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Khao San Bangkok

Our 6 Day Bangkok Itinerary

Published by Myla Laurel

Visiting Thailand this year was not in our plans until I came across a good deal through Skyscanner. Without any second thoughts we jumped on the opportunity and booked our flights from Dubai to Bangkok for just 1,300 dirhams (350 USD) each with Gulf Air.  Although the trip included an hour stopover at Bahrain, we were not bothered because we love a great deal and the flight and service was amazing!

Our aim was to see as much as we could on our brief trip, so we made sure to plan ahead for our itinerary.  We decided to spend our first 3 days in the old part of Bangkok near Khao San Road and the following 3 in the newer Sukhumvit district.

It was our first time visiting Bangkok so you can only imagine the excitement we had. We couldn’t wait for the mouth-watering street food and cool cafes.

Without further ado, here is our 6 day itinerary:

Day 1

  • Arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport around 9am Thailand time (3 hours ahead of UAE)
  • Bought a sim card with 10 GB data for 7 days called AIS Traveller Sim – 299 baht
  • Discovered Uber doesn’t work in BKK.  Found out that Grab is popular in the city so downloaded and used the app throughout our trip. It costs around 200 baht from airport to our hotel (an hour drive)
  • Arrived at Casa Nithra Hotel – dropped our bags and waited for 1 pm check in time. Greeted with a delicious lemon grass welcome drink (12pm)
  • Went to Snooze Cafe for coffee / 150 baht for 2 coffees (just 2 buildings away from our hotel)
  • Wandered around the area checking out street food vendors
  • Went back to hotel to freshen up (1pm)
  • Had a very cheap and amazing lunch at a cafeteria across the road owned by 3 lovely wifeys / total bill 250 baht including tip (Ordered minced spicy meal with rice) (2pm)
  • Wandered towards Khao San road and had yummy Mango bubble tea / 60 baht (4pm)
  • Walked towards famous pad thai restaurant Thipsamai (6pm) The queue was quite long – we waited for around 30 minutes but it was worth it! 650 baht for 2 pad thai’s and 1 fresh orange juice. Their pad thai has a sweet and tangy taste which is really nice.
  • A trip to Khao San road for people watching; lots of backpackers and hippies / 100 baht for one Chang beer (8pm)
  • Ricky eating local delicacies (bugs!) at Khao San. 10 baht to take pictures (10pm)
  • Went to a local bar called Post Bar to end the night.  They had a great acoustic band and a furry friend. / 100 baht beer (11pm)

Where we stayed – Casa Nithra

A 4 star hotel just 14 minutes walk from Khao San road; the party and backpackers haven.

 

Click right to view photos of Day 1

  • Touch down Bangkok!

Day 2

  • Brekky at Snooze cafe: waffles, bacon and eggs with coffee for 2 / 390 baht (9am)
  • Went to Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market where locals go / coconut juice and iced coffee for 80 baht. We didn’t eat streetfood because we were trying to starve for our big meal at Jay Fai (11am)
  • Took Grab taxi to Chatuchak Market: Over 15,000 stores, bought a shirt, denim jacket and a necklace / 400 baht (1pm)
  • The most exciting part of the day: Jay Fai  – the Michelin starred street food queen in Bangkok. The legendary crab omelette was every bit as good as the hype. Tom Yum with its massive prawns has a wonderful spicy kick and stunning depth of flavour – you just know they’ve used the best ingredients. Drunken noodles packed full of delicious seafood with tender noodles that melts in your mouth. It was worth it! PS it is advisable to book for your visit 092-724-9633 / [email protected] / 2,440 baht (3pm)
  • Bought tickets for BTS metro / 200 baht each with 100 credit
  • Met friends at Nana area in a Kiwi Bar  / 500 baht (6pm)

 

  • The famous chef Supinya Junsuta of Jay Fai - the Michelin starred street food venue in Bangkok

Day 3

  • Grand Palace. One of the most popular tourist destinations in Bangkok. Spectacular architecture with intricate details. Spent 1 hour inside. Recommended to go early since it’s packed with tourists / 500 baht per one ticket entrance / 200 baht for audio (10am)
  • Stopped at a coffee shop for Mango smoothies / 120 baht (12pm)
  • Lunch again at our favourite local cafeteria run by the 3 wifeys / 130 baht  (2pm)
  • Ringside tickets to watch Muay Thai fighting. Recommended to book online / 200 dirhams per ticket / 150 baht for a beer (6pm)
  • Visited China town and had some delicious fish cake and spicy seafood noodles / 300 baht (10pm)

 

