Raan Jay Fai and the Grand Palace in Bangkok

Today there are two items on our list of things to do in Bangkok. The first is to eat at a Raan Jay Fai and to visit the Grand Palace.

Raan Jay Fai

Raan Jay Fai is a famous Bangkok street side restaurant. It’s one of only a few “street side” type restaurants that have been awarded a Michelin star. So we are excited to give it a try. One of the nuances though, is it’s incredibly busy. They do not take reservations, so in order to secure a spot for the 2 PM opening. You need to line up at 9 AM to put your name down. So our first stop in the morning is to train to the restaurant and wait. We arrive at nine and see that a line has already started to form. We get in line and end up waiting for about thirty to forty-five minutes until the gate opens and we sign up and get our number. I’m sure Gimpy will correct me here but I think we ended up with number 7!

After securing our spot, we make our way back towards the subway. However, before we get there we stroll past this Chinese Steamed Bun store! Seeing as we’ve done nothing but wait, getting some breakfast seems fitting!  We all order some buns and dim sum. I can’t really complain, the food really hit the spot! Nothing extraordinary, nothing disappointing, just good tasty food in the morning!

The Royal Grand Palace

Our next stop is Bangkok’s Royal Grand Palace. Almost all of the research I did prior to visiting Bangkok, lists this as one of the top attractions to visit, so visit we will! If first impressions are any indication, then even the Palace Subway station is going to be an indicator of what’s to come.

In fact, the walk from the Subway station to the main entrance is a bit of a treat. Seeing the elaborateness of the walls around the complex and some of the neighbouring buildings gives a glimpse into the prestige this palace holds.

Eventually we make our way to the entrance. My first “shock” is that I’m asked to put on long pants in order to enter the palace. This is actually a first for me because in most places (like the Vatican or the Grand Mosque) I’ve been able to get away with shorts that cover my knees. Thankfully, I did come prepared and threw some pants on top of the shorts I was wearing.

Emerald Buddha Temple

After changing, and getting our tickets, our first stop is the Emerald Buddha Temple. This is a temple complex that is dedicated to a Buddha statue made out of green stone. (I’m not actually sure if its actually emerald.) The complex itself is actually quite pretty. Everything is covered in gold (not sure if its real) and really reinforces the prestige of the complex. Unfortunately, the temple itself restricts anyone from taking photos so I’m not able to get a photo of the actual statue. However a quick google search returns a pretty good photo.

While everything about the complex itself is nice to look at, the crowds really take away from my enjoyment of it. It’s simply WAY TOO crowded in that complex. Add to it the heat of a typical Bangkok day and you have a very sweaty, cramped and not so fun exploration. After taking our initial walk through the complex, all three of us were eager to get out.

The Grand Palace

Escaping the crowds of the temple complex, the area opens up a little around the Grand Palace. There is some greenery and a beautiful building with ornate golden accents all over it. This is the Royal Grand Palace and used to be the home of the Thai king. While the king no longer resides here, it is still used for many official events and ceremonies. After spending some time exploring the palace grounds, we make our way towards the exit of the Palace grounds. As pretty looking as the grounds are, the heat and sun start to takes its toll and we needed some cold refreshments and air con! Thankfully a little café across the street offers just that and we spend a little time there before heading to our next stop.

Wat Pho

Our next stop is Wat Pho, it is considered to be one of Bangkok’s oldest temple complexes . Inside Wat Pho is a temple that houses a “reclining buddha”.  I’m not entirely sure if I had any expectations when it comes to a reclining Buddha. But what I encounter is not anything I could have imagined. The Buddha is huge and it is literally lying on its side! Seeing some of the smaller Buddha statues around the complex or even a prominent one in a smaller temple, I didn’t expect how grand the reclining one is! It’s easily the length of a hockey rink. Even if you don’t subscribe to the belief itself, I think anyone can simply appreciate the statue as is.

After spending a little more time exploring the Wat Pho complex, we make our way back to the subway and head back to Raan Jay Faai. 2PM is fast approaching and we have a spot saved!

Raan Jay Fai

We return to Raan Jay Fai and to our amazement, the sidewalk outside the store is completely packed with people. Because the store isn’t open yet, they don’t let anyone in and the crowd that forms are all the people who have already come early to get their spots in line. We watch as the staff start to prepare the meal service and even get glimpses of Jay Fai herself manning the woks that she is famous for. Eventually the restaurant opens and we feel pretty good about our #7 spot. However, it just so happens that there are only 6 tables in the store and so even with our early start, we end up having to wait for the “second round” before getting our seats.

One of the  interesting things I notice because of this spot’s popularity is when people are unable to get a seat. Throughout our wait, we see people who did not come early to get a spot. They are told there is no chance that they will eat here as all slots are already spoken for. The reactions are interesting to see. I think during our wait we saw anger, disappointment, begging and even an attempt at bribery. To the credit of the restaurant, they handle it all well and keep to their slot reservation system, Kudos for that!

The Food

Soon enough, one of the tables frees up and we are seated and excited for the feast to come! After browsing the menu, we decide on a few dishes and what can I say? It’s all REALLY GOOD! We end up ordering the Crab Meat Omelette (Which is a signature dish!), Stir-fried prawns with basil leaves and chilli, Glass Noodle with Mixed Vegetables and prawns, Wonton soup, and Stir-Fried prawn in yellow curry.

All of it hits the spot! Its super tasty, the ingredients are very fresh and the flavours are out of this world. I would highly recommend this place if you ever find yourself in Bangkok. Just make sure you get there early to reserve a spot. The one thing I will say is that I don’t know if I would come back again. This isn’t because the food isn’t tasty, far from it! But I do think the price is quite steep given that there is probably similar quality(though not as good) food for MUCH cheaper in Bangkok. I also think that the whole reservation system is a bit cumbersome and does tend to take up a fair bit of time and commitment. So given the choice between this and a lesser restaurant that’s cheaper and doesn’t have a wait, I may choose that instead. But for a one time experience: Stellar.

Lazy Evening

After our mid day meal at Jay Fai, we return to our hotel to freshen up and relax a little. I think being out in the heat all day takes a lot out of you so we were all happy to laze around at the hotel for a few hours. Eventually we decide to head out in the night to explore what Bangkok is like at night. We walk around a few night markets, some pushy sales people and some invitations to “shows” I wasn’t too interested in.

After an hour or two of exploring we get hungry again, so we hop into a very “un Thailand” Japanese restaurant for some rice bowls. I think the day’s events really sapped a lot our energy so this ended up being one of the first restaurants that appealed to us so we went for it! While not a very local dish, it did fill us up and ended up being pretty tasty!

After eating we had back to our hotel and hang out a little before turning in. Tomorrow is our last day in Bangkok as all of us will be flying out in the evening.