Where my noodles at

I somehow always end up taking short business trips to Bangkok. I've done the touristy tours in the early years of my travels, so I don't mind not seeing the sites anymore. These days, Bangkok becomes the place that I fly into, attend the meeting, enjoy the hotel, and fly out the next day. To me, this mini-vacation is priceless.

My most recent trip there was to attend a meeting with Thammasat University. The organizers booked me at Swissotel Le Concorde. The first thing I did upon arrival? Order room service. Pad thai noodles, to be exact. One doesn't expect much from room service. At least, I don't. I'm usually tired from my flight, I'm hungry, and I need to push myself and prepare for tomorrow's meeting. Room service is a last ditch effort to normalcy.

When the doorbell rang, the staff greeted me by my title. I was impressed; a "Good evening, ma'am" would have sufficed. I was embarrassed, too: opening the door in my pajamas makes the title a little difficult to reconcile. I appreciated the courtesy, and it's things like this that deserve mention in the little survey that hotels usually send guests after they check out. For whatever it's worth.

I unveiled the tray of food to reveal this heaven on a plate.

It was just as I imagined pad thai noodles to be. The egg is usually mixed into the dish, which gives it the scrambled egg look. But here, the egg was cooked so light and, quite remarkably, served as a blanket covering the noodles underneath. The noodles were springy and kept their bite. When I mixed in the bamboo shoots, squeezed the lime, put the peanuts on top, and measured a few teaspoons of fish sauce laden with slices of chili, I smiled to myself in anticipation. I took my first bite and sighed in satisfaction. This was what I always came to Bangkok for.

Thanks, Swissotel.

#bangkok #swissotel #travel #fooddrink