Seafood dinner at Ratchada Night Market

November 1, 2018
The Ratchada Rot Fai night market was at least half hour from Okura Hotel due to some moderate to heavy traffic.

The taxi driver warned us to watch our bags because there are gangsters who slash bags. He said they are from Vietnam and Cambodia, not Thais. With that in mind, we still explored the popular market but doubly aware of the danger that we could lose wallets and money.
We stayed here for two hours but Oyen and I didn’t feel threatened by the so-called gangsters. We just made sure our bags were in front of us and we were always conscious of the people around us.
My confidence was boosted by my observation that the crowd here are working class and tourists. We also didn’t encounter beggars or ambulant vendors.
It’s like going to a tiangge in Manila except that this place is much bigger and there are dozens of bars and restaurants.

Bars line up this section of the market. The area does not look like a red light district. It looks more like a cool place to unwind. I saw expats, young locals, male and female tourists eating and drinking.

Oyen and I sat down at this bar but didn’t drink. We just took photos.

Sorry I’m Gay cocktails bar

Sorry I’m Gay sticker

We come to the restaurant or food section.

I used to like Tom Yum soup but now no more. Every restaurant has a different take. Some are very sour, spicy, some are sweet. I haven’t had the perfect tom yum soup. Some have coconut milk, some mix curry and chili.

Grilled fresh sea bass rubbed in salt is a must try when visiting Bangkok.

I really didn’t expect to find this many people here. Many locals looked like they came from the office and were here to have dinner. Most were in groups although many were also in pairs.

One order of this gigantic pork ribs could be shared by 6 people.

Thailand was able to add value to their mango thru their world famous sticky rice with mango.

mango vendor

Irresistible

This is a traditional Thai dessert which other Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos have adapted.

The ice cold coconut juice was soooo good and refreshing. The coconut water tasted like buko pandan.

For some reason their coconut water is sweeter and parang merong pandan. Ang sarap talaga.

The sweetest and most refreshing coconut water meron pang free orchid.

I could not believe the enormous variety of dishes available here.

Grilled baby back ribs

I never knew that squids have eggs. Ignoramus me.

Fried chicken breast strips

Fried octopus

Seabass, river prawns, clams are ordinary here.

There are many rivers and canals in Thailand where fresh river shrimps or river prawns abound. Ayutthaya province in Thailand is known for the freshest and most delicious river prawns.

The grilled seabass must be eaten immediately after cooking. The meat is sweet and tender.

Thai’s unemployment rate is 3% based on their recent statistics as compared to our country’s 6-7%. That means the number of jobless people in the Philippines is double than in Thailand. I am not sure if the 6 – 7% figure is understated. More employed people means more economic activity. More people can afford to eat seafood and barbeque. Based on my observation, Thai doesn’t seem to have food supply problem.

Exotic section

Fried crickets

According to our tour guide, aside from seafood Thais like chicken and pork. Majority don’t eat beef because of their religion.

Sunny side up quail eggs

We’ve come to the dessert section.

Rice flour with coconut milk

And how is it possible that most Thai people are slim? I swear, I didn’t notice any fat Thai at the Ratchada market.

I hate to say it but in my opinion Thailand’s coconut juice tastes a lot better than ours.

Mushroom is expensive in the Philippines. I don’t see them sold in sidewalks or in night food market. The only places where I find fried oyster mushrooms are in fine dining restaurants.

After surveying and taking photos of all those food, The three of us sat down to have dinner.

We ordered river prawns, one grilled seabass and scallops.

Grilled scallops with cheese.

I paid Baht 685 for our food excluding Oyen’s lemonade.

Ratchadaphisek Rd, Khwaeng Din Daeng,
Khet Din Daeng,
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10400, Thailand
Closes at 1 a.m.
Tel: +66 92 713 5599