Bangkok, Thailand: 11/20

The final day of our honeymoon was spent in Bangkok. After our dinner at Gaggan, we stayed at the Riva Surya hotel right on the Chao Phraya River that runs through the middle of Bangkok. The hotel was nice and conveniently located by all of the touristy stuff we did.

Our day was off to a bit of a rough start because we overslept our meeting time with our guide, but since it was a private tour we were able to just push everything back a little bit. After breakfast at the hotel, we took a super long boat - for just the 4 of us (Jeremy, me, guide, and boat driver) - on a ride around the river and canals. We saw the drastic difference between some of the nice houses and totally decrepit ones, some side by side. We also saw a nice view of some of the city's major buildings and bridges. 

We took the boat to see Wat Arun, or Temple of the Dawn, right on the river and explored there a bit.

We then crossed the river on a ferry to go see Wat Pho, famous for the 46m long reclining buddha covered in gold leaf.

(the green cover up is courtesy of the temple to ensure all guests are dressed appropriately before entering)

We were about to head over to the Grand Palace for our final stop of the day when our tour guide had a minor medical emergency (he was fine, previously broken nose = bloody nose). So, he ended up taking us in a tuk tuk (3-wheel taxi) to the temple and handing us off to a guide that actually worked there. 

At first we were a little concerned about the sudden change in plans, but we ended up spending a few hours with the best tour guide we have ever had. Her name was "Jackie" and she knew every nook and cranny of this place. She was a photographer, so after seeing my camera she told me she had me covered on getting the best photos. She pointed out every ideal photo opp and knew exactly where to stand and how to frame it up to get the best possible shot. Also, she spoke enough languages that she was able to yell at other tourists to get of the way of our pictures. We had such a nice time learning about the history of all of the structures, statues, and buildings and really appreciated the intricate beauty of it all. 

One thing to note is that you must be dressed appropriately to get into the Palace grounds. This means no shorts and covered shoulders. I was able to rent a sarong (you will see in the below pictures) which was ideal since it was SO hot. This way I could wear shorts all day and just cover up my legs for the time I was there.

After our amazing tour, we went back to the hotel for lunch and then made our way to the Bangkok airport for our long journey home!

Bangkok, Thailand: Gaggan Restaurant

As soon as we knew where we were going for our honeymoon, I was researching top restaurants to go to. I found that the #1 restaurant in Asia and #10 in the world, Gaggan, is located in Bangkok. So obviously we had to go. I made a reservation months in advance, and due to a delayed flight, we almost missed it! But have no fear, we made it and enjoyed every second.

This is a 5-star "progressive Indian" restaurant with the stellar service you would expect. The restaurant felt like a house, but did not hold the stuffy atmosphere a lot of top restaurants do. It was actually very laid back, and the food and menu were playful. There are only 2 options for a meal - "Taste of Gaggan" or "Best of Gaggan." 

We went for only the best - 22 courses! The whole experience was very curated and thoughtfully designed with instructions on the order in which to eat what was presented and how to consumer each dish. The chef used molecular gastronomy and scientific techniques for each dish. Superb presentation!

Welcome drink- mango ginger chili

Left: Yogurt explosion - had a membrane around it and it slipped around in the spoon like a yolk; the yogurt exploded in your mouth
Center: Edible nuts - pistachio and wasabi inside a rice paper packet; looked like a dime bag
Right: Chocolate chilly bomb - tamarind chili liquid inside chocolate; "aluminum" was edible

Left: Bond's Martini with Elbulli olive "spheres"
Right: Twist on an Old Fashioned, infused with Cohiba cigar smoke - see video below

Top Left: Bird's nest - like a nested latka
Top Right: Onion pakota - seaweed in a powdery texture
Bottom: Papadam and tomato chutney- rice wafer balls

Top: Keema (lamb) samosa
Bottom Left: CTM burger - chicken green tomato bahn - bun is a rice wafer like air and got stuck on roof of mouth
Bottom Right: Idly sambar - coconut fluffy foamy spicy kick at end

Egg bhurjee - the outside shell was like fondant...

..and inside was whipped egg and cheese with curry spices atop an Indian salsa (if that existed) with a dollop of creme fraiche

Our "mystery" dish arrived under a smoke-filled cover...

...and looked like charcoal with ash snow on top

Can you guess?
(it was sea bass inside wrapped in burnt bamboo, and the "ash" was onion powder)

Magic mushroom - crunchy mushroom log with black truffle throughout the dish. The "soil" was truffle and chili powder and maybe wasabi with a dollop of black truffle cream.

"Fruit Salad"...

..meanwhile a chef came to the table for the red matcha tea ceremony. He mixed dried tomato purée powder with a tomato consomme (tomatoes hang-dried for 24 hours and the juice that comes out of it)...

...after we ate the fruit they added the "soup" to our bowl

Patrani - seabass, coconut, dashi radish, foam

Pig & pickle - the pork was like juicy bacon paired with wasabi and curry sauces and little picked onion rounds that added a nice tang and crunch

Dhokla- coconut ice cream covered in lentil snow. Maybe mimicking a pallet cleanser as it was mid-meal

Who killed the goat? - Lamb with saffron oil on top of Apple chutney with beet sauce. OMG. Best lamb I have ever had. Melting.

I want my curry! 3 dishes arrived stacked up and the waiter came over to unstack them for us, but not before an awkward little skit playing out the "give me my curry" vibe from the dish title.
Giant pieces of blue swimmer crab that were tender and soft, not rubbery at all.

Gajar halwa - black carrot ice team in a carrot cone with pistachio on top

Fall Season - chocolate on chocolate on chocolate

Bombay Cassatta - freeze dried texture

Digestive tamarind leather

Outside view of Gaggan

The happy (and FULL) couple!