but the younger generation is no longer as traditional.

Dried shrimps and scallops; for my mom, throwing in a few pieces of dried shrimps before she stir-fries vegetables is a given for enhanced aroma and flavor.

Chinese pastries! Thankfully, I am not a snacker and am also mindful of the limitation of my stomach capacity. Furthermore, my travel companion prefer to snack on things like potato chips, pocky biscuits etc.

Another store offering pots of dishes where customers can buy in packs for a meal at home / in the office. Frankly, they didn't look appetizing; healthy, nevertheless.

Family business helmed by different generations.  

Salted vegetables; some of my friends would remember the incredulous story whereby I spent hours trying to locate a store within Chinatown in Bangkok that sells salted vegetables; all because my mom's friend said that stall was the best and the only reference was a picture of the stall. 

Fresh fish; don't understand why some were wrapped in plastic.

Dried cuttlefish; another important ingredient for soup even though it's more for Cantonese cuisine. My mom usually doesn't include it for her soup unless the recipe calls for it.

Another dried produce shop; it's not that uncommon to find it in Singapore too. Given that lunar new year is coming, my mom would likely ask me to accompany her to Bugis area, where there are many such shops around. 

Ginkgo nuts again! Was it a sign for me to buy?

But hygiene wise, not very assuring.

A visual treat for any photographers. That's one main reason why I like visiting markets whenever I am overseas, especially when things are displayed nicely and tidily.

Dried persimmon! You can eat this like a snack (cannot eat too much as the Chinese believes it can result in diarrhea) but it's also super good when you add it to desserts like cheng tng! 

Packets of crab meat; my gosh, this would have been so good when fry with fried rice. Strangely, we don't have such things in Singapore although likely, it would cost a lot more for us since we would have to import it from other countries.

Coming to the end of the market and chancing upon a stall selling Thai durian! I have tried Thai durian before and while I prefer the Malaysian durians, I would always recommend people to give Thai durian a try as it's weirdly similar yet dissimilar. You may refer to my past blog post here. 

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Map

As above.

Click here for my 7 Days 6 Nights Papazao Itinerary to Bangkok