Phrom Phong
The Phrom Phong Neighborhood
Phrom Phong is a commercially concentrated area that is popular with upscale citizens and foreigners with families. While more compact than others, Phrom Phong is filled with a mass of quality condominiums, hotels, restaurants and boutique shops reinforcing it as one of the most upscale and desired neighborhoods in Bangkok.
The highlight of Phrom Phong is the EM District, made up of three world-class shopping malls, The Emporium, EM Quartier and EM Sphere, to be the new epic center of Bangkok. Next to it, is the Benjasiri Park, a prominent inner city park which offers an ample amount of activities and green rest stop for its urban visitors.
Expat Community in Phrom Phong
There is a large expat presence in Phrom Phrong that reaps the conveniences and luxuries of the area. Popular amongst the expats are the Japanese who have built a large community observed by their many business signs and language schools.
But despite the dense cultural and commercial make-up of the area, the atmosphere in Phrom Phong isn’t boisterous. Streets are kept clean and ruly crowds hum along keeping to the neighborhood’s reputation of catering to the upper class.
With an endless selection of accommodations, nearby schools like Srinakharinwirot University Prasarnmit and hospital; Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital, the Phrom Phong area offers one of the highest standards and quality of living like no other in the city.
Center of the City Location
Phrom Phong has a fabulous central location that’s just further south on Sukhumvit road putting it in between Asoke and Thonglor by just one kilometer, and just one BTS station apart from the Phrom Phong BTS station.
Arriving at the Phrom Phong’s BTS station puts you in the middle of the Phrom Phong area, and at the front entrance of the Emporium and EM Quartier, and at the front gates of Benjasiri Park.
The Benjasiri Park
Benjasiri Park is a well-groomed park next to the Emporium. The park is 11 acres, not a large park by comparison, but perfect for taking a refreshing breather from the city without losing sight of the trees for the forest.
With one small turn, urbanites passing through Phrom Phong can enjoy the park’s sculpted gardens and flowers, go jogging around Benjasiri’s pond or swim in the public pool. For more involved activities, park visitors can participate in Tai Chi and aerobics classes, play sports on the basketball courts, or take part in one of the many public festivals hosted at the park.
What’s on the streets
An eclectic mix of services, shops and restaurants pack the streets in Phrom Phong, all within short walking distance from each other. You’ll find shops and services in the street’s grooves and inlets, all offering their worldly niches for you.
Along the main road, you will find a cultivation of boutique shops that sell second-hand books, classic furniture, art paintings and tailors for you to peruse.
If you need to run some errands, weave in and out of local banks, including a Bank of UOB branch, or get some grocery shopping done in one of the grocery stores in Tops Market and Villa Market, or at the Japanese supermarket UFM Fuji Super in Sukhumvit Soi 33.
For dining, you will find an assortment of restaurants serving gourmet and cuisines from different ethnicities in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Bistros and bars can also be found on the breezier side streets in Sukhumvit Soi 26 and Sukhumvit Soi 39 while steaming Thai food stalls and grills line up on the front.
For a night out, you can find entertainment at Irish pubs in The Robin Hood and The Royal Oak that show live sports and entertainment. Or enjoy wine at an Italian restaurant and sake in one of the many Japanese establishments in and along the area.
If you’re looking for something with more pep during the day, there are plenty of local and international cafés and sweet shops for you to sample.
The EM District, world-class shopping hub
The EM District is the centerpiece of the Phrom Phong area which is made up of three world-class shopping malls the Emporium, EM Quartier and EM Sphere. The Emporium and EM Quartier are connected by a multifunctional walkway opening up from the skytrain platform.
The Emporium is an established luxury shopping mall that is often the shopping grounds of Thai celebrities buying their designer labels. Besides exclusive brand names, you can also find a Kinokuniya Bookstore branch, perhaps the most complete and international bookstore chain in Thailand, a shopping floor for children’s toys and a top floor food court made up of a selective choice of international food chains.
The EM Quartier, a new addition to the EM District, is a world-class shopping mall that holds over 1,000 commercial brands, 400 designer brands, over 200 restaurants, a fresh produce and gourmet food market, and an IMAX Theatre. It is also has the largest indoor waterfall in Southeast Asia, a massive Virgin Active Fitness Club, venue for art, fashion and music events and is flanked by the Bhiraj Tower, a new business and office building.
The last addition to the EM District is the EM Sphere which focuses only on the most ultra luxurious of brands and services.
Accommodations, places to stay
There are no shortages of places to stay in Phrom Phong. Hotels, condominiums, apartments and houses prop up the base of Phrom Phong and populate the surrounding streets. But expect paying a premium because of this highly desired area and projects trying to redefine the meaning of super luxury.
You’ll also find prestigious hotels in the area, like Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sukhumvit and the Radisson Blu, amongst the many selections of high grade hotels and serviced apartments framing the area. The Emporium Suites by Chatrium just above the Emporium shopping complex offers stunning penthouses for rent.
From new upscale projects to established ones, everyone is trying to get their hands on a piece of real estate as the property prices here are always rising.
The Address is a luxury condominium that marks the corner of Phrom Phong and the border to Ekkamai. On Sukhumvit Soi 39, you’ll find luxury defining condominium projects in the Marque, The Diplomat 39 and 39 by Sansiri. A large established condominium on this street is the Supalai Place.
Down Sukhumvit Soi 26 you’ll find an extensive white suburbia comprised of residential houses and apartments in a quieter subsection of Phrom Phrong.
Besides countless accommodation choices and a cooler backdrop for bistros and small pubs, these side streets stretch rather far and meet up to other main roads in Bangkok with Sukhumvit Soi 39 meeting up with New Petchaburi Road and Sukhumvit Soi 26 meeting up with Rama 9.