Unlike at home, malls here can actually be pretty good places to find food. The restaurants can be hit and miss, but the foodcourts--an essential part of every mall in Bangkok--are usually more than decent. Foodcourt food is for the most part void of soul-sucking franchiseism and is generally cleaner and fresher than that found on the streets. The best foodcourt in Bangkok is probably that of MBK, but it's a long trip up six floors of frantic shoppers, so we settled for the glittery new food court at Siam Paragon, where we already happened to be. Paragon's food court is firmly average, and the prices double what you would pay outside, but it's a decent and safe intro to real-ish Thai food for those who would rather not have car exhaust in their noodle soup. There's lots to choose from, especially if you're a fan of noodles, but the dish that caught mom's eye was khao man kai, Haiananese chicken rice:
Khao man kai is boiled chicken:
served over rice that has been cooked with chicken broth and coconut milk. Grandma ordered a regular:
and mom a dish of khao man kai thot, chicken rice with deep-fried chicken:
The dish typically comes with a bowl of chicken broth and a salty/spicy/sour sauce.
After some shopping we stopped for cake and coffee at the Face cafe:
I've previously had the opportunity of interviewing the friendly pastry chef of this restaurant, who is responsible for making some of the best desserts and chocolates in town:
Right now Face is currently running a special: 150 baht for a piece of cake and a coffee. Not dirt cheap, but a great value when one considers the quality of the desserts and the going price of Lavazza coffee elsewhere. I encourage a visit.
Off to the wild north tomorrow. Should be back and posting in about a week.