Crazy Shrimp @ JODD Fairs Night Market in Bangkok [Thailand]

Having been away from Bangkok for more than two years, there were plenty of things we missed from Thailand's capital city; one of them was Holy Shrimp from the now-closed Ratchada Train Market!

We couldn't find the same shop at JODD Fairs Night Market, which was said to be a replacement for the train market. However, there was something similar; Crazy Shrimp! I think it's a matter of a time we would find a Devil Shrimp somewhere. 

Pricing was quite reasonable; starting from 259 baht for a small, to 1,189 baht for a XXL! As there were two of us, we shall go for a reasonable portion; the medium. 

Ordering! 

Laid out table, with a pack of tissue and gloves! I hate to wear gloves but there didn't seem to be any nearby sink for me to wash my hands; which can be quite a few trips if my hands were ungloved. 

Mineral water and coke; nowadays, I would go for unsweetened drinks, including plain water. It's obvious that the diabetes advertisements from the Singapore's government are seeing results, at least for me since Alex doesn't give a hoot. 

Interestingly, are the stalls required to sell only JODD Fairs branded drinking water? Imagine if shopping centers in Singapore impose the such rule on all F&B outlets renting from them. 

Our bucket of mixed seafood! 

You have the option to indicate what you want for your bucket and the mixed selection consisted of shrimps, squids, clams, mussels, chicken sausages and corn. There wasn't any options for the spiciness though.

Alex had been craving for this! We do have similar dishes in Singapore but paying for seafood in a bag in the little red dot is an expensive affair; prefer spending the money on other stuff.

Ingredients wise; I can only write that the chicken sausages were not too bad. While the squid was soft, they tasted like the processed kind more suitable for deep frying. Prawns didn't taste fresh and mussels were average.

Sauce was tomato based that had a spicy-sweet tinge. The aforementioned combination should have been good yet it didn't quite appeal to our palate; it just wasn't flavorful enough but I needed it to enhance the other ingredients. 

I have to discuss about the clams. Among the ingredients, clams had the most quantity. There was a reason why I am leaving them for the last! 

A huge percentage of them were clamped shut and extra effort,with risk of breaking the gloaves, had to be taken to eat them. Hence, I decided to target the easier ingredients first. 

Cracked a few; meat was okay but they were sand within! Even though I might not be a proficient cook, I knew enough that these were not cleaned properly. 

Eventually leaving most of them untouched.

I miss Holy Shrimp. 

=====

Location

At JODD Fairs,

Bangkok, Thailand.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Mineral Water - 15 baht

Coke - 20 baht

Mix Seafood (M) - 489 baht

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

2 Bees 100% Milk Ice Cream @ JODD Fair Night Market in Bangkok [Thailand]

One of my friends told me that the ice cream business is lucrative, especially in our climate. Bangkok is said to be hotter than Singapore and it was even more tempting to grab a cone whenever we walked past an outdoor ice cream stall! 

At only 20 baht (about S$0.80), we caved in! 2 Bees was supposed to serve premium soft ice cream made of 100% milk, way higher in quality than the McDonald's soft serve, which cost about the same price back home. 

We were conscious of overeating; hence, a small one would do. Medium cone cost 50% more and instead of normal biscuit cone, you get waffle cone instead. Not that big of a deal to me unless it's as amazing as the thyme-infused house made cones from birds of paradise! 

Perfectly shaped - we had to admit this was pretty worth the 20 baht, even if it were to have the same taste as McDonald's soft serve which has dropped in quality over the years (or maybe our palate has been too pampered).

Taste wise, it was milky enough. Slightly better than McDonald's soft serve, I would have expected it to be creamier though. Alex was quite disappointed as he has great expectations. But I guess you can't really complain for just 20 baht for such a generous serving. 

=====

Location

At JODD Fairs

Bangkok, Thailand.

Menu

As above.

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

Thai Style Fried Bananas @ JODD Fair Night Market in Bangkok [Thailand]

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits and I especially love them when deep fried! In Singapore, digging into a deep fried banana is always a nice conclusion to a meal. 

In this recent visit to Bangkok, I chanced upon a stall at JODD Fairs that sold deep fried bananas. Not all bananas are deep fried the same; even in Singapore, there are differences between the Chinese and Malay. 

The fried banana in Thailand was more the Malay style; albeit with a sweet batter and sprinkled with sesame seeds that added a layer of nutty aroma when you bit through. Anyway, I had to get a pack that cost 50 baht.

Being accustomed to associating yellowish bananas with ripeness, it could be disturbing to see those bunches of green bananas. Whatever the case, maybe they were placed there only as decorations while continuing with their ripening process.

One bag; about 9 slices of fried banana.

Slices, not whole bananas. 

I touched and I already knew this would be a disappointment.

There was no heat, meaning it was deep fried quite a while ago.

Texture was soft, lacking the crisp I have always enjoyed! The taste was actually okay, with a light sweetness from the banana and batter. If only they were served piping hot. 

=====

Location

At JODD Fairs,

Bangkok, Thailand.

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

The Grilled Beef on a Skewer @ JODD Fair Night Market in Bangkok [Thailand]

While exploring JODD Fairs in Bangkok, my eyes can't stop looking at all the mouthwatering food on display! But I only had one stomach and had to carefully select the items that would eventually go into my mouth. 

A delicious scent was picked up by my big nostrils and I turned towards the direction of a man who was grilling skewers of beef! Now, it's beef and I know it can be expensive; stingy me would definitely protest for paying top dollar in a night market.

The notice on the side allayed my fear.

It cost just 25 baht a stick; only about a S$1.00.

I had to get one, especially when it's not the pathetic amount of meat we get from satay in Singapore. These were legit thicker than those chicken skewers we got from Tori-Q! 

It tasted like those beef skewers we would get from izakaya; juicy yet tender with a lightly charred surface that lent a layer of smokiness to the flavor. Wouldn't mind getting more of it but the stomach was gearing for variety, rather than quantity.

=====

Location

At JODD Fairs,

Bangkok, Thailand.

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

Toilet with a View @ Mahanakhon King Power in Bangkok [Thailand]

The first thing many visitors to Mahanakhon King Power would do is to quickly go up and check out Thailand's tallest observation deck at 314 meters above ground, on the rooftop. 

That's what I did and as expected, many heads around; all jostling for a good spot to take that few perfect pictures for upload to the social media. But I found a less crowded area, although it's not 360-degree; the washroom on level 74! 

My objective was nature-based; I needed to pee. And my eyes widened when I pushed open the door; with length windows, the view ahead of me was stunning! Best of all, I was alone.

It was the golden timeframe for the observation deck, when people were trying to capture the sunset. Hence the very much reduced footfall on level 74., even though it was the first level visitors stepped out to from the high-speed elevator. 

If not for the glass, I would literally be one step away from death! Those who have company (I was alone as the rest had already taken the escalator down) could have a picture of them being plastered against the glass window. That would have been so cool. 

As the toilet didn't smell bad, I took the opportunity to loiter a bit longer to soak in the view. Surprisingly, I don't recognize the buildings here even though I had visited Bangkok more than ten times. A search on Google Map revealed that I have never been to this part of Bangkok. There was originally a plan to check out the green patch on the left but my Thai friend got COVID! 

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