The Astronomer and I started our second full day in Bangkok with another run around the man-made lake, while Lush indulged in a two-hour long, full-body massage. We headed out of the hostel around noon to explore the Royal Palace, Chinatown, and whatever else floated our boats along the way.

Sukhumvit Soi 11, the alley in which our hostel was located, is packed with food vendors practically all day and night. Even when we weren’t looking to eat, there was always a delight that temptingly caught our eyes.

While walking to the skytrain station, Lush picked up a bag of mussels sautéed with vegetables and chilies (20 baht). The seafood salad was sold pre-portioned and at room temperature. It was a bit too spicy for me, but Lush enjoyed it thoroughly because her palate is cut out for that kind of stuff, whereas mine just burns.

The Astronomer and I kicked off the day with a fried tamarind fish with rice (40 baht), which was sold next to the mussel salad vendor. The fish’s crispy skin absorbed the tamarind sauce like a sponge, while the white flaky flesh was moist and fresh. There was something about the fish’s residual oiliness mixed with the tangy tamarind that was so awesome!

Two skytrains and a water taxi ride later, we arrived in the vicinity of the Royal Palace. The water taxi dropped us off in an extensive outdoor food market. Even though we ate merely a half an hour ago, we were game for more.

Lush grabbed a rum raisin waffle that reminded The Astronomer and I of the wonderful Belgian waffles we used to eat at Bonte in Philadelphia. The crispy and flaky specimen was the first of many more Bangkok waffles to come

The Astronomer spotted a tub full of chicken drumsticks resembling his favorite Chinese-American dish, sesame chicken. He ordered a plate with rice and announced that they met his expectations–the sweet and sticky flavor was classic and unmistakable.

I had a Barry Schwartz moment as I perused the selections on hand at a rice and fixins stall.

After a bit of hemming and hawing, I settled on the Thai braised pork belly with hardboiled eggs (25). The appearance of “Thai Pakow” bore an uncanny resemblance to thit kho, one of my all-time favorite Vietnamese dishes. The pork pieces were smaller than the ones in thit kho, but just as tender. Although I wanted to love it, the dish’s overwhelming sweetness was too much for me. I guess syrupy meats just aren’t my thing.

While the Astronomer ate his chicken and I ate my sweet meat, Lush sipped down a cool glass of Matoom juice (10 baht). Matoom is Thai for bael fruit. It was sorta sweet, sorta sour, and 100% hydrating.

For dessert, Lush and I visited a man with forearms of steel.

He served us up mini-scoops of coconut ice cream topped with lychees, pineapple and corn nibblets (10 baht). Ever since my friend Britta told me about the corn ice cream she sampled while studying abroad in China, I’ve wanted to try the unorthodox combination. The verdict? Not bad at all. I’d buy a quart of cornbread-flavored ice cream with corn nibblet swirls any day.

From the outdoor market, we headed to the Royal Palace, where our eyeballs and skin were seared from the shiny buildings and relentless sun. The sites were beautiful but draining.

After we left the historic site, we meandered toward Chinatown. Not having stuffed our faces for at least three hours, we were ready to eat once again. Our first purchase of the evening was half a kilogram of Man Plums (60 baht). A cross between mangoes and apricots, these little plums were simultaneously sweet and tart. I do love trying new fruits!

Just a few steps away from the Man Plum dealer, we spotted a woman making several varieties of roti using eggs, bananas, sugar and condensed milk.

We opted for the basic roti made with an orange-colored “butter,” condensed milk and sugar (7 baht). The roti were served hot and crispy off the pan and wrapped in butcher paper to absorb the excess grease. The roti’s texture was a cross between naan and chapatti, while the sweet and creamy innards were nothing short of dreamy.

Even though I had a disappointing experience with grilled bananas the day before, I wasn’t ready to give up yet. I knew I was in for a treat when I saw a small crowd huddling around this vendor.

