Random Clouds

29 Nov 2018 Joan came from Singapore for a visit and brought her to the cultural street in JB city. My sister told me the nyonya kuih on the cultural street is a must try! The stall has actually moved to the next street. The auntie owner is very friendly and pleasant. Now she has her own shop. Besides selling her handmade nyonya kuih , the shop also sells freshly baked sponge cakes and banana cakes. The sponge cake tastes very similar to the famous Japanese cheese sponge cake! It's moist and super soft! A must try too! What I like most about these nyonya kuihs is that not only are they fragrant, they are also not too sweet! This is the famous clay oven bakery. However, personally I feel that it's just a hype. Their buns are dry and their banana cakes oily. Customers would have to form a line entering the claustrophobic shop, quickly select what they want, pay up, and exit—all done in a single line, mechanically. The staff are impersonal with "just pay up an

Not being able to eat chili and too much sweet stuff, I'm probably missing out a lot in Bangkok. Nonetheless, I've tasted some good flavors during this trip and I'm contented 😊 Sugar floss rolled in savory wrap. A snack in Ayuthaya. Phat thai at Soi Rambuttri. A combination of sweet, sour, and salty. Seldom eat raw bean sprouts but these go really well with the rice noddles. Ishigama sourdough bread. Super soft and doesn't really have the fragrance of sourdough. It probably contains just a tiny bit of sourdough. Non-spicy tomyam noodle soup at Emquartier food court. Only a faint taste of tomyam and super salty. Noodles in yong taufu soup at Emquartier food court. Smells of fermented beans; tastes like the yong taufu sauce in Malaysia. Coconut ice cream at Emquartier food court. Beneath the ice cream is glutinous rice. Toppings include fried lentils, palm fruits, coconut flesh, and melon cubes. Phat thai and stir-fried kailan in

14 Nov 2018 We walked past the Bangkok Art & Culture Center the other day, located in the prosperous shopping district, right next to the National Stadium skytrain station, and opposite MBK. Nat told me that the city governor had wanted to revamped this 9-level building and turned it into another shopping center for more lucrative profits. However, the public wanted to keep the building as it was, fully dedicated to arts. I decided to visit it the day before I left Bangkok. Definitely worth the trip. Inside the spacious building, there are auditoriums for performing arts, exhibition halls, and very few bookshops, arts & craft shops, and cafes. It is rare to see such a non-commercialized place within the vicinity of Siam Paragon. It’s not difficult to tell that the building hardly generates any commercial profits. Rather, it depends on funds from specific corporations for its operational expenses. I’m grateful to the members of the public who insisted on keeping thi

13 Nov 2018 Destination of the day: Sampeng Market. It's a wholesale market right next to Yaowarat Road, aka Chinatown. The market sprawls across a labyrinth of lanes and alleys, selling dried foods, bags, kitchen wares, knick-knacks, toys, etc. Due to the small alleys, the wholesalers depend on kulis to deliver their goods using those vertical trolleys. Nat told me not to be surprised if I heard someone yelling " fai mai " ("on fire!") or " mid " ("knife!"). That would be the kuli trying to get through the narrow alleys. "Make way" no longer gets people's attention 😆 Kuli delivering goods. Toys! Street foods. Smiling lady and sweet snacks. Fried glutinous sweet cakes on top of a mountain of sugar, crushed peanuts and sesame. Glutinous rice with side dishes. Wan Gao , literally means bowl cake, made of glutinous flour. Some sort of sweet snacks made of flour, eaten with shre

12 Nov 2018 Since Nat had a car, she offered to drive us to Vimanmek mansion, a former royal villa made of teak wood. We followed Google map and when we were within the vicinity, the app kept directing us to a construction enclosure. After driving around in circles a few times, we stopped the car and asked a roadside police guard. He looked at us innocently and replied politely, "Madam, Vimanmek mansion has been closed for renovation for a long time." Nat and I had a good laugh! So we decided to go to the old town area of Bangkok for a walk. A pastry shop with 50 years history. A crispy toast shop that's simply called "Delicious." Nat's old university. Next to the university's canteen are the remains of the Grand Palace's outer wall. It's called Wang Na Wall. Stacks of medicated oil and balms. Thanon Khaosan or Khaosan Road is not what I remember from 10 years ago. The road has been wide