Day 4

  • Had English breakfast in a restaurant called “The best English breakfast”; it was not so nice, the beans were watery / 350 baht (9am)
  • Moved to the new part of Bangkok and checked in at Salil hotel Soi 11, Sukhumvit. This area is more modern with high rise buildings. (12pm)
  • Wandered around Central World. Went shopping at Uniqlo. / 300 dirhams (2pm)
  • Madcow Burger for lunch – people online were raving about it. One of the best burgers I’ve tried! / 700 baht (4pm)
  • Had Japanese Lavender and popcorn flavoured beers / 300 baht  (6pm)
  • Followed by a chilled night and a nice bath at the hotel (9pm)

Where we stayed – Salil Hotel Soi 11

 

 

Day 5

  • Early morning hair appointment at Boy Rikyu salon: cut, treatment and colored my hair / 5000 baht (10pm)
  • Visited EmQuarter Mall: Mind blowing massive food court! Had the yummiest takuyaki  / 10 pcs – 150 baht (12pm)
  • Had the best Pearl Milk Tea I’ve tried at foodcourt / 80 baht (1pm)
  • Went home to rest before heading out for drinks (3pm)
  • Visited Rooftop Above Eleven – seated in a corner overlooking Bangkok. We were lucky to get seats as we didn’t book  (6pm)
  • Went to Brewski bar another famous roof top bar just few minutes away from Above Eleven (8pm)
  • Ricky insisted to visit a whisky Japanese bar and met a lovely Japanese owner who’s passionate about whisky (10pm)
  • Whilst tipsy we decided visit a secret Cuban bar near our place where you have to enter through a phone booth. We used Google maps and after walking for 15 minutes we passed by a phone booth. A guy suddenly came out of nowhere and gave us the secret code to enter on the phone. Unfortunately Ricky was too drunk to enter the correct code – after a few minutes the door at the side opened anyway and we entered a dimly lit area with a prohibition style with a DJ playing cool Cuban music. Definitely a highlight of our trip! Havana Social at  Sukhumvit Soi 11, 41/3 Soi Sukhumvit 11, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana (11pm)
  • Fuelled with the munchies we stopped by a Daniel Thaiger burger joint before heading back to the hotel (12pm)

 

 

Day 6

  • Went for morning caffeine fix at Starbucks across the road
  • Paid another visit to Emquarter food court: Ramen and Rice for lunch. We loved this mall!
  • Trip to the famous MBK for shopping – massive mall with endless stalls and stands
  • Went to check out the hip Siam Square area: shopping bags and keds shoes
  • It was our last day and the rain poured so hard.  We were soaked and we loved it!
  • Massage / 350 baht feet massage plus head and back (6pm)
  • Visited a restaurant called Smoking Pug for amazing slow cooked pork brisket! / 700 baht (7pm)
  • Met our friend Max at the cool Iron balls bar and then visited Iron fairies, both created by famous designer Ashley Sutton.  (9pm)

 

  • Local Thai magazine at Starbucks

Tips 

  • Most Thai people doesn’t expect tips but it is always appreciated to give 5-10%
  • The Grab App is popular and a very convenient way to get around the city (like Uber or Careem in Dubai)
  • One of the safest cities I’ve been in but as a rule of thumb when traveling; always be aware of your belongings and cautious of your surroundings

Have you been to Bangkok? Do you know any hidden gems or local favourites? Would love to hear for my next trip! xoxo

Luxury-hotel-Jumeirah

Park Regis Boutique | 21 Grams Balkan Restaurant Jumeirah

Published by Myla Laurel

One of the best things about living in Dubai is all the completely different places you can visit with just a small drive.

Whether it’s the breathtaking dunes in the desert, the relaxing beaches, the bustle of the business districts, the peaceful public parks, or the area like Bastakiya with the inspiring Arabic architecture; there is so much to see and do depending on your mood.

Jumeirah-Boutique-Hotels

This is why I love staycations in Dubai – after a 20 minute drive I feel like I’m staying in another part of the world! Needless to say I was delighted to be invited to spend a Thursday night at the new Park Regis Boutique hotel in Jumeirah.

Park-Regis-Dubai

We arrived early on a Thursday evening to find a beautiful hotel that looked more like an elegant villa with 21 rooms. The rooms are spacious and have a unique nautical theme, with lovely, comfortable furniture and well designed fixtures. We had a balcony view which was perfect for sitting outside to relax after a busy day of working or exploring – depending on your needs! It’s always great to see a Nespresso machine in the room; Ricky is always delighted with this as the taste is so much nicer than instant coffee.