The hot-off-the-grill banana (5 baht) was firm but ripe and served with a caramelized palm sugar sauce that was salty and sweet. The combination was lovely.

As soon as I polished off the hot banana, I purchased a Thai iced tea (13 baht) to wash it all down. Served with crushed ice and a straw in a plastic bag, the tea was creamy and sweet as can be. The tea may have been too sweet for some, but it was just right for me.

Still on the search for a killer plate of Pad Thai, we stopped for dinner at Thip Samai (3/3 Mahachar Road, Phone: 022216280), an eatery specializing in the famous Thai noodles. I arrived at our destination not the least bit hungry, but still in the mood to feast—that can’t be healthy.

We shared one order of the restaurant’s special Pad Thai, which came with giant prawns, cuttlefish and green mangoes (120 baht). Bean sprouts, peanuts, fish sauce, hearts of palm, and limes were served on the side for diners to garnish.

This was perhaps the best Pad Thai I ate in Bangkok, but it wasn’t nearly as good as what I’ve eaten in the states. I wonder if the Pad Thai that I fell in love with is actually an Americanized version…probably.

We also shared a plate of the traditional Pad Thai (25 baht). It was pretty much the same as the special featured above, minus the juicy shrimps, cuttlefish, and mangoes.

As a follow-up to our Pad Thai-fest, The Astronomer ordered a huge bowl of wontons (40 baht) from a vendor nearby. Lush and I both frowned upon eating Chinese food while in Thailand and didn’t partake. The meaty dumplings and savory broth filled up The Astronomer’s bottomless pit for the time being.

As we walked toward the metro station to jet home, we stumbled upon a ginormous nighttime market selling food, electronics and junk. The market spanned at least five city blocks and was frequented mostly by locals. Even though The Astronomer was already full, the squid on a stick (20 baht) looked too irresistible to pass up. The squid was cut up into rings and served in a plastic bag with a chili sauce. It’s texture was Phu Quoc-tender, but the sauce wasn’t up to par.

Liana purchased a pomegranate sweet (20 baht) that was served with crushed ice. Whereas Vietnamese che is sweet and refreshing, I found this Thai rendition quite tasteless.

The Astronomer’s final treat of the day was a rainbow ice cream (10 baht). The flavors advertised included chocolate, orange, pandan, strawberry, and coconut. The ice cream turned out to be cold and sweet, but the flavors were nothing more than food coloring.

We went to bed satisfyingly stuffed.

We arrived in Bangkok on a late Thursday night. After we settled into our tree house/hostel, we walked around the Sukhumvit area looking for midnight snacks.

The Astronomer and Lush shared short-ribs on a stick for 20 Thai baht (1 U.S. dollar = 31.6 Thai baht). It seems like I’m practically the only person on Earth who doesn’t get excited about meats on a stick. It was clear after this evening that they rank alongside ladyboys as the pride of Bangkok.

If there’s one thing that moves me, it’s carbohydrates. Even though it was completely unoriginal to order Pad Thai, I couldn’t help myself. The noodles were made to order by the gentleman above.

This is the first of many plates of Pad Thai to come (30 baht). Peanuts, chilies and fish sauce were served tableside for each diner to season their noodles to taste. The texture of the noodles were good, but the sauce was short on the tamarind and thus lacked the tangy oomph that I love so much about Pad Thai.

After our snacks, we headed back to the hostel to crash.

On our first full day in Bangkok, we headed to the mega-malls along Sukhumvit road. The shopping complexes in Bangkok put King of Prussia (Philadelphia, PA) and South Coast Plaza (Orange County, CA) to shame. I procured two sweet dresses. If this were a fashion blog, I’d totally share. Since it’s not, you’ll just have to settle for what I ate. On our walk to the mall, The Astronomer picked up a pineapple pastry (12 baht). The crust was buttery and flaky and the pineapple preserves were sweetened nicely.

