Double Dogs

I went to Chinatown this weekend!

It's not a neighborhood I get to very often - maybe a few times a year. It's busy, and chaotic, but very atmospheric and a lot of fun. Walking along Yaowarat Road is like visiting an entirely different country, and feels like nowhere else in all of Bangkok.

Chinatown

Bangkok's Chiatown is different than most in that the neighborhood is the center of cultural life for the city's Chinese-Thai population rather than a large expat or immigrant population. Especially in Bangkok and Southern Thailand, there is a large Chinese-Thai population.

tea for sale

One thing I always notice along Yaowarat Road is the smell... and I mean that in a good way! Delicious Chinese street food in cooking oil, roasting duck, burning incense, and the spicy-sweet smells drifting out of the generations-old Chinese herbal pharmacies mingle in the air.

barrels of tea

This is the place to buy tea in bulk! Every few shops along the street displays dozens of barrels of tea of all sorts, from all over China.

It's also the home to one of my favorite tea houses in the city: Double Dogs Tea Room.

Inside is quiet and cool, a tranquil oasis from the traffic and noise of the busy Yaowarat Road, where street vendors, gold shops, and century-old restaurants tucked into alleyways all vie for your attention.

inside the tea house

Double Dogs is modeled after a Chinese tea house, but quite trendy and modern. They serve all sorts of tea, from simple green teas to expensive delicate white teas, and matchas imported from Japan and whisked in a special bowl.

We ordered a tea set, which came with two teas of our choice off of the menu, brewed in single-cup servings with tiny little teapots to keep each cup of tea from getting too bitter. A kettle of hot water was provided to refill the teapots and brew each cup of tea individually. We picked a red tea with orange and a white tea.

tea set

We also got to choose four Chinese tea snacks off the menu. We got (clockwise from top left) orange cake, sesame fritters, peanut bars, and almond cookies.

tea snacks

Besides being a place to eat, the tea house also teaches calligraphy lessons and ceramic pottery lessons (where you can make your own tea cup). They also sell many types of tea and tea supplies (pots, cups, matcha bowls and whisks, etc). It's a really cool place to visit, and definitely one of the places that I don't want to miss whenever I'm in that part of town.

jars of tea

After all, I do love tea.