My Visit To Asiatique The Riverfront In Bangkok

Posted by : foongpc | Friday, June 28, 2013 | Published in

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Most people go to Bangkok to do just one thing - shop, shop and shop. Although I am not an avid shopper, I do enjoy the experience of shopping in this charming city.

During our second evening in Bangkok, my friend and I visited Asiatique The Riverfront, an upscale night market and trendy shopping area along the Chao Phraya River waterfront. Opened in May 2012, this night bazaar had been getting quite popular, probably filling in the void left by the closure of the famous Suan Lum Night Market in 2011.

To get there, we took the cheapest and easiest route - by boat.

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It's a good thing we stayed at Bangkok Loft Inn as it was very convenient to reach Asiatique from there. We took the BTS to Saphan Taksin Station and walked towards the Chao Phraya River (via Exit 1 or 2). It took just 2 minutes to reach the Sathorn Pier. From there, we walked to the furthest pier and took the free boat shuttle to Asiatique.

Yes, you read that right. The boat to Asiatique is FREE. It leaves every 15 minutes starting from 4.30pm till 11pm. The last boat leaving Asiatique Pier back to Sathorn Pier is at 11.15pm, so do take note of the time if you plan to go there!

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It was a short boat ride - probably about 10 -15 minutes. The good thing is you get to enjoy the river view at night. Definitely better than sitting in a taxi and getting trapped in the notorious Bangkok jam!

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Asiatique is actually a homage to Bangkok's past as a riverside trading post in the early 1900's where the original pier was used as an export centre for Thai teak wood to Denmark. Many of the original buildings here have been retained and refurbished.

Information on the Shuttle Boat service hours at the Asiatique Pier.

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There are 4 sections or districts in Asiatique. The Waterfront District (blue section) closest to the waterfront promenade is mainly filled with international restaurants and wine bars offering a breathtaking panoramic view of river while you dine away.

The Factory District (orange section) contains over 500 fashion boutiques and more F&B outlets in old, refurbished warehouses. You can find souvenirs here like those at Chatuchak Market, but the prices are definitely higher.

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The Town Square District (green section) houses a food court, many retail outlets and outdoor activity and events area.

The Charoenkrung District (yellow section) is the main area for shopping and entertainment as there are over 1,000 retail shops here! Also within this district is the famous Joe Louis Puppet Theatre and the ever popular Calypso Theatre featuring ladyboys cabaret shows.

Below is Baan Khanitha, a Thai restaurant facing the river. It's quite pricey and I think, mainly aimed at tourists.

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There was a giant Ferris Wheel at Asiatique. It was quite an eye catching attraction at night!

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I did not ride this Ferris Wheel because there was quite a long queue for it.

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But I think it would be nice to take the ride as you would get a bird's eye view of Bangkok city from up there!

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The Ferris Wheel is just opposite the Retail Warehouse 5.

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Part of the Ferris Wheel could be seen from inside the warehouse area.

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Entrance into the shopping area.

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Saw some really cute and funny drawings along the wall in an alley.

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Interesting illustration on the ground.

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So many retail shops and boutiques selling everything under the sun! It's like a shopper's paradise.

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Clothes, accessories, souvenirs, toys - all can be found here.

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Even musical instruments!

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Dogs too! LOL!

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Oh, did I mention there's an Apple Store here too? Forgot to take a picture of that!

Anyway, I felt Asiatique is like Chatuchak Market except that it was much more organized, spacious, comfortable and trendy looking. And the prices were of course more expensive. However, without air conditioning here, some may prefer to shop in malls like MBK instead as the prices were quite similar.

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Dining shops and eateries were everywhere! It's impossible to go hungry here!

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A kiosk selling mochi and ice cream.

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A Japanese restaurant

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A pub and restaurant - great place to chill out!

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Clock tower at the Town Square District.

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Retail warehouse 6 and the Calypso Bangkok Theatre featuring ladyboys cabaret shows.

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If you are into shopping and eating, Asiatique is the right place for you. However, bear in mind that the prices here are not exactly friendly to your wallet. MBK and Platinum Mall may be better shopping options for you. Nevertheless, I think it's great for a good night out with friends.

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Nice water fountain!

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One of the things that I really, really enjoy at Asiatique was surprisingly .... the ice cream!

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Billed as Thailand's best fruity ice-cream, it is something like Malaysia's aiskrim potong. There were so many flavors to choose from! I tried the Durian Rice Stick and Yam & Black Sticky Rice flavors. Each costs 20 baht. (RM2 / US$0.65)

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The Durian Rice Stick was amazing! I went back for two more rounds of this ice cream. Yum!!

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My friend and I spent about 2 hours at Asiatique. We could have spent more time if we had gone for the puppet show or the ladyboy cabaret show. Oh well, maybe next time then.

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But one thing's for sure. I will return just for that Durian Rice Stick ice cream! LOL!

