Paragon SUPERmarket, Bangkok

Earlier this year, when I flew from Bangladesh to Canada for Uncle Simon's 60th birthday celebration I had to stop overnight in Bangkok. I had a few hours to explore before all the shops closed, so I went to the Paragon/Siam mall where there was a well reputed gourmet supermarket on the bottom floor. Walking through the streets of Bangkok is an experience of itself - there's lots of interesting things to see and vendors selling all sorts of things.
I stayed at a boutique hotel near the Soi Aree light rail station - so it was a quick 5 minute walk to the nearby station to go to Paragon. The mall is conveniently located next to another light rail station - right across the street!



I wandered about the mall - and then dawdled a bit in the gourmet supermarket. After spending the last 3 months in Dhaka, the array of foods available and variety of selection was overwhelming! (One of my favorite things to do whenever I'm somewhere new is to browse their grocery stores - aisle by aisle. I always find it interesting....but I'm weird - you guys know this already I'm sure.) =p





Here's a close up of a vegetable called a "wing-bean". I've had them at a thai restaurant in Sydney and they are so delicious! (I went back and ordered the same dish for a second time a few days later!!)

This spikey pink fruit is called dragonfruit (or pitaya). The inside is sort of light purple grey with black seeds (similar in size and shape to sesame seeds). See the link previous for the wikipedia entry and pictures of the inside of the fruit. There's an entire website dedicated to the dragonfruit as well - http://www.dragonfruit.com.my/.

Because my bags were already so packed - I only bought some mangosteen to eat in the hotel room. I think that I've blogged about mangosteen before, but in case I haven't here's more details. The wikipedia entry has a good picture of the insides of the fruit. It's one of my favorite fruits - the inside is segmented like a tangerine, but there isn't any membrane separating it from the other segments. Every once in a while, you will get a small black oval seed pit, but it's pretty rare. The fruit itself is slippery and tastes a little like lychee, but the flesh is soft and more creamy (similar to a canned pear - but smooth, not grainy). It's difficult to describe the flavor - but it's juice is supposed to be full of antioxidants. Here's more about the fruit horticulturally.

Unfortunately, I spent so much time browsing the mall and the groceries that I didn't get to eat at the amazing food court that was located in the mall! There were all sorts of asian delectables that I could have tried. *sigh*

I ended up eating at the only place left open at 10pm - McDonald's. =( I know - how disappointing, huh?! Anyways - at least I tried something that isn't avalable back in the US! I had a Samurai Pork Burger. It was smothered in terriyaki sauce and overall a bit disappointing, but it was better than nothing I suppose!