People and Places: Nonthaburi

The happy cobbler

Ask Bangkokians where Nonthaburi is and you will most likely get very different answers from different people. Some say it is part of metropolitan Bangkok. Others say it is a separate city and is provincial capital to the province of Nonthaburi, that is the province that lies directly north of Bangkok . Yet others will tell you it is a distant province that is not so easy to get to on your own.

In actual fact Nonthaburi, which is technically a separate province located about 20-km northwest of Bangkok, is contiguous with the sprawl of the Bangkok metropolis.  Its existence dates back 400 years when Ayuthaya was the capital of the kingdom. And according to the latest national census, it is the country's second largest city with a population of 270,000.

Whether it is a province by itself or a part of Bangkok, Nonthaburi is definitely worth a day's trip.

There are many ways to get to the city of Nonthaburi - by road, bus or ferry along the Chao Phrya River. We settled for the last option since this is the most leisurely of the three, the fastest and cheapest. The boat ride costs 13baht per person one way and offers magnificent views of Bangkok from the river.

On arrival at the jetty, immediately to the right, stands the old Provincial Hall built by King Rama IV of the Rattanakosin era. The building is of European architecture decorated with patterned woodwork and the Fine Arts Department has registered it as a historical site. The Provincial Hall has been re-located to Ratchawitthayalai. Catty-corner to the old Provincial Hall is Rim Fang floating restaurant. It is an unpretentious wooden structure with a large section that floats out on the river. This, is the main dining hall. More about the restaurant in my next posting.

Busy Pracharat Road, Nonthaburi

Lynna posing with the City's Watchtower

                                                        

The market is a sea of people and street vendors proferring a very wide range of merchandise and food. You'll see mainly locals here; in fact for the entire afternoon, my wife and I were the only camera-wielding tourists around. Durian stalls are in abundance together with the ubiquitous mangosteen, lychee, and stone apple. This is because Nonthaburi is located in a fertile basin alongside the Chao Phrya river and is perfect for fruit cultivation. The province produces many award-winning durians.

We left at about 5pm but I was told that it really gets maddeningly crowded in the evening when the office workers are out to shop and eat.

Waiting patiently for our city-bound bus

Although there are many interesting sights to visit in Nonthaburi including temples, gardens and fruit orchards, I think its best feature really is its people and lifestyle and of course the sight, colour and smell of its local market.

Street vendors busy  making dumplings

Popular shop selling pig trotters

Pig trotters - so so tempting!

Roadside cobbler

Food For Thought: Sorroongroj Duck Noodle

The shopfront - you can't miss it.

55 years ago, Khun Sia Pairat began operating a duck noodle business in its current shop premises at Nang Loeng Market, after his original Chinatown outlet was razed by fire. 55 years later, the shop still stands albeit with some modern trappings like the addition of air conditioning, and expansion to 2 more shop spaces, one next door and one directly opposite.

Although, in recent years, there have been new players that have set up similar business within the vicinity, Sorroongroj Duck Noodle still held the trump card by being faithful to the old-school family recipe which is a well-kept secret.

The founder concocted the dish himself and all that could be revealed was that as many as 19 different herbs and spices and duck carcasses are used in the preparation of the stock. After 2 gruelling hours of brewing over slow fire, whole ducks are then introduced to the stock for a further hour of braising. This way, the duck gets infused with the aromatic flavour of the herbs and spices. No wonder, the duck was so tasty and succulent.

Braised duck noodle - cooked according to family recipe

M & M - Montkon and Michael

Today, the business is run by the founder's son, Montkon. In an effort to attract more people to declining Nang Loeng market, he has added other popular Thai standards on the menu.  Two of these are the crispy crab rolls and wonton with crabmeat soup.

Crispy crab roll

Wonton soup with crabmeat

Happy with the food.

The crab roll is deep fried until the bean curd crust is crispy. The inside, however, remains crunchy and moist and you actually get to taste pieces of crab meat. Darling wife voted this the best crab roll she has eaten.

Darling wife's soup consists of a generous helping of freshly picked crab meat, plump dumplings filled with prawns and marinated minced pork, and fresh green chye sim. A sprinkling of golden fried shallots and a drizzle of garlic oil was added to enhance the flavour of the soup.

