Hello everyone. Tonight we’re at the night bazaar, Big Market for dinner. This is a popular night market located in Pattaya, Thailand. It’s known for being close to Jomtien Beach and is frequently visited by both locals and tourists. The market is situated right across from the beach and is also near the Golden Natural Park Resort and Ko Linius Aqu hotels. One of the best things about this market is the 7-Eleven right next to it. You can always grab something affordable and bring it into the night bazaar.
The market opened about two years ago, so everything is brand new and quite comfortable. We like it here because it’s not too crowded. The market is clean and as soon as we arrive, they offer us shakes as usual. Prices aren’t super cheap, but shakes start from 40 baht depending on the size. This market is a great place to enjoy Thai street food. You can find dishes like Pad Thai, Tom Yum soup, fried insects, fresh fruits and even crocodile meat among many other interesting and delicious options.
We have our favorite corner here.We love checking out the different seafood options. I think this is an octopus tentacle, but it probably has a special name. By the way, we really enjoy the taste of sea urchins. They sell for around 60-70 baht, which is a normal price.
We’ve never tried the shellfish before. We don’t even know what they are and for now, we’re a bit afraid of eating the wrong thing. We’ll need to do some research first. As always everything here is fried and breaded. There’s also chicken, sausages and salads. You can find ready to eat meals like chicken over rice. These are pre-prepared and portions cost around 50 baht, including rice, vegetables and meat. I think that’s a good deal.
Coconuts are 65 baht. Yes, that’s a bit expensive for coconuts. They’re usually half that price, but now they’re 65 baht. And of course, there are souvenirs as well. I recommend trying these if you come to Thailand. These are marinated fish and shrimp, sweet and sour in this marinade. We like them, they’re worth a try. You might love them or not, but you’ll definitely discover a new flavor. Small packs are 80 baht, which I think is a fair price.
I recommend trying this kind of seafood at the buffets. If you’re thinking of going, you can eat as much as you want there. Fried calamari, Indian cuisine… Oh, this is my favorite spot. Btw this stall is from the same chain as the one in the Night Market. If I can’t find anything else, I always eat something here.
So, how are the prices here? It’s around 129 baht on average for a portion of curry. The chicken is cooked in curry sauce and I think with coconut milk. It has a very unique taste and I really like it. But remember, Indian cuisine is generally spicy, so keep that in mind.
I’d say getting a flatbread is a must because it makes the meal much more delicious. Of course, the food in India is amazing, but it’s pretty tasty here as well.
For those coming to Thailand for Thai cuisine, this market has everything you’re looking for. Salads, rice dishes and of course, Tom Yum soup. Tom Yum here costs 150 baht, which is actually a good price since it’s usually around 200-250 baht. On the other side of the market, you’ll find plenty more Thai food options too.
There’s live music here as well. Both in this area and in other parts of the night market, you’ll hear music. It’s usually pleasant and not overwhelming, so you can sit comfortably and enjoy your time. There are art pieces all around the market and interesting spots for kids. For example, there are little toy sheep and similar things that children can have fun with.
The price of shrimp varies depending on the portion size. A small portion is 200 baht, while larger portions range from 300 to 400 baht. Our next stop is sushi, which is 10 baht per piece. There are also meats and vegetables and even fried broccoli,which is not something you see very often. It’s nice to have that option.
Shakes are now 50 baht here. Prices in the market vary. For instance, marinated crab and shrimp are 100 baht at one stall, but they were 80 baht at another. So, even within the same market, prices can differ.
The ribs and other meats look very appetizing and smell amazing. The fruits are also very fresh and nice.
Looking at the current prices, mangoes start at 35 baht and can go up to 100 baht depending on the variety. It’s hard to tell which variety the mangoes here are just by looking. I see Cambodian mangoes here. Cambodian mangoes aren’t much different from Thai mangoes, but when I ask the sellers "Are these Thai mangoes?" they usually say, "No, these are Cambodian mangoes" and add "I’m Cambodian too, these are sweet." Actually Cambodian mangoes tend to be a bit more fibrous, which is why some people prefer them less. But they’re still very sweet. it’s just that the fibers can get stuck between your teeth. The slightly more expensive Cambodian mangoes are less fibrous and quite tasty. There isn’t a big difference between Thai and Cambodian mangoes, as the two countries are very close to each other.
There’s a stall here selling crocodile meat. You can try crocodile meat for 50 baht and say, I’ve eaten crocodile. We’ve tried it before, by the way. They sell frozen crocodile meat packs at the Makro market. We bought some and grilled it ourselves. It tastes like chicken but is a bit tougher.
