I went to Bangkok alone. Everyone I knew was busy or already had plans and spending my 2 weeks of vacation doing nothing just seemed like a waste. So when I got a message from my friend Emily saying she was in Bangkok I was really surprised. With our glitch-y wifi throughout the day we managed to make dinner plans and when I got back to my hostel I rushed downstairs, worrying I’d be late, only to find out from the staff that the place we were having dinner was around the corner.
The downfall was that I should have asked them for better directions since my friend sent me taxi directions in Thai and when I went I couldn’t quite figure out which place was where she wanted to meet. Luckily I turned around and saw Emily and her friends sitting outside. The place they picked was Thipsamai considered one of the places to get Pad Thai in Bangkok. I ended up eating there twice.
Closed for lunch and prone to long lines Thipsamai has an eye catching style, seeing as a lot of their cooking is done out on the street. They have indoor seating and outdoor seating and also offer food to go. They open at 5pm and stay open until about 2am.
The first thing I ordered when I had dinner with Emily and her friends was the Superb Pad Thai which has a bit of a twist and is mesmerizing to watch them make. They drop all the pad thai into a pan over high flames and wrap it up like a present in egg. I also got a coconut iced drink and watched fascinated as smoke pulled off it because of the heat.
Now you may (or may not) be wondering, but shouldn’t pad thai be spicy? You can’t handle spice. True. But every where I ate in Bangkok put the spice on the side. Peanuts, chilli pepper flakes, all of these you added yourself, thus spicing it up or keeping it spice free to protect sensitive taste buds. It was delicious.
The second version I got was the vegetarian in the hopes of eating a little bit healthier before heading home.
This one I had finally noticed the peanuts on the side and doused it with them, to the point I change the consistency. It was probably a poor choice but it was still super tasty. I also noticed a ton of people in line buying orange juice and since towards the end of my trip my allergies were going a bit haywire, I figured some orange juice might be a good idea. A healthy change of pace since I’d been downing thai iced tea every chance I got. Note that my vegetarian pad thai took longer to get, most likely because they made it separate from all the food with meat.
The orange juice was nice and cold and full of pulp. I’m not sure if the hype was on par with the orange juice, but it was refreshing. Everything I ate was nice, just if you go try to be there when they open to combat the lines and check with where you’re staying to see if they know whether it’s closed or not. The first day I arrived in Bangkok they happened to be closed.