Jaclyn's Week of Street Food

6-11th June 2016

6th June 2016
Bangkok is amazing. Living here affords me all the eccentricities of SE Asia, while still supplying me with the modern comforts and conveniences of the good ole USA. One thing I have not taken enough advantage of is the street food, thus "Jaclyn's Week of Street Food" was born. After doing some online research I set off on my first street food journey. I was headed to 392/20 Sukhumvit Rd to a stall called Guaythiew Pik Gai Sainampung for a soup noodle dish. I was quite proud of myself because I found the stall relatively easily. However, when I inquired about ordering the woman informed me she was closed. In fact, she closed every day at 3pm. Damn you google for not listing street food stall hours. Ok. No worries. There were two big stalls on my soi; I'd just take a sit and experience one of those this evening. I ran into a co-worker on my way and, feeling quite excited informed him of my plan. 
"Those won't be open" he said. 
"Why wouldn't they be?" I was pretty salty with him for so matter of factly shitting on my dinner plans. 
Clearly an avid streetfoodgoer, he replied with, "Monday is street cleaning day in Bangkok so the number of stalls that are open decreases by 50%." 
"Oh.... Shit."
Sure enough, there weren't any stalls open on my soi. Feeling defeated and hungry, I sulked home, tail between my legs, and made my self breakfast for dinner. 
"Surely tomorrow I will have street food" I told myself.

7th June 2016
Shoutout to my friend Carl who made street food happen for me tonight. He suggested we check out the Train Market at Ratchada. The market is great- it has tons of pop up food and beverage stalls, vendors and live music. We wandered around for maybe 20 minutes before I found a soup noodle dish I wanted to try (mostly because I could order it "mai pet" which means without spice) Immediately after ordering, it started to downpour. The rain was whipping and blowing, the lightning was flashing and the thunder was cracking. It was only a matter of minutes before the power went out. And here I was sitting at a folding table on a plastic stool in the middle of it all just trying to enjoy my noodle soup. Despite the elements, it was delicious. There were pork, eggs, veggies, sausages and noodles floating around in my bowl. To get all that for 60 baht, or $1.70 US, blows my mind. Because dinner was so cheap, we splurged on 1000mL (the equivalent of 6 cans) of Leo for 290 baht, or $8.24 US. This was definitely a win for Jaclyn's Week of Street Food.

8 June 2016
Tonight was an epic fail for street food week. Monday started off slow, but after Tuesday's success I thought I was destined for a turnaround. No such luck. I met up with a friend who'd been in the hospital. He requested Pizza Hut for dinner. Pizza Hut. Can you believe it? Instead of telling vendors "khun chob mai pet" (I like no spice) I was debating deals with the delivery guy and nom-ing on melty processed cheese and greasy crust. 

9 June 2016
I was determined to get back to my street food eating. One of the local hot spots for street food is the food court inside Terminal 21 mall. It combines street food prices with proper tables and AC (no getting rained on in here!) I ordered a pork noodle dish (in thai!) and a ma muang mai wan (mango, without sugar) shake. The noodle dish was emanating a smell so strange I was convinced even the thai people were staring at me. I sat down to have a taste and quickly realized that the only thing I would be enjoying would be the ma muang mai wan shake. No thank you terminal 21. Whatever that strange street food creation was, it certainly was not for me. 

10 June 2016
I was feeling a bit defeated after my street food snafu on Thursday evening. I wasn't going to be sustained on a shake alone, so when my girlfriend messaged me with this tempting offer, I couldn't resist. 
"Hey Jaclyn, I have this amazing bottle of red wine I've been wanting to open. I was thinking of pairing it with cheese, breads, meats and veggies. Wanna join?" 
Sorry street food. Tonight is a no go for you.

11 June 2016
What better way to end the week of street food than to go with an old trusty? Ratchada train market here I come! I ordered the exact same meal, from the exact same stall, from the exact same girl. The only difference? I brought three girlfriends to order with me. Everyone enjoyed their street food, including me. Win, Win, Win for Jaclyn's Week of Street Food :)