Chatuchak Singapore opens with several original Bangkok favourites
Enjoy direct-from-Chatuchak stalls selling baby octopus, pad thai and roasted pork. The open-air market is now open at The Grandstand until May 3.
(Photo: Chatuchak Market Singapore)
Bangkok’s open-air market Chatuchak says sawadee to Singaporeans looking for a taste of Thailand as it opened here on Tuesday (Feb 4). It will run for three months at The Grandstand on Turf Club Road in Bukit Timah until May 3 and is the world’s first Chatuchak outside of Thailand.
The market boasts more than 400 different vendors, some of whom will be flying in – on a rotation basis – from the original venue in Bangkok.
You won’t need to eat on-the-go as you roam the 40,000 sq ft space as there are around 400 seats at the venue so you can enjoy your treats with a Chang beer and take a breather from all that shopping at the same time.
Chatuchak Singapore may be smaller than the original space in Bangkok but what it has going for it is that it’s open almost daily – Tuesdays to Sundays from 4.30pm to 10.30pm.
Of course you can expect to check out lots of food stalls at the market. Highlights for now include King Octopus from the Bangkok venue, which sells baby octopus stewed in a tangy stew. It’ll set you back S$15, though.
There’s also pad thai from another Bangkok original, Phadthai Sukhothai Baanna, which comes in S$6 and S$8 plates, the latter with prawns.
Other direct-from-Chatuchak stalls to look out for are SukhoThai Roasted Pork, which sells over 300kg of meat daily at its original venue and Tomoko, which serves vegetarian snacks made from purple potatoes.
No Thai food experience will be complete without Thai milk tea and Khon Wanna has a stall selling just that, which also comes with a show as you watch the vendor pull the tea ala teh tarik. The stall also sells roti.
Apart from food, you can pick up some apparel, accessories and other trinkets such as handmade silver jewellery from Bangkok’s Lamiad Selected Silver, handcrafted ceramic goods at Aa ar ie ee Studio or sketchbook t-shirts by Thai artists at Chapter One.
Chatuchak is the second Thai market to come to Singapore after Artbox held its third iteration last November.
There’s free parking at the venue or you can hop on free shuttle buses from Botanic Gardens, Clementi and Toa Payoh.
Chatuchak Singapore is at The Grandstand South Carpark at 200 Turf Club Road. It runs daily (except Mondays) from 4.30pm to 10.30pm.
