Bangkok – Thailand Travel Blog Post Part 1

Check out my Bangkok, Thailand travel blog post part one! We decided to go to Thailand for our honeymoon and it was an ideal decision. You really can’t beat the amazing sunny weather, the flavorful cuisine, and the Thai hospitality. Our first stop was in Bangkok and then we escaped to the sunny beach towns of Phuket. I do wish we had time to go to Chiang Mai but that’s for another time.

Thailand is a Buddhist majority country (95% of the population identifies as Buddhist) so I did expect vegetarianism to have more of a prevalence but I was wrong.

Everyone says that you must eat the street food and if you can eat the street food, it is amazing. But it’s certainly not veg-friendly, it was even hard to find pesc-friendly options. I found a lot of street food to be saturated with meat and since I don’t know the language, it made it hard to really know what was in the delicious-looking food. We were able to eat plenty of mango sticky rice, pad thai with shrimp (I eat pescatarian out and they surprisingly didn’t have tofu as an option), and plenty of Thai iced tea and coffee from street vendors.

Since we were limited in our street food and understanding of the Thai language, we did eat at many restaurants and had great experiences at most of them. Check out my recommendations for restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in Bangkok.

Metro on Wireless, Witthayu Neighborhood

After 24 hours of traveling and very little sleep, we wanted to have a chill meal without a lot of effort so we decided to eat at Metro on Wireless, which is one of the restaurants at Hotel Indigo, the hotel we stayed at. Our expectations were low because you know, hotel food isn’t always the best but we were pleasantly surprised! We had an incredible Khao Soi (this time made with crab) and a papaya salad accompanied with an excellent Thai iced tea. Everything was rejuvenating and brought us back to life. I didn’t realize this then but most Khao Soi is made with chicken or beef so finding one made with crab was a win. It was vibrant, spicy, and just what I wanted for my first meal in Thailand being a Khao Soi addict.

Char Rooftop, Witthayu Neighborhood

Bangkok is known for its beautiful rooftop bars with incredible views of the city. Since we were super exhausted still and wanted to keep it relaxed we decided to go to Char since it’s the rooftop of our hotel and the views were lovely. In Bangkok, a lot of gorgeous rooftop bars are at hotels.

They had a vast assortment of cocktails so if you wanted something sweet or smoky, you have options. The drinks tend to be sweeter in Thailand and I like more bitter drinks so I was drawn to a vibrant whiskey cocktail that was smoking when it arrived! They also have decent bites if you need something crunchy with your liquid libations.

 Rise Coffee, Witthayu Neighborhood

After getting a bit more sleep the next day, we were ready to leave our hotel. We started our day with some coffee and matcha from Rise Coffee. It’s monochromatic and industrial with excellent cold brew and matcha! Highly recommend it for some bold coffee to help you get started on your day.

Phloen Chit in Mahatun Plaza, Witthayu Neighborhood

Across the street from Rise, there are a few small, local food spots that look quite appetizing. We decided to stop in the one featuring omelets since we can eat omelets! We had a simple omelet with greens and Thai chilis. It was served with this incredible chili sauce and it was only $2. We weren’t super hungry but I am sure the rest of the food is good if a simple omelet was this good.

Maison Saigon, Witthayu Neighborhood

After walking around Lumphini Park, we developed an appetite and came across this Vietnamese spot with a gorgeous outdoor garden. While the restaurant is not entirely vegan, they have a vegan/vegetarian section of their menu, which was super exciting to see. So we feasted and did not regret it. We of course shared a decadent Vietnamese coffee and then had this incredible tofu dish in a fermented black bean-tomato sauce. The sauce was super flavorful and I had never had anything like it before. We also had a comforting vegetable noodle dish with the same spongy kind of tofu. Not only were we satiated, but it was extremely healthy.

Have You Heard Records at Entertainment Project, Silom Neighborhood

There is an industrial warehouse area near the riverfront but most storefronts were closed as it was during that dull time in between Christmas and New Years. But Have You Heard was open! They have a live DJ/barista playing excellent and interesting electronic music. It’s a pretty intimate spot but they do have some seating where you can order a caffeinated or alcoholic beverage and just listen to the music or watch the accompanying visuals. They also have great record collection and extensive electronic music selection. Definitely a necessary stop in Bangkok!

Simple, Natural Kitchen, Asoke NE Neighborhood

After our lovely massage at Oasis Spa, we were famished – laying around really works up an appetite. So we wandered around and came across this lovely juice spot with vegetarian brunch options. We had a refreshing carrot-ginger juice followed by the best Shakshouka I’ve ever had. There was eggplant and burrata simmered in a perfectly balanced tomato sauce. Their vegetarian eggs benedict was also tasty served with a side of super fresh greens in a light vinaigrette.

North Restaurant, Phrom Phong

It was New Year’s Eve and we were looking for a celebratory dinner. I researched NYE prix-fixe menus and came across North Restaurant. I emailed them asking them if they had pescatarian/vegetarian options and they said they did so we decided to book their 8-course prix-fixe tasting. The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous and the service is excellent – they were very attentive and sweet. However, they were a bit confused about the pescatarian/vegetarian restrictions at first but after we explained it, they got the hang of it.

Everything we had was delightful and unique as it was featuring the cuisine of Lanna with some Western cooking techniques. The portions were beyond tasting and they also slipped some lovely surprises in there. Standouts were the mock duck in a sweet and savory galangal sauce, the prawn curry (out of this world), an assortment of sticky rice, mustard greens, and crispy tofu, and the luscious petit fours.

Stay tuned for my part two blog post on Bangkok and then one on Phuket! Hungry for more adventures? Check them out here.