Bangkok Fruit Market, Or Tor Kor - Part 1/3

Or Tor Kor Market in Bangkok - well known to the tourists for their extensive choice of fruits, vegetables and foodstuff. One of my favorite "Must Go" places in Bangkok before I leave for home.

Or Tor Kor is probably one of the cleanest wet markets in Bangkok. Be prepared to pay slightly higher prices here compared to other markets. But the quality is definitely worth it. Following the haze situation when I can imagine Singaporeans buying boxes of N95 masks instead of boxes of fresh fruits, I told myself I had to make it to Or Tor Kor Market this time to grab some fruits in season. The market is as usual buzzing with crowd and plenty of stalls to choose from.

Nearer to the entrance are where most of the cooked food stalls are. Thai tidbits, grilled seafood and dried foodstuff all displayed neatly under bright lights.

The seafood is as fresh as one would expect and the fresh water prawns are huge! Each easily 200 grammes. When grilled, they are sweet but a little chewy. Also available are freshly peeled crab meat.

And the start attraction for me is always the fruit stalls. Durian stalls selling everything durian from the fruit to durian paste, durian chips… You name it, they probably have it.

But Thai durians are not as pungent as we like. The Thais prefer it less ripe and a little hard. What we consider as soft durian flesh is unwanted by the Thais. Too soft they say… The texture of the Thai durians are like that of cheese. Slightly harder on the outside but creamy on the inside.

Most of the stalls sell Thai fruits while some sell imported fruits like this one. Spotted were white Rainer cherries from the US, small champagne grapes also from the US and the "seedless" lychees from China. "Seedless" because the seeds are so small it is 98% lychee flesh! More on that on my next post.

And in season are mangosteens too. Grown locally, they are much smaller than those we find in Singapore. But sweet they are! And a great counter-balance to the "heatiness" of durians and mangoes.

When you buy more than your fair share, they pack them into boxes for you as check in luggage. This is service for you. Remember to ask the airline check in counter staff to apply a "Fragile" sticker on the box.

Part 2 coming up when I cover the Mangoes, Lychees and more on the Mangosteens.

Our GTG - Onion Restaurant, Part 2 - The Gang & The Watches

The two themes for the night were Nato straps, coloured bezels and interesting case backs. The idea was for all to at least fit one category but two would be even better! And as usual, some nice pieces present.

The group started trickling in at around 6pm - no surprise who was first at the bar with beer in hand. All were seated by 7.30pm and the traditional table shots of all the gang present.

For once, we caught Peter instead of him catching us!

After the main was served, the traditional table shot of all the watches - the highlight of the evening - the Real main course!

And more milling around and depositing their PRECIOUS!

And when all was down, here's what you get! See some unusual pieces?

Many Rolexes with their colored dials, Seikos too and one very rare black AP RO. Several Nato straps and three interesting case backs - Chopard, Grand Seiko Spring Drive and the IWC Ingenieur.

Some of the Nato straps...

Some of the interesting case back - I was actually expecting one or two more Chopard LUC and waas looking forward to counting the number of bees. But alas, there was only one. But then there was the Limited Edition Hamilton Khaki Navy Pioneer and two IWC Pocket watches!

Then there was the colored bezels. Green sub, Pepsi GMT, Fifty Five Fathom Seiko, All Black AP RO and the Seiko Velatura Automatic Chronograph plus more...

And now for some closer shots of some unusual pieces on show that night… First up - the Black AP RO. Easily my favorite piece of the evening.

A comparison between the new and old Sea Dweller. Look at the difference in size!

And another favorite in our GTG - the IWC Pocket watch.

And of course everyone was angling for the best shots they could get… Thanks to Harry for this shot.

And when the night came to an end for us, we are already speaking about the next GTG, the theme as well as the next venue. Open to suggestions...

Onion Restaurant & Bar is located at 791 Bukit Timah Road. Thanks Dee and the team from Onion for a wonderful night.

Our GTG - Onion Restaurant, Part 1 - The Place

Our second GTG in 2 months - the last one being in April where we bade farewell to Goris of IWC. This time, a smaller group got together for food, great company and of course the watches. The two themes were - Nato straps, coloured bezels and interesting case backs. It is not just about watches but also about finding new places to explore and share good food.

The Onion Restaurant and Bar is located along Bukit Timah Road just before Sixth Avenue. I have been there several times for dinner as well as for Sunday brunch. Dinner was good and so was the Sunday brunch especially if you are one of those who like free flow of sparkling wine on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The Restaurant has two levels - level 1 being the bar, dining area and the open concept kitchen. We had a group of 20 so we were given the upper level where they laid out two rows of tables - 10 each.

The upper level is great for a group gatherings as it gives the privacy we needed. First up was the French Sparkling Wine for all guests and some finger food.

I was slow in taking picture of the finger food - by the time I did, the spring rolls were all gone! Next fastest to go was the seared tuna and the black olive tarts. Also part of the Canapes were Brie de Mealix on Toast and Quail eggs topped with Caviar.

Now the main course - grilled salmon or the Spanish Iberico Pork Chop. The salmon was very well done, slightly over done but still moist enough on the inside. Those who had the salmon liked what they got.

Most of us had the Spanish Iberico Pork Chop served with garlic demi glaze, mashed potatoes and vegetable stew. A nice portion pork chop, well cooked as a piece of pork should be but still moist and tender.

And the wine of the night was the house pour - The Cabernet Sauvignon table wine. Pretty good stuff considering it is table wine quality. But definitely goes well with the nights food.

And to round off the night, we had the KaVaLan Taiwanese Whisky. Fruity on the nose and great value for a single malt. As I understand it, the malt is imported but the water used is local spring water from around the area where they make the whisky. No information on the age of the whisky though.

Sorry I did not post the soup which was the seafood soup in Cava Broth. Too busy mingling I totally forgot about it. I also did not feature the dessert - an ice cream cake. To me, that was too sweet. But overall, it was a good dinner. Service was attentive and definitely better than many establishments I have been to. But most of all, it was great company for the night!

Onion Restaurant & Bar is located at 791 Bukit Timah Road. The next post will be on the gathering, the gang and the watches!