Artbox Bangkok will be coming to Singapore, woohoo! It will take place at the Bayfront Event Space beside The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands on the 14-16 and 21-23 April 2017 from 3.00pm to 11.00pm. For more information, check out http://artbox.sg/.
I’m really excited about it because Artbox is one of my 2 favourite markets to visit in Bangkok. The other is Talad Rot Fai Srinakarin. I really hope some of my favourite food vendors will be here especially the oyster one. Miss them lots! ?
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Artbox Bangkok, it’s a very popular hipster market and hangout spot in Bangkok where you can shop, eat, drink and enjoy live performances. It is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3pm to midnight.
Most of the vendors are young & trendy entrepreneurs.
Prices may be on the higher side but the products are not like the regular stuffs you can get from Pratunam or Chatuchak market. At Artbox Bangkok, you can find young entrepreneurs showcasing & selling their handcrafted goods, specially-curated or niche products, unique street foods and many more.
We visited Artbox Bangkok before it ended last weekend. As they are coming to Singapore next week, the new date/location for the next Artbox in Bangkok has not been announced yet. You might want to check out their Facebook page for updates so if you’re heading to Bangkok, you can include Artbox into your list of to-dos.
This one that we went to was located at Chatuchak (Kamphaeng Phet MRT, Exit 1).
As an avid foodie, I was more keen to check out the food offerings, lol. There were quite a number of such sit-down eateries where you could order local Thai fare like pad thai, som tam, grilled seafood and more.
The selection of street food was pretty interesting. This was a BBQ stall.
Ordered the Kurobuta Pork (40 baht) that was grilled upon order and then put in a tall paper cup like this.
Looked just like a kebab. The meat was nicely marinated with a delicious BBQ sauce and was really tender. Could taste a lovely smoky flavour too. The pineapple and vegetables were very juicy.
A stall that specialised in fries
Flavours to choose from
We ordered the Fired Fries (80 baht) that was topped with salted egg yolk bits, crispy bacon, dill and chives. Though the salted egg yolk wasn’t strong in flavour, the fries were very fresh, crispy and delicious. No rancid or reused oil taste at all.
Spotted grilled seafood and garlic bread ?
The garlic bread (20 baht) was so good! Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Tasted so buttery with a nice aroma of garlic. Yum.
Grilled salmon belly (50 baht) that was moist and juicy. Loved that green chilli sauce dressing which was so appetising.
Such a creative way to eat jelly
This was the highlight of the night. My only regret was that I didn’t order more of the oysters, lol.
Came in 4 different flavours
Ordered 2 oysters in Thai style (80 baht per piece) that were freshly shucked and came topped with fried shallots, spring onions, dill and a piquant Thai sauce dressing.
Looked really amazing and tasted fantastic as well. The oysters were so plump and juicy and the sauce dressing really balanced up that original briny flavour of the shellfish.
Raw oysters had never tasted this good.
Sunset
The smoke obviously caught our attention.
Two flavours to choose from, chocolate or milk. 79 baht per portion.
The name might be Dragon Candy but this wasn’t a candy or sweet. We picked the Milk flavour which was a milky corn snack with the same crunch and texture like cheezels. Liquid nitrogen was used to create the smoke/dry-ice effect. When you pop a piece into your mouth, you can exhale smoke out of your mouth & nose like Dragon’s Breath, lol. The morsels tasted like ordinary corn snacks (sweet & salty) but it was this fun factor that added brownie points.
For info, Singapore has also caught on with this gimmick in recent months. You can find Dragon’s Breath at some pop-up events. Same concept.
The bright, cheery yellow colour and cute packaging drew us to this stall.
Had to wait for quite some time for the Hokkaido Cheese Toast (69 baht) as it was only made upon order and there was a queue for this. Totally worth the wait though.
Just look at that cheese. When I took a bite of the toast, there were strings of cheese coming out. The bread was very crispy on the outside. Overall, so cheesy and moreish. Loved it.
Ordered a Lychee Soda (60 baht) that came in a jumbo cup – perfect for two to share. Thought it looked pretty cool. Could taste the lychee flavour. Very cold and refreshing and not overly sweet or artificial-tasting.
There was a designated area for eating so you could comfortably sit down and enjoy your food without having to stand around.
Or you could sit on the artificial grass patches too – almost like having a picnic in the open.
And this was the stage where live performances were held. Though most of the singing was done in Thai and we couldn’t understand it, it was the ambience that really made Artbox a really nice chill-out place.
After all that food and drink, we were back to more shopping.
Hope the first Artbox Singapore will turn out as good as Artbox Bangkok. Can’t wait to go.
If you’re visiting Bangkok soon, don’t forget to check out Artbox Bangkok’s Facebook page to find out the date and location of their next pop-up market.
Do not miss this place when you’re in Bangkok!