Park-Regist-Boutique

The hotel is well located close to Burj Al Arab (across from Umm Suqeim park) and just a quick stroll away from the beach. Jumeirah is an area that I haven’t explored much, especially this part – so we loved spending an evening wandering around here. The highlight of our stroll was definitely our visit to the famous ‘Bu Qtair‘ seafood restaurant, one of the remaining Dubai foodie institutions that we had yet to try (we loved it and I will have a separate post on it soon).

Joined on to the hotel is the contemporary Balkan themed restaurant 21 Grams. We had our breakfast there and loved the eastern European twist on poached eggs (done with tomato and spicy pepper) as well as our first try of Polenta, which is a corn meal porridge type dish that was infused with delicious flavours. It was my first time to visit a Balkan themed restaurant and I loved the experience. This is definitely a place you could come to get some work done or grab a tasty bite.

Balkan-Bistro-21-Grams

With the Dubai Marathon kicking off on the Friday morning, my weekend was truly an example of those magic times you can have here.

I would thoroughly recommend the hotel to anyone traveling for business or looking for a nice break from the hustle and bustle of every day life. With the location giving so much to see and do nearby, along with the comfortable modern design of the hotel, it’s the perfect place for me.

I must also give my thanks to the wonderful staff in the hotel and restaurant, who were extremely pleasant and very knowledgeable about the surrounding area. Thanks to everyone at Park Regis!

Park-Regis-Boutique-Jumeirah

Park Regis Boutique Hotel

Jumeirah Street, next to Umm Suqeim Park, Umm Suqeim 2 

 +971 4332 2277 

 [email protected]

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Where to find Filipino comfort food in Dubai | Manila Grill Asiana Hotel

Published by Myla Laurel

Having just returned from Philippines for our wedding, Ricky and I were commenting how hard it is to find good Filipino food here in Dubai, especially with pork!  It was a pleasant surprise then that we were invited to try out the Manila Grill; a restaurant serving Filipino food (and yes, pork!) in the Asiana hotel in Al Rigga area.

Although we were a little unsure of what to expect, after looking at the menu we were very excited to get stuck in!

We started off with Sinigang na Hipon which was delicious, and packed full of massive juicy prawns. The soup itself had a lovely coconut flavour with a spicy tang. It reminded us a bit of Tom Yum Soup – which we are huge fans of.

Our first main was the Sisig.  Ricky loves sisg whenever we are out (he says it’s the perfect drinking food!) and this dish was made in the Pampanga style.  I was informed by our very helpful waiter, RJ, that the chef is from the Pampanga region and this was his speciality.  The sisig was amazing, it had more of a creamy texture than I am used to, but I loved the twist on a classic favourite.

Of course once we saw it on the menu we couldn’t resist ordering the Crispy Pata!  This classic Filipino dish of pig’s leg slowly boiled and then fried was just delicious and exactly like I’d have it back home.  It was so tender and crunchy, perfectly mixing with the classic soy/vinegar dip.

Ricky ordered the Bicol Express, which he has always wanted to try as it’s the area in Philippines where my father is from.  The Bicol Express at Manila Grill is delicious, packed full of creamy coconut which contrasted beautifully with the fresh chillies.  It reminded us of a Thai or Indonesian curry and it’s a true testament to the variety of regional food in the Philippines.

To accompany it all we had the seafood fried rice.  This was brilliantly well done, with the eggy rice combining perfectly with shrimp, crab and squid.  You could eat the rice as a meal on it’s own!  But it made a perfect accompaniment to the dishes.

Overall I’m delighted to recommend the Manila Grill for an authentic, fun experience.  If you are planning a special night with your kabayans, I’d definitely recommend a trip there – you can even head upstairs to Boracay Nightclub afterwards to continue your festivities!

PS We  also loved the live music playing during our meal, the upbeat tunes from the band were the perfect way to kick off our weekend.  

To wash down our meal, we had the lemon mint mocktail which was extremely refreshing.  It reminded me of a fresh cuban mojito.  As we were still recovering from our wedding celebrations we had ours without the alcohol!

 

 

 

Manila Grill

Ground Floor, Asiana Hotel، Salahuddin Road, – Dubai

Follow them on Facebook

 

 

Best rolling roast in Dubai

Rolling Roast at Jekyll and Hyde DIFC

Published by Myla Laurel

My first taste of a classic British roast was when I visited UK and Ricky’s mum cooked me one of her signature roast. Ever since I’ve been craving for that wonderful dish with so many flavours. I was delighted when Jekyll and Hyde invited me to try their new Rolling Roast concept.