There are also very appetizing kebabs here. They cost 20 baht, but the portions are big and they’ve combined meat with vegetables. I like combinations like that. Also, it seems they haven’t used too much ketchup here. They make kebabs too. Sometimes I get chicken kebabs from here, usually around 40-50 baht.
Again there are ribs and fried chicken. They’ve written the names in an interesting way. I’ve never seen a presentation like this before. The chicken and fish are presented differently too. Fish is usually plain, but here they’ve added an interesting sauce on top. It looks very appetizing. I think there are cashew nuts on it or maybe it’s just rice.
More and more stalls are opening up in this market. Chicken breasts, German sausages… You can get rice for 10 baht, though it’ll probably be a bit sticky, like sticky rice. This looks like chicken, yes. This one looks like some kind of sausage. There are different kinds of noodles and fried rice. Prices are around 40-50 baht, quite reasonable.
There are also ready to eat portions. Potatoes are 50 baht and look quite appetizing. The potatoes are prepared with different fillings. There are plain potatoes, corn-filled potatoes and more. So, how much is a kilo of potatoes? 30 baht. That’s about 1.55 USD or 1.40 Euros. That’s the price for a kilo of potatoes at the market. How much is a kilo of potatoes in your city right now? When we first came here, potato prices felt very expensive to us. But now, looking at it, prices seem to have leveled out with other countries.
Next stop is the place where sushi is sold for just 5 baht. There’s almost none left. People are snatching them up quickly. It’s worth noting that the sushi here is a bit smaller than the ones that cost 10 baht, but still reasonably priced.
There’s a playground in the market where you can leave your kids, but only if they’re old enough to stay on their own. There’s no caretaker or animator here. There are swings and there used to be a trampoline, though I’m not sure why it’s gone now. Now there are swings and some exercise equipment. It’s a fun place for kids. You can sit at the tables right next to it and enjoy your dinner comfortably. There are plenty of tables here.
Btw there’s a tuk-tuk parked here as well. It was probably brought from Bangkok. They usually decorate the market beautifully and I like that. The atmosphere is very pleasant and having dinner here feels quite peaceful. It’s not overly crowded or chaotic.
There are also activity areas for kids nearby. These aren’t exactly workshops, but you can buy figures or canvases for painting for the kids. It’s a nice option to keep them entertained, but I didn’t see any such area today.
One of our favorite spots is this place called Hipster. They have burgers and steaks here. Let’s check out the prices. Chicken steaks start at 79 baht. Beef steaks are 89 baht. They also make them with pork. I’ve tried their burgers too and they’re actually pretty tasty. Prices start at 59 baht. The chicken ones are 59 baht, the beef ones are 99 baht and the pork ones are also 59 baht. That’s how they present them, you can add a salad on the side. You can order takeaway or eat here. I don’t think they serve on plates. They give everything in containers anyway.
They have fruit slices and a pretty big pack is just 30 baht. Watermelon, pineapple, melon, guava and mixes of watermelon and pineapple. They also have citrus fruits. Right now, it’s strawberry season, but the season will end soon. Sometimes the strawberries look a bit greenish or white, but they actually taste just fine, no different from regular strawberries. It’s probably just that kind of variety. These strawberries are grown in Northern Thailand, around Chiang Mai.
At the entrance of the market, you’ll find more traditional Thai foods. Especially things unique to Thai cuisine: salt-baked fish, shakes and many stalls selling Thai dishes. Tom Yum soup is 150 baht and fried rice is 90 baht. They also have burgers here. And there’s a stall making roti. They wrap bananas, mango and egg inside the roti. You can drizzle chocolate or condensed milk on top. They’re really delicious. It’s a greasy snack, maybe not ideal for dinner, but it tastes amazing.
There are different kinds of chairs all around the market. Some places have white seats, some have stools made from tree stumps and others have metal chairs. The market itself isn’t very big, but as you walk through it, it feels like you’re passing through different areas or neighborhoods. I really like that vibe.
They even have Russian food here. We usually get ours from Dolinka. There’s also a place here that makes really good pizza. Their pizzas are amazing and they bake them in a stone oven. Even though it’s a market, they have a stone oven. They actually cook with fire. The prices are reasonable too. They have M and L size options for small pizzas. A simple Margherita, just with cheese and tomato sauce, is 159 baht. The large one is 259 baht. It’s actually cheaper than in restaurants, but the quality is at restaurant level.it’s really good. We usually just go for the Margherita.
