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Motormouth From Ipoh

Monday, September 7, 2009

Bangkok Street Food - Grilled Fish @ Pratunam

Third and last (LAST?!!!) day of the 3-Days-Long-Weekend here in Perak. Time flies when you're minding your own business, chomping on some good grubs here and there (delightful Big Tree Foot/Dai Shu Geok's  Fried 'Liew' aka Yong Tau Foo comes to mind, naturally. Just had 10 or so pieces of those absolutely scrumptious stuffed fish paste deep-fried to oily/greasy perfection!), attended a "Thankfully-we-survived the 3 years in service" feast over at Mun Choong Restaurant in Pasir Puteh , Ipoh yesterday night, and mentally preparing myself for the impending doom (aka work+travels+meetings) on the subsequent 4 days. 

And the much-dreaded thought of working during Raya, which to our dismay, might come into fruition after all, and high probability of shattering our dreams of a 4 days long weekend on the week after next. Shucks, BIG time .....

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Grilled Tilapia, rubbed with salt and wheat flour, and served with a side dipping of fiery & tangy dipping sauce

Highly recommended by both Jason and sc, this was without a doubt, one of the top must-try in our itinerary. And the strategic placing of the rows after rows of stalls lining the side of the street between Central World and Platinum Shopping Mall in Pratunam, made it all better, since we're staying somewhere around the area and dining at eateries inside the malls can be a rather taxing affair.

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If you're wondering how to locate these stalls, selling delightful and cheap grilled seafood and meats when for one, you probably can't read Thai, and two, the stalls do not even have any signboards for a start. Don't worry, as this glutton row of Bangkok cheap eats is directly outside of Central World Shopping Centre, coming out from the Isetan exit, walking towards Platinum Shopping Mall, which is directly behind Central World, across the river.

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Our order consisted of a grilled whole fish (tilapia), which was encrusted with sea salt and wheat flour on the outer layer of the skin, then subsequently grilled over charcoal-fuelled fire. The skin is not meant to be eaten (who would, after some serious charring over the grill?!), but the sweet and firm flesh underneath is the glorified loot, to be dipped into the fiery dipping sauce concocted from cili padi (bird eye chillies), lime juice, etc. Though came with a mild earthy tone, typical characteristic of a river fish, we devoured the tilapia like a hungry pack of wolves. All the while sipping/guzzling on some much-needed Coke. (The soft drink, mind you).

The other dishes paled in comparison, with notable exception of the kerabu chicken feet salad, otherwise known as glass chicken feet salad, referring to the translucent, gelatinous layers of skin incorporated into the piquant appetizer. 

The Tom Yum was a meagre affair, lacking in both taste and presentation departments. A little too bland to our liking, as we expected a more robust flavour, given the fact that this is after all, a thorough street food feast. The fried rice was passable, being at the right balance of fluffiness, though a little more ingredients thrown in would be a welcoming touch.

The meal came to 540 baht/RM54 for the four of us, a reasonably-priced feast, and we were eating alongside the locals which were considerably more than the number of tourists/foreigners dining there, which is a good sign in itself.

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Appreciate the remaining hours of the holiday, fellow bloggers/readers .....

For it's almost unheard of in other countries, to be granted with so many public holidays back to back, within the span of a month.

41 comments:

thule a.k.a leo said...

Platinum Mall.. I stumbled upon this place by chance. We were scouting Pratunam area for cheap clothing and ended up here just because it has air-cond :)
wah.. my trip to bangkok was like 3 years ago... now no time to go already!

Reanaclaire said...

yes.. we malaysians.. apa pun boleh!
coming back to the food, why so cheap in bangkok? next time must get more info from here first before embarking to bangkok.. :)

worldwindows said...

I like the snakehead version. The call it 'pla pow'. And looking at the grill I must check for the grilled 'kor moo yang' which is BBQ pork neck.

ai wei said...

i wanna come here! esp the platinum mall, for a great and crazy shopping! can't wait til mid of next year

HairyBerry said...

woooo! lurve that last picture la. so the urbanicity! very cool! and average RM10 for that amount and quality, i think it's a steal...

Big Boys Oven said...

yes food is awesome! truly delicious!

Selba said...

