Dining in Bangkok | Panda King
Covering the Miss Universe 2018 pageant in Bangkok is not only exciting but offers culinary delights as well. Of course the city is known for its food we had no choice but to experience the variety of tastes that Bangkok has to offer.
For this night, we opted to try Chinese food. How will it fare against those prepared outside of China like the Philippines? Since this is near China, we hoped this would much better? or perhaps similar in taste to what we are used to getting in the Philippines? Now we can tell the story.
For our culinary trip with Panda King, we ate what we thought was a basic dinner meal. Fried rice or Yang Chow, some vegetables and breaded shrimps (steamed kangkong and camaron rebosado in comparison).
Serving time, similar to food prepared in the Philippines, food here is prepared as ordered, so expect some time to be served. For the three dishes we got, it almost tested our patience. I cook also so I would know how long it takes for our order to be prepared but since we are in a foreign settings, I leave an allowance for cultural difference. Still, it was a long wait.
Also, you have to rely more on the pictures, as ordering was a struggle as well. Their staff is not versed in English and I can't fault them for this, Thailand is not English versed like us, so there is a barrier in communication somehow. So ordering is more of pointing to the menu. I couldn't ask how long the preparation was for a certain dish so we had no choice but to wait.
After a few minutes, our food was served, finally. As to the serving size, it's well thought of for two people. The fried rice was ample and I had a good fill. The shrimps is always a downer everywhere I go as this is not an inexpensive ingredient. You can count the number of shrimp when its served so no surprise there. We got I think 10 pieces of it. They were generous though with the vegetable or water spinach, so we had no problems there.
Taste wise, how did it fare? The fried rice was fried, so you will get that greasy feeling you get when you order one. There are some ingredients here that feels different with that Im usually getting. Not bad, not great either, all I can say its just in the middle in my taste buds meter. The shrimps was fair as I get the same taste I've gotten with those restaurants back in the Philippines, but, but, but the sauce for this is something new for this writer and I liked it. Dip it man, dip it I said. As to the water spinach, it was nice as well. Vegetables for me rarely excites me. I think of it as healthy eating thing and not all healthy is exciting LOL. Taste wise though, it was just fine, a great compliment though to the shrimps we ordered. Taken all together, dining with a friend, it provides a nice dinner experience.
Now price wise, it won't break the bank though. It won't save you a few Bahts either to be rich either. I lost our receipt for this dinner but I remember we paid roughly less than THB500 or PHP831 including tip. Not your budget meal you can eat daily but factor in the ambience (located in a posh mall), great furniture and strong AC, I think the price is just about right. It's still not fine dining, but the food in terms of servings and price, you will still get your money's worth.
We were tourists in Bangkok covering an international pageant, I think we deserve to splurge a little and experience what the city can offer. A truly culinary trip experience, Bangkok truly does not dissapoint.
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