Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel Blog

Or Tor Kor Market @ Bangkok, Thailand

You know sometimes, the mere thought of walking into a wet market will irk the most conventional of tourists. Imagine the moss-covered walls, damp and humid air trapped within a close vicinity; the stench from live stocks gathered in extremely packed proximity, butchers having the time of their lives with machetes drenched in red liquid, and a hawker centre that caters more to the workers and locals, rather than the unsuspecting walk-in customers without a clue.

That could have been Nang Loeng Market (full story by clicking HERE), oozing with rustic charm and an incomparable environment; coupled with delicious finds possibly unrivalled elsewhere. Certainly not at the commercialized Chatuchak.

 But what if you’re trying to settle for the best of both worlds? Where the locals and foreigners still mingle within arm’s length, and you won’t end up waltzing through the premise and coming out on the other side drenched with sweat and smelling unpleasant?

Everything’s well-spaced out, with good ventilation from the high ceiling, and cooling system in place.

Or Tor Kor Market; within walkable distance from the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market will please you both ways; either you’re a “Tai Tai” (rich lady) born in Thailand, or from another country, you’re bound to find something you fancy here. Read on to see where this place is, and the many shots of the extremely tourist-friendly environment …..

The Lady Butcher in Action. Be afraid.

I was not aware of Or Tor Kor’s existence, until a random Google search around the Internet led me to this market that’s just across the street from Chatuchak. And to think that I’ve visited Chatuchak more than once; and each time almost suffocated no thanks to bad ventilation, scorching hot weather in mid afternoon, and the immense crowd over the weekend.

Fresh Seafood for sale

Now, if you ask me where got tourists want to buy fresh produce like seafood, fowls, meat, fruits and dried goods one?! Okay, true. But still, this would be a great place for photography, sampling the many types of Thai street foods sold at the stalls at one end, or just bedazzled by the impossibly well-managed wet market in Bangkok. Hygiene level is always kept a  tip-top condition, while the food court area appears to be almost impeccable; you can see the workers cleaning up vacated tables almost the instant the previous patrons have left.

Dried shrimps, garlic stacked up to impossible heights, dried chillies and mangosteen

Odour-less (and bland) Thai durian, Boiled Sweet potatoes and yam, Braised Pig’s Trotters with Chinese mustard greens, and grilling dried cuttlefish

Beautifully-stacked Thai mangoes; a variety of types for different uses. The sweet ones for Thai-style of mango sticky rice, or eaten as they are. The sourish one lend a tang to salads or savoury dishes.

Freshly-squeezed tangerine juice is almost everywhere on the streets; and can be priced rather exorbitantly. Best to choose a stall that juice them on the spot, so you can be assured of freshness and limit the amount of sugar/syrup that went into it.

Thai pomeloes; a joyful reminder of my hometown of Ipoh. Usually, pomelo can be eaten as it is, or tossed into salad.

For about 500 baht/RM50 per serving of 7-8 large prawns, grilled on the spot without addition of any marinade or even salt, we saw a few tables of tourists AND the locals having these beautiful, orange-coloured crustaceans.

Southern Thai style curry rice; where you can pick from a variety of dishes to go with white rice. Since hygiene may be a compromise from the exposed trays and pots, choose a stall without the sight of flies or away from the dust generated by the traffic.

Not something you’d expect to see on an everyday/everywhere basis even in Bangkok, the lower left picture depicts a pot of pickled/marinated small crabs swimming in a pot of broth with chillies.

We sampled the freshly prepared Vietnamese spring rolls stuffed with beancurd, vegetables and drenched in a sweetish bean sauce almost resembling our very own sweet sauce for Chee Cheong Fun, then topped with strips of omelette, waxed sausages and a drizzle of mustard; followed by stalks of fresh scallions and chopped green chillies on the side. The pork satay came in TWO varieties; the meatier one without any sauce but marinated with a delicious sauce like teriyaki, then grilled. The tinier cut was well marinated and served with peanut sauce.

For about 10 baht (RM1) per skewer, the pork was tender, juicy and tasty basked in the sauce and then grilled; followed by option of serving them with or without the peanut sauce.

And here’s my plate of almost everything. The stall offers at least 30 dishes looking VERY appetizing. I picked pieces of deep-fried battered pork, a stuffed crab, pork patty topped with the yolk of a salted egg, a piece of egg omelette studded with chives, stir-fried julienned ginger with wood ear fungus, and rice drenched with a myriad of curries. All for 95 baht (RM9.50) and clearly …. I was the only one taking more than 3 dishes. The stall owners were confused.

Pleasing the weary eyes; the nursery is also situated within the premise.

Or Tor Kor Market is well worth a visit, especially if you have taken the liberty to travel all the way to Chatuchak over the weekend. However, bear in mind that Or Tor Kor is nearer to the next station (Kamphang Phet MRT) rather than Chatuchak Park MRT or Mo Chit BTS stations (where people usually stop to visit the famous weekend market). A station away, and you have to walk almost halfway across Chatuchak, or encircling the perimeters of the HUGE market to reach Or Tor Kor.

“Best way is to take the train to Kampaeng Pet MRT station, walk over to Or Tor Kor (there are signboards within the station itself), before visiting Chatuchak Weekend Market which is very much visible from the streets.“

For the rest of the chapters, browse through this – Bangkok 2012

P/S : The 3rd of March 2012 marks the 4th year anniversary of Motormouth From Ipoh. Four years of blogging has seen me transforming/evolving/morphing into someone that I barely was way back in 2008; in every sense of the word. Thanks to each and everyone of YOU. Yes, the novelty of food blogging might have run thin now … but I still hope you find a reason to read my rants every now and then.