We stumbled upon an outdoor market selling all sorts of food a few meters away from the pastry vendor. We picked up a box of “Chinese Pudding” (40 baht) to share. Our variety pack contained dumplings filled with jam bean and shrimp, bamboo shoots and shrimp, Chinese chives, and taro. The one filled with Chinese chives was bitter-city. The sauce was lacking a certain something, maybe MSG? We were happy to try a new dish, but weren’t crazy about this one. A+ for presentation.

As we circled the market, I spied a lady serving up sticky rice! If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a sucker for sticky rice.

We sat on a stoop just outside the market to dig into our box (25 baht). The rice was topped with shitake mushrooms, ginko nuts, a salted egg yolk, sweet taro paste, chicken and dried shrimp. Talk about everything and the kitchen sink! The combination of sweet and savory ingredients struck me as peculiar at first, but turned out to be decent.

Next, I picked up the most disappointing grilled banana ever (5 baht). It was starchy, dry and didn’t contain a trace of sweetness. I took one bite and gave the rest to a homeless woman. I should have picked up the grilled corn rounds instead.

After some shopping in Central World, we headed to their extensive food court to refuel. I learned from Austin at Real Thai that the food courts in Bangkok are a great way to familiarize oneself with the local fare because English translations are truly very helpful. I was much too full to partake, but luckily The Astronomer had some space left.

He ordered a green curry and red curry with rice (40 baht). The green curry (L) contained plenty of bamboo shoots that I liked, but was way too spicy for me. Mouth. Fire. The red one was milder and reminiscent of Indian curry.

On our walk home from the mall, I spotted one of my favorite Thai treats—Mango with Sticky Rice! Eee!

I’m not sure if its a supply and demand issue, but mangoes with sticky rice in Bangkok are pricey. At 40 baht, the price of this dessert is roughly equivalent to a street entree. The mangoes I had in Bangkok were unbelievably good—sweet, soft and luxurious. The perfectly ripened fruit really makes the whole dessert shine.

Our final snack of the afternoon were some Thai Tacos (2 baht). The exterior was a thin and crispy pancake that tasted like a fortune cookie. The insides consisted of marshmallow cream and shredded vegetable matter. Pumpkin? Squash? Googling “Thai Tacos” did not shed any light on the matter.

After shopping and gorging all day long, The Astronomer and I went on a run at a park in town. Circling the man-made lake was a real treat after months of choking on motorbike exhaust in Saigon. Afterwards, we pounded the pavement once more to eat eat eat. Lush and I picked up a bowl of lemongrass mushroom soup (40 baht) from the vendor above. She, along with the corn and chicken dealer (below), were stationed on Soi 11.

Brimming with a variety of fungi and vegetables, the aromatic hot soup was very pleasant. My favorite were the enoki mushrooms, straw mushrooms and zucchini slices.

Meanwhile, The Astronomer purchased some boiled corn on a cob (10 baht). It tasted just as we suspected—corn-like.

He also picked up a nice looking piece of fried chicken (12 baht). He said it was better than the Colonel’s original recipe. Now, that’s a compliment. South East Asia adores KFC.

Lush’s second course was made from eggs, condensed milk, tomatoes, onions and pork…

The Thai omelet (20 baht) was full of fluffy-eggy glory. This dish was very satisfying, especially with its huge serving of rice. Lush thought the vendor went a little too crazy with the chili sauce on top. Yep, it sure looks that way.

The Astronomer had a bowl of pork noodle soup with fish balls (25 baht) for his third course of the evening. He proclaimed the noodle soup good, but not nearly as tasty as the Vietnamese noodle soups he has enjoyed these past couple of months.

Our final bite of the day were  Imagawa-yaki, also known as Japanese waffles.

We purchased two waffles to share, one made with custard and the other with taro (4 baht). The batter tasted like a cross between Jiffy cornbread and frozen pancakes. The custard-filled one was our favorite.