The bad weather has kept me house bound for several days. Whenever the grey drab sky and low frequency energy descended into the atmosphere, I began to feel very sleepy and lethargic. The best way to overcome this weird vibes is to head towards the river and look around for some nice treats of Thai sweets and snacks. The oldest Westernised shopping street of Bangkok is Chareonkrung road (known among foreigners as New Road). This road was the equivalent of Old Bond Street in London where the narrow street used to be the center of expensive shops and restaurants. Most foreign companies could be found along Chareonkrung road about a hundred years ago. Nowadays this narrow road becomes a heaven for street food, old Chinese shops and restaurants, including Thai sweet shops. Luckily most of the old shop-houses have not been transformed into high-rise buildings or condominiums. The old generations of residents and their families could continue to live and set up shops to make a living along this historical and charming road.
Some local people told me that the old wet market and some shop-houses at the corner of New Road next to Silom Road used to be where the State Condo is now standing.
But New Road is still the same narrow road with traffic jam during rush-hours. There are small fast food restaurants dotted along both sides of this road. The old Chinese restaurant with roast ducks and dim sum, noodle shops and PadThai stalls can be found further along the tall white condo. But the Robinson mall’ side of this road offers several old shops selling Thai sweets and snacks for the last fifty years as these are family skills and business.
My friends’ shops selling sunglasses and imported frames has to offer special prices as the lack of tourism has hit the business quite hard. Some shop tries to sell very cheap clothes (about 2-3 dollars) to make a living.
This is one of the two Chinese epicure shops selling expensive dried pork, various sauces, oil and other Chinese fermented vegetables which I rarely seen since the time of my grandmother.
I always feel so homely to see many elderly vendors in their eighties in these old shops. I do wonder what would happen to these low-key shops making very little profit in the long run. I could always strike up conversation with these vendors without having to buy anything.
I would cross the road at the crossing next to the bus stop to start walking down the other side of the road hunting for Thai sweets.
I have to walk much slower on this side as there are always so many things to see, from take-home Thai food to sweets. Small grocery stores and a small market could be found behind these shop-houses. Through a narrow lane, you could enter the market where half a dozen hair salons are popular among the poor as a hair cut would cost about 2-4 dollars. Looking at these sweet shops made me forget about the crazy low vibes.
The coconut custard in steamed pumpkin is my favourite Thai sweet, I am impartial about sticky rice and mangoes as we have lots of mangoes in our garden (all organic!) The coconut jelly is also very nice after a few hours in the fridge.
These old sweet shops are very proud of their ancestry that they display a banner with the names of their names and pictures of sweets. This makes it much easier for me to locate my favourite Thai sweets.
This shop is older than seventy years old! The grandparents had been selling sticky rice (cooked with coconut cream) and mangoes plus other traditional Thai sweets since my school days. Long queues would form in front of these shops in the old days. Nowadays people just buy ready packed Thai sweets in supermarket. I would always buy freshly made Thai sweets from friendly vendors.
I had a chat with the daughter of the old vendor; she told me about this old shop and that the shop has just been renovated when the pandemic hit Bangkok. They meant to put up old black and white photos of the shop later on. By the time I got to this shop, they sold out all my favourite sweets!
These are Thai sweets made from rice flour,coconut cream either grilled or baked so they would keep like Western cookies. Most Thai sweets would use coconut sugar or fresh sugar cane. This will give a sweet aroma to sweets. Special Thai sweets made according to royal kitchen tradition would have extra nice fragrance as either the flour or ingredients have to be put inside a big glass jar with burning incense. I have been quite spoiled as I only buy Thai sweets made according to traditional royal kitchen methods.
The above sweets include rice cakes with sesame seeds, sweet tamarinds, durian toffee, coconut toffee, sesame cakes, coconut Thai biscuits and several other things I have not even tried before. These sweets are very fattening and sweet so I don’t normally have them very often. They do make me very happy; a portion costs about one dollar. So, happiness can be bought at a very cheap price for me!
ช่วงนี้อากาศไม่ค่อยดีทำให้ไม่อยากเดินทางออกไปนอกบ้าน ยิ่งถ้าวันไหนมีเมฆมากท้องฟ้าทึมเทา เราก็จะง่วงนอนมากและขี้เกียจด้วย สิ่งที่จะทำให้เรารู้สึกมีความกระตือรือร้นมากขึ้น คือการออกไปเดินเล่นริมแม่น้ำ และการออกไปเดินเล่นหาซื้อขนมไทยอร่อยๆกิน เราก็จะตรงไปถนนเจริญกรุงแถวท่าน้ำสาทร แถวนั้นเป็นแหล่งหาของกินนานาชนิด ตั้งแต่อาหารหลักประจำวันจนถึงของกินเล่นและขนมไทยๆ เราก็จะเดินสำรวจตลาดทั้งสองข้างทาง โชคดีที่ร้านอาหารเก่าแก่ในสมัยก่อนยังหลงเหลืออยู่บ้าง มีร้านเป็ดย่างและขนมจีบโบราณอยู่มานานกว่าห้าสิบปี และร้านขายอาหารจีนพวกของแห้งของหมักเหลืออยู่สองร้าน เราชอบเดินด้านเดียวกับห้างโรบินสันมาก เพราะมีร้านขายขนมไทยเก่าแก่หลายร้าน บางร้านมีอายุกว่าเจ็ดสิบปีแล้ว เรารู้สึกดีมากเวลาเห็นคนโบราณและร้านเก่าๆที่ยังขายของได้ ทำให้เราคิดถึงชีวิตสมัยเด็กๆ ความรู้สึกดีๆกลับมาอีกครั้ง เราชอบคุยกับคนแก่ที่เป็นเจ้าของร้าน เราได้เรียนรู้เรื่องสมัยก่อนโดยที่เราไม่ต้องซื้อของเลย เราไปเดินหาของกินต่อที่ตลาดนัดข้างห้างโรบินสัน
Since the evening market by Robinson mall nearby has already started, I would be luckier at finding some cooked snacks. Most of the vendors have come back after the long lockdown. The side street has become more lively and cheerful. People selling food and snacks with hopeful smiles on their faces. Hungry faces of customers reflected the will and energy to survive and fight for survival. I just hope these people would have the wit and strength to confront the uncertainty of the future. An army marches with its stomach so I should nourish myself accordingly!
I am so lucky to have discovered this area in Bangkok where food and a nice day out at restaurants would still be possible at a low budget. What’s more the vibe and atmosphere of this land is very friendly and warm; local people would gladly talk to strangers and give assistance. I had trouble with my car a few months ago; the engine was overheated. So I had to park my car in a private car park and asked the security guard of the building for help. Local people gave me four bottles of water for the water tank; the security guard kept me company and allowed me to park my car over night.
Last week an old lady from an Eastern European country was begging on the footpath. She had been stranded here since the pandemic so she ran out of money. She told me that people have been very kind to her. I did wonder why the police did not take her to the immigration office. I think it’s the strange quality of Thai cultural roots in Buddhism that could soften even the toughest person’s heart. May all the kindness for which I have received return to those kind people and those in need of unconditional kindness and compassion.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay warm and cheerful.