All three dishes including the lemongrass tea that we had were excellent and we were extremely pleased with our meal at Sorroongroj.


Sorroongroj Duck Noodle
Nang Loeng Market
Thanon Nakhorn Sawan
Rattanakosin Island

Ambiance: 8
Service: 8.5
Food: 9.5
Pricing:$
Recommended Dishes: Noodle with duck braised in herbs and spices; wonton and crabmeat soup; crispy crab roll; iced lemongrass tea

People and Places: Bangkok's Nang Loeng Market Part 1

You could very well be strolling down Thanon Nakhorn Sawan without realising that behind the double-storey King Rama V period row-houses, stands one of Bangkok city's most interesting and atmospheric markets. King Chulalongkorn inaugurated it in 1899.

Although it is more than a 100 years old, it does not look it, thanks to a recent makeover which saw the installation of stainless steel tables and chairs in the main eating hall. The cooked food stalls surround this hall while the fresh meat and vegetable stalls fan out from the centre of the market. The market is large covering the entire area of three 'trangs' or back lanes that run off from the main street.

While the centre part of the market looks new, thankfully the Rama V period buildings and wooden family houses that surround the market still retain their old-world charm.

We arrived close to lunch time and the place was already teeming with workers from the surrounding government offices. In fact, several ministers and politicians are known to have their own personal favourites at the market.

You can easily tell whether a stall is good by its crowd. Judging from the huge number of people gathering around Ratana's cooked food stall, we are convinced of its popularity and quality.

Ratana - popular with lunch-time crowd

Ratana - fried fish with crispy Basil leaves

Ratana - Thai-style steamed fish mousse

Ratana - steamed fish with ginger and scallions

At one end of the market stands a decrepit looking 2-storey wooden building. Today, it is used as a warehouse but in its heydays, it was a popular Thai cinema. It opened in 1918 showing silent movie to hordes of people who would pay a fee and then entered the movie hall and selected their own seats on wooden benches. Sala Chaloem Thani had been in service to the people of Rattanakosin for 75 years before it finally closed down in 1993. It now waits to be revived to its old glory.

Sala Chaloem Thani

At the other end of the market is the most celebrated of all of Nang Loeng's food stalls - Sorroongroj, famous for its stewed duck. More in my next posting.

People and Places: Bangkok June 2009

It felt good to visit my second home, Bangkok, after being away for 12 long months.

This time, we were joined by 12 Chinese Group Volunteers from Dover Park Hospice. They were all very easy going and were fantastic as travel mates. It was very much a 'free-and-easy' trip, hence we all got to do what we like such as shopping, eating, spa and massage and, of course, exploring the streets of Bangkok (and getting lost)!

Lynna and friends from DPH posing at Chatuchak Market

On this trip, through a popular hotel booking website, I received a hefty 60% discount for my 7-night stay at Swissotel Nai Lert Park.  This hotel was founded by the notable Mr Nai Lert Sreshthaputra - nature lover, environmentalist, inventor, developer and philanthropist. The hotel occupies the land where Mr Nai Lert used to live in until his demise in 1945. Tucked into one corner of the sprawling compound is the famous 'fertility' shrine built by the hotel's founder. It recently underwent a major re-decoration and I was lucky to have been assigned a room in the new section which adopted a minimalist approach to its design.

Darling wife posing at the entrance to our hotel

I am really glad that on this trip, we discovered some real gems which I shall be adding to my list of 'things to do in Bangkok'.

Take the provincial town of Nonthaburi, for example. It is about 75-minute boat ride out of Bangkok city but once you get there, you won't regret the long journey. Bear in mind though that it is faster by ferry than by bus. On Rattanakosin Island, we found Nang Loeng Market off Thanon Nakhorn Sawan, and explored the cafe culture of Na Phra Lan Road, directly outside the Grand Palace.

Nonthaburi - second largest city in Thailand

Nang Loeng Market - more than a century old.

Na Phra Lan - Food, Beverage, Art and Atmosphere.

At the same time, we had some disappointments like Rioja and Les Nympheas which received good reviews in both the Tatler Magazine and Bangkok Post. Sadly, both did not meet my expectation, even though I did not set them too high.