Now it’s the time of the year when your family and friends like to come and visit you in Bangkok. This amazing city offers the visitors everything you can ask for. One day, a friend of mine, asked me if I would like to join her on a trip to Talat Noi. I had been there once before but didn’t know much about the area. My friend had read about a restaurant called Hong Sieng Kong and she wanted us to try it out for lunch.
Talat Noi is a historic neighbourhood in Bangkok. Located on the periphery of Bangkok’s Chinatown, Talat Noi has been home to various ethnic Chinese communities since soon after the foundation of Bangkok.
We went by car and were dropped of on a small street that was supposed to be close to the restaurant. On our way to Hong Sieng Kong, we passed a very interesting building that caught our eyes, The PhotoHostel & PhotoCafé. We had to take a closer look. The hostel is located in a 200 year old building. We were lucky to find the owner/manager standing on the doorstep and he had us take a look inside and explained about this unique place. The hostel has momentarily 4 guest rooms, but another one is under construction. All rooms have a private bathroom and there is a common room with washing machine and dryer for the guests to use.
In the little photo café, you can enjoy almost any kind of coffee, but also other soft drinks, like milk shakes etc. If you feel a bit hungry, there is a selection of sandwiches and cakes too.
You can also come to the café and sit down to work and if you need to organize a meeting, you can book the old office. This building is often used for film shoots and it is easy to understand why. Why not go for a workshop and combined walking tour? This part of Chinatown is worth a visit.
Not far from the hostel you will find the restaurant Hong Sieng Kong. This huge café was shut down for a while, but opened again June 2nd. This house is 150 years old and the owner has created a Chinese influenced venue for café-hoppers. Here you can enjoy eating and drinking sitting inside or outside next to the busy river Chao Phraya. Inside you will find many 20-50 old decoration objects. Both the hostel and restaurant are easy to reach and if you take the MRT to Hua Lampong and walk only a short distance, you’ll find this great place on soi Wanit 2. Next to the restaurant is the Shrine Chowsuekung.
We had a delicious lunch outside, admiring all the old trees with their huge roots dating many years back and the river.
We were surprised to find a big selection of both beers and wines. The dishes were a kind of combination of Thai and Chinese.
This is a really nice and interesting place to take your friends and family to.
ENJOY!
