A few years ago, shophouses along the commercial district of Samyan were swept away to make way for the construction of Samyan Mitrtown, the latest in a long line of mixed-use complexes popping up all over Bangkok.
The name Mitrtown is a bilingual collision of mitr, which means “friend” or “friendly” in Thai, and town. A “friendly town,” if one is being painstakingly literal.
Samyan Mitrtown hopes to include the likes of office workers, university students (it’s situated right next to Chulalongkorn University), and insomniacs in its circle of friends by offering affordable restaurants, cute stationery shops, trendy boutiques, indie movie theaters and, most importantly, eating outlets that are open around the clock.
The first and top floors pack with familiar restaurant chains such as Pepper Lunch and Yayoi. Head to the food court if you are the type to browse around for food. Managed by MBK, Samyan Food Legends gathers a wide selection of Bangkok’s best shophouse restaurants including, appropriately enough, those that had to close down when the complex was built—Pheng Chicken Noodle, Hi Sheng Fishballs and Nai Ying Pork Soup.
The ground floor is home to the one of biggest Muji stores in Thailand, providing space for the country’s first Muji-branded coffee counter and bookstore. On the third floor is Medium & More, a hip stationery and craft store where you could probably spend hours browsing through cheap and cheerful pleasures. Perched atop it is the famed independent cinema, House.
Night owls will definitely love the 24-hour zone, which highlights cafes and diners that are open all-day and all-night long, as well as Samyan Co-op, a massive 24-hour coworking space that you can use free of charge (you need to download the mall's Mitr app, though), and Mind Space, a 24-hour bookstore operated by the Naiin bookstore chain.
Before you leave, don't forget to snap up pics of the glass-bottomed MRT tunnel that's become Bangkok's latest Instaspot.