Jekyll and Hyde is located in Al Fattan currency house in the DIFC area. It is a really smart venue that reminds us of a modern British pub. I was a big fan of the music they played and the smiling faces of all the staff as we arrived. When seated, we were served by the lovely Ryan who suggested that we try their signature cocktail the Jekyll martini with passion fruit and the Mango Daiquiri (this one was buy 1 get 1 as part of happy hour) both of these drinks were lovely. I love the bitter tang of the Jekyll martini and Ricky was a huge fan of the sweet Mango flavours in the daiquiri.

 

Jekyll-Martini

 

After a short wait Ryan arrived with our two roasts. I have chosen the half roasted chicken and Ricky went for Tinderloin Beef (cooked red). These dishes look absolutely amazing and took me right back to that Sunday in the UK many years ago.

After the traditional gravy pouring we were all set to get stuck in to our roast. The amount of flavours on the dish was incredible. From the crispy baked potatoes the smooth and sweet mashed turnip the tangy pickled cabbage, the massive wholesome yorkshire pudding, the cheesy decadent cauliflower  and the tender chicken infused with a beautiful rosemary flavour.

 

beef-roast-jekyll-and-hyde

Jekyll-and-Hyde-Roast

This was really a stunning dish with so much depth of flavour. As I picked up my chicken there was yet another surprise awaiting me. A wonderful golden parsnip. This one took Ricky back to his Christmas dinners of old.

The beef was also beautiful cooked red and covered in gravy. It was such a soft, juicy and tasty and went perfectly with its accompanied horse radish sauce. The portion sizes were very generous (too big for me) but good for Ricky!

If you’re lookig for a trip down memeory lane to those Sunday roast your mother used to cook or if you like or taste a real authentic homely British food I would heartily recommend the Rolling roast at Jekyll and Hyde.

In addition you can up-size your meal (this maybe a great option for two) and you can also include a glass or a bottle of wine for a litte bit more. To close of our meal (although there wasn’t much room left for it we decided to try the home-made ice cream.

sorbet

This was the perfect send off to our meal. The sharp cherry sorbet  and the creamy vanilla and butterscotch ice cream cleansed our pallettes and were the perfect sweet treat to end our meal.

 

Jekyll and Hyde Dubai 

Level M from ground floor lobby lift, Al Fattan Currency House, DIFC, Dubai

Call: +971 (0)43435 518

Instagram – jekyllandhydedubai

Facebook – Jekyll & Hyde 

 

 

Fiesta Filipino at Skye and Walker

Published by Myla Laurel

    

We were feeling adventurous on a Thursday night and decided to take up an invitation from Skye & Walker to try their Filipino Buffet night.

It had been a while since we’d eaten some of my homeland cuisine – were excited for our trip to a new place and we were not disappointed!

Upon arriving at S&W the first thing we noticed was the stunning interior, it is a beautiful modern style restaurant that reminded us of the sort of places you see in Bay Square or Citywalk. We were met by the lovely staff who sat us down and took our drinks orders (fruit juices).

The buffet selection is in line with S&W’s principles of healthy cuisine along with some Filipino classics (especially for the Thursday promotion). We started off by sampling the salads, which were packed full of fresh and tasty ingredients. My favourites were the macaroni salad (a Filipino classic!), whilst Ricky loved the eggplant and tomato salad – which he said reminded him of the Arabic staple baba ghanouj.

After polishing off our salads, we were desperate to try the handmade chicken lumpia shanghai and lechon manok. These were the highlights of our meal, the chicken lumpia was stuffed full of freshly steamed veg and chicken – all contained in that golden crispy shell. It was to die for! The lechon manok was also great, I especially loved the classic Filipino sauces combining with the crispy skin.

There was also a variety of traditional Pinoy hotplate dishes to choose from, highlights included Pancit Palabok (my Mum’s favorite dish!), fried rice, sweet and sour calamari and kare kare. These were all excellently prepared -you could tell the chef was definitely a Filipino!

All evening we had been eyeing up the dessert section and we were not disappointed once we reached it! I loved the sticky rice where we call it Bico in Bisaya and the delicious leche flan. Ricky was delighted to see they had his one true love (apart from me!) tiramisu and some delicious blueberry cheesecake.

If you fancy a break for a tasty treat, drop by Skye and Walker in Diera to be treated to some healthy tasty food and friendly staff all in a beautiful location. Their outdoor area looks great for a winter evening or morning.
Btw if you are an avocado fan (who isnt these days!), they are known for doing some crazy avocado dishes as part of their breakfast menu – this is a must try! Let me know if you go.