Monday 2 March 2015

Ban Khun Mae - Siam Square



Ban Khun Mae's biggest asset may be the lovely Thai maidens in traditional dress who give solo musical performances on a rotating basis. However their biggest downer is the hordes of noisy Malaysian and Singaporean diners who don't give two hoots about the music , the culture, nor the performer.
They speak Manglish and Singlish at the top of their lungs like they were bartering in Baghdad while their kids run wild like banshees at the playground. 
Of course if the management were to tell them to tone down, they would be so outraged, they would go on tripadvisor and tell the whole world how they've been mistreated .

In contrast, this musician is an absolute trooper, she can still smile for the camera , regardless of the wholesale market around her. 





One probable reason is because she doesn't have to linger on like these workers, at what looks like such a lovely open Thai kitchen counter. It's so loud and horribly noisy, they have even lost the ability to smile. The place looks very cosy but with such a horrendous din, I'd have to pop painkillers and wear earplugs if I worked here night after night after night.




My mango drink arrives amid all the yakkers.
The only way to shut them up is to get a bunch of China tourists in. Now that is the species with bigger lungs. Unfortunately they have all been herded upstairs since Malaysians and Singaporeans will be unable to hear themselves amidst open shouting season and their subsequent complaints , mine likewise, will be enough to make your ears bleed. So there. 



Change of musicians but I don't even know what melody she is strumming. She maintains her composure, gentle demeanour and sweet smile throughout. 
What these diners need is a punk outift. Geez. 



Thankfully our sampler set arrives. Costs 460 baht. There's prawn popiah ( ok only )  , pandan chicken ( bleauck ) , vegies with oyster sauce ( very chinese ) , sweet cashewnuts ( very nice ), green
curry ( divine !) , thai salad ( have tasted better ones ).
This may look like it's not a lot but if you add rice in , it's indeed very filling.



Tomyam. Meh. Just alright. Not bad but not excellent either.
Others might love this but my expectations are much higher   




Mango rice. The white rice is sticky glutinuous rice doused in sweet coconut milk . Delish ! Texture akin to loh mai kai, very fluffy and not too sweet. Mango, I don't like although the sheer size is a winner 



Bill. Not exactly cheap. 



Verdict : Good sampler sets , cosy restaurant
Tip : Bring earplugs or text each other
Location : Siam Square 

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