We ordered a Margherita and they told us we’d have to wait about 20 minutes. This place is pretty popular, plus they make the pizzas fresh. So, while waiting for our pizza, we grabbed some other food for ourselves.
By the way, my favorite kissa stall isn’t here, it’s at Mayak. I’ve never found it here. I wanted to talk about it, but it looks like we’ll need to visit the night market at Mayak soon.
For bottles they charge about a 10 baht deposit, for example, here for beer. So, no need to rush to the supermarket, you can get it here as well.
This is our favorite Russian food stall at the market. The crepes are almost sold out. They also have chicken meatballs, steamed and only 25 baht. They’re both very tasty and healthy. As usual, I came for the kebabs. We never take risks. Wherever we go, we always find a good kebab place. The kebabs they make here are simple, just as they should be.
Here there are kebabs made with pork and chicken. Fried chicken kebabs are 30 baht, but there’s really a lot of meat in them. In other markets, you can find ones for 20 baht, but with much less meat. The price here is really reasonable. I take the pork ones. The meatballs are finished, but we usually buy those here as well,they’re amazing. There are also Nutella crepes and crepes with salmon left, I’ve tried those too and they’re delicious. And of course, they also have the classic okroshka soup.
They also make cottage cheese. It’s very tasty, but they don’t sell it here. They only deliver it on order. If you’ve been living in Thailand for a long time, you’ve probably thought about cottage cheese at some point.
And yes, they have Dubai chocolate. Anyone who wants to try it can find it here at a very reasonable price. To be honest, I haven’t tried it yet and I don’t know what the deal is, but one day I’ll buy it and try it.
They also have freshly squeezed mandarin juice. It’s made without adding sugar and definitely worth trying. We love these kinds of juices, but we usually get them at the Tit market, because they squeeze it right in front of you. Here, it’s sold pre-made.
There are mussels again, sold for 60 baht. But the ones here look pretty fresh. And that’s the end of our market tour. Afterward, we went to the supermarket and bought some more stuff.
When our pizza was ready, we came back. Our daughter was really hungry by now. Actually, we were all hungry, so we went to get something to eat. We got the usual: pizza.
Our pizza was perfectly baked. The edges were crispy but not burnt and it had plenty of cheese. This is a medium-sized pizza , which is quite enough for an adult. Our daughter usually doesn’t finish all of hers, so we get a few slices left. They give you oregano and two packets of ketchup on the side. Can you even have pizza without oregano?
Today, we had quite a mixed menu: kebabs, Italian pizza and Indian food. The best part about these night markets is that you can find food from different cuisines. Everyone in the family or group of friends can find something that suits their taste.
I always say you can find a place to sit, but sometimes only the tree-stump stools are left. Actually, there were other places, but we’ve never sat on the tree stumps before.
The kebabs were grilled right in front of us, not dried, old meat. You could tell they were cooked fresh. The marinade was great and the taste was spot on. They also add onions and the vegetables look amazing. I really love kebabs.
We live in a high-rise apartment and we always have the same question on our minds: Do we love this life because we don’t have to deal with bugs much? When we lived on the ground floor, those huge cockroaches would come into the house and disturb us. Yes, they’re harmless, but when you open the cupboard and see that big bug, it’s a bit scary. Now, we live on the eighth floor and thank goodness, there are no pests or uninvited guests.
We also enjoy the amenities this kind of living provides, things like the pool, gym and other infrastructure services are already included. But sometimes we think, maybe we should move back to a house? At least we could put a barbecue in the yard and enjoy grilling again. This question has been on our minds for a year now: Should we move or should we not?
They had already prepared my chicken tikka masala and naan. As always, it was really tasty. A bit spicy, but not too much. Indian food can’t really be completely non-spicy. But it’s always flavorful and the quality never changes. Of course, Indian food doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I think it’s worth trying at least once. When I first tried it, I was a bit biased, thinking It probably won’t suit me, but I actually really liked it. Especially the combination of those spices and flavors offers a very different experience. It’s worth trying, maybe you’ll like it, maybe you won’t, but at least you’ll have a clear idea about Indian cuisine. And you don’t have to go to India for that. They make it quite well here in Thailand. There are Indians or chefs who know Indian cuisine very well.
After dinner we went to get some ice cream. One scoop is 39 baht. They have flavors like vanilla, coconut, mixed fruit, chocolate, forest fruits and even durian. We get a mix. You can also add any toppings you like for free.
Yes, this is where our night market post ends. Thank you for reading.