Those who have often travelled to Bangkok would be forgiven for not discovering the Or Tor Kor market before. While it’s located just opposite the famous weekend market of Chatuchak, Or Tor Kor Market does not share the same fame as its better known neighbour simply because it’s not tourist hot spot. But sidestepping the market on your way to Chatuchak may well deprive you of one of the best local experiences you’ll ever have.
OL Fresh catch of the day.
02 Ceramicware for sale
Or Tor Kor, which basically translates to “Marketing Organisation for Farmers’, was last year ranked fourth by CNN as one of the best markets in the world. visit there recently did not disappoint and indeed revealed why this market truly is must visit destination,
Managed by Agriculture and brings together
Thailand’s Ministry of Co-operatives, Or Tor Kor local farmers to help them
Colourful beans and legumes sell their products to the locals directly. It is regarded as the model for which all fresh markets in Thailand should be run in terms of cleanliness and food quality, English is not spoken widely here at Or Tor Kor; sure sign that it really is locals’ market, but you can get by by pointing to what you want and using the calculator to indicate prices. Housewives, cooks, chefs these are the crowd you’re most likely to encounter here come to the market as early as 8am, and just by being there allows you rare glimpse into the lifestyle of the community which truly revolves around freshness and quality products.
Be prepared to have your senses go on delicious overdrive as you discover local fruits, delicacies, food, spices and even small selection of handicrafts.
The market itself is well lit, with wide lanes separating the booths and is surprisingly clean and dry. It is easily reached by subway (stop at Kamphaeng Phet), and takes mere 20 minutes from downtown Sukhumvit. You can just wander around the stalls admiring the produce display. There are local mangoes sold alongside sticky rice, steamed and barbequed seafood accompanied by hot chili dips, claypot glass noodles cooked on the spot with fresh river prawns, freshly steamed fish souffle (hor mok talay) with steamed rice and an assortment of curries, and sesamecoated fried bananas and brown rice cakes for the sweet toothed, Everything is packed conveniently to take home, or you can join local school kids and sit at the designated food stalls to indulge in your purchase.
Then, wash it all down with freshly cracked open Thai coconut water.
Source: MUHIBAH, the Royal Brunei Airlines in-flight magazine, 2013 Jan-Feb, pages 13-15. Text recovered from the scanned page by OCR and lightly corrected; spelling may differ from the printed edition.