Coming Up Next : The 2am Hauntings - The Sequel 

My Father's Day Dinner At Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie

Posted by : foongpc | Monday, June 24, 2013 | Published in

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Yesterday, my family and I celebrated Father's Day at Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie at Tropicana City Mall PJ. It was our first time to this restaurant.

Yes, I know we were celebrating it a little bit late, but we purposely did that to avoid the crowds. It's no fun when you have to compete with so many people for a table, and besides, the food would not be as nicely prepared and cooked.

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Anyway, there will be no pictures of my father or my family members - this will just be all about the food!

Now we all know that Secret Recipe is well known for their cakes so for them to start a vegetarian restaurant was a bit odd to me. Still, no harm in trying it out.

We started off with the appetizers in the form of Veggie Roll (RM9.90 / US$3.08)

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Guess what? I didn't get to try this Veggie Roll as I was too busy taking pictures!! That's the sacrifice one has to make as a blogger sometimes. LOL! But no worries, I will be back to try this.

Anyway, according to my mom, it was pretty average. She much prefers the popiah rolls she buys from the market and they are much cheaper too. Haha!

My father likes rojak a lot so for our second appetizer, we ordered the Fruits Rojak (RM9.90 / US$3.08)

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This was quite delicious. Perfect as an appetizer. I like : )

The third appetizer was the Mushroom Satay (RM9.90 / US$3.08)

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We should have known better than to order this satay! I normally dislike eating vegetables that 'pretend' to be meat. And although it was clearly written 'mushroom' satay in the menu, we still ordered it thinking it was chicken or beef! LOL!

But it was clearly a bad choice. The satay was not delicious at all! The peanut sauce was just OK, nothing to shout about. Definitely will not order this again.

Next, we had the Fried Mushroom Salad (RM9.90 / US$3.08).  This comes under Chef's Recommendation so it should be good.

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My opinion? It was definitely good. The fried mushrooms were so crispy and yummy!! Love it! : )

My brother always love tofu so we ordered a plate of Spicy Thai Style Tofu (RM17.90 / US$5.56)

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This one was super delicious! Yummy!! Highly recommended!

Some of my family members cannot survive without rice so we had to order some fried rice. LOL! We chose the Chef's Recommendation - Beyond Veggie Fried Rice (RM15.90 / US$4.94)

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Unfortunately, the fried rice was just average. I felt it was not even worth the price we paid for.

We also ordered another plate of fried rice - the Special Sambal Petai Fried Rice (RM15.90 / US$4.94)

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Can you see any petai in the picture? I sure as hell can't! LOL! In fact, this Petai Fried Rice looks almost the same as the Beyond Veggie Fried Rice, no?

At that kind of price, can't they give more petai and not chopped them up into tiny bits that we could not even see with our naked eyes? A real disappointment to me!

Next, we ordered the Bak Kut Teh or officially known in the menu as Revitalising Herbal Soup (RM17.90 / US$5.56) - another Chef's Recommendation.

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This dish also came with white rice. I found it a tad too sweet! Not the kind of Bak Kut Teh that I am used to. And of course, it's clearly a wrong choice since this is a vegetarian restaurant. No real pork here!!

Next, my personal favorite dish - Ginger Mee Sua Soup (RM15.90 / US$4.94)

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Not everyone likes the taste of ginger soup, but I love it! With the varieties of vegetables and the mee sua in the soup, this was just perfect for me! Yum!! I do not mind coming back here just for this Ginger Mee Sua Soup!

We also ordered a bowl of Asam Laksa (RM15.90 / US$4.94)

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Of course, there's no real fish inside this Asam Laksa! I did not taste this but my brother said it was OK. Just OK, not awesome.

The restaurant also offers Western fare in the form of pastas and pizzas. Our stomachs were too full for pastas. Maybe next time. We however decided to try their large-size Hawaiian Tropicale pizza (RM25.90 /  US$8.05)

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This pizza was also a Chef's Recommended item. Was it good? Hmm, with no real chicken meat, it was just average to me.

OK, this Tom Yam Soup Noodle was wrongly brought to our table so I just snapped a picture of it. Didn't taste it, but I should have, shouldn't I? Too late now! LOL!

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For drinks, we ordered a pot of hot Lemongrass Fruit Tea (RM16.90 / US$5.25)

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I love this lemongrass fruit tea! Delicious. And it can be refilled....with water. So on our third round refill, the taste of fruit tea was hardly there anymore. More like a very diluted version.

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By the way, there's an ongoing Father's Day promotion at Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie : Dine-in above RM50 and get a whole cake at only RM38! (Normal price RM75)

But hurry! Offer lasts till 30th June 2013.

It was a no brainer. Since our bill came to about RM250, we immediately went to choose our cake. We ended up with a Blueberry Cheese Cake.

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The Blueberry Cheese Cake was super delicious! Yummy!

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But I could only eat one small slice. Eat more and the high cheese content will make me feel sick in the stomach. Haha!!

Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie,
G-37 Gd floor,
Tropicana City Mall,
No 3, Jalan SS20/27,
47400 Petaling Jaya.
Tel : 03 7722 1680