OH my... oh my... you really make me miss Bangkok so much... and what can I say more except I love all your Thai posts!!! :)

email2me said...

Looking at all those food before my dinner is deadly. My stomach growl like a tiger oledi ....

PureGlutton said...

I love shopping Platinum Mall! Hmm..so only the fish is good eh... too bad about the rest of the food.

minchow said...

This brings on unsightly ungraceful DROOLZ!!! I really ought to research the eats in town better before my next trip. Outside of Banglamphu we've not had much luck with street food, and always end up eating in the malls! *shame*

J2Kfm said...

thule aka leo : no time? aiya, wait until your child grows bigger, then go as family trip. :)

reanaclaire : i'm merely getting my information from the others as well. and still contemplating on probably another visit someday ...

worldwindows : yeah, i think they have tilapia, snakehead, and catfish. but ordering was relegated to mere pointing, hence we let them chose for us.

ai wei : you're going then? :) hehhehe ... still a long way lah, faster book somewhere else as in-between?

Nic : that was an impromptu shot, as i've never tried long shutter speed shots. still thinking of getting myself a tripod one of these days.

BBO : you sound like you're missing BKK more than I do ...

Selba : welcome. a little more to come ...

email2me : hehe, grab yourself a SUBWAY then. still in the works?

Pureglutton : yeah, nothing too spectacular. or maybe we ordered wrongly?

550ml jar of faith : hey us too. but this one rather prominent, with people thronging the place like no other.

Little Inbox said...

I love the kerabu chicken feet, very appetizing salad.

fufu said...

wow... i want thai food... >.< wish i could go back to bangkok again :)

Ciki said...

great night shot, j2kfm! submit for contest la..

J2Kfm said...

Little Inbox : yup, and crunchy some more.

fufu : you're on a marathon ma ... after ipoh-malacca, go bangkok lah. :)

cumi n ciki : contest? nolah, far from it. i was only trying out the shutter speed of my camera. didnt even have a nice background.

allie said...

That fish is so similar to the one I had in Siem Reap! I still remember the taste of it, sooo good!

backStreetGluttons said...

We believe modern Malay / nyonya recipes are heavily influenced by Thai cuisine and Thai food is always sweet sour hot exciting and with excellent prices , so a trip to Thailand is 25% food , 25& cheap beer , 15% sights & the balance feminine fun !

foodbin said...

green chillies sauce for the Tilapia-good combination.

sc said...

you know i had it again during this trip and it's not nice anymore. the fish was served luke warm.. so sad. doubt i'll go back again for this.

cariso said...

When I was in BKK, I saw those grilled fish at the hawker stalls, a lot of them, and I was like,"yee....how come like that one, sapu garam until like that one ah?" and oops. I didn't dare to try. :) I should uh?!

jason said...

Missed the dining-by-the-roadside scene. Luckily I'll be going there again next month :p

Jay-P. said...

How about comparing BKK street food to Penang street food quality wise? And is it as diverse as well?
I'm just curious as I've only visited Thailand's BKK old airport to change planes.
Friends however told me that BKK has nice food but not as fine and diverse like in Pg...
JP

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bangrajan said...

There is another place for street food in between saladaeng and ratchadamri bts. can walk from ratchadamri. it serves mainly iisan food and is very cheap. 500 over Baht for 6 pax.

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Micah - Coffee machine said...

I heard that Thai cuisine is really great.Haven't tried them though. But the food on your photos look yummy. They made me hungry..

Lots in Costa Rica said...

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bodymagic said...

Hi J2KFM,

What is the difference between Tomyam Kung & Tomyam?

Thank you for the marvelous food photos..

kwpang said...

oh no i feel really hungry after looking at the he pictures....

Kristen said...

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Proton Inspira Club said...

wow,look so delicious and the price also reasonable..nice..

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HERBA MAHARANI - KEKAL INTIM DAN SIHAT said...

besttttnya makan.. marveloussss..

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Vishal-Coffee Machine said...

Actually i never eat fish..But this bangkok street food made me to change my mind:) Will surely try this:)

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Lago said...

that's one awesome grilled fish that really sets me back in the days when i visited bangkok... really miss it ... if weren't because of the pandemic, i'd be visiting there now ... here at home, i'm just trying to try and make this with my newly bought wok ... hope it works out well lol