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.BBQ bite crossoverThe consume of quality local beef (don't yuck, Thailand has decent beef); not only do we save money from trans-ocean transportation cost and high excise tax for those imported cuts, but we may also help the world to reduce carbon emission. The most tender local beef, reua kokhun ponyangkham, is the original Thai-French bred cattle, first raised in Moo Baan Ponyangkham Village of Sakon Nakhon province, is best known for its tenderness of texture and flavorful taste of the red meat.
Thais are not keen on eating meat in a big chunk (e.g. steak); the common scene where I see locals eating beef are in suki (Thai-Chinese hot pot) restaurants or in jim-joom (Issan hot pot) joints; that's especially for the Issan (northeastern provinces) villagers; slices of beef are the essential ingredients for a pot of a fiery jim-joom feast, and of course the best choice is laid on the kokhun ponyangkham Thai-French beef.
In Bangkok, though there is a handful of jim-joom and barbecue specialty eateries which serve kokhun ponyangkham beef from Sakon Nakhon; the original vendor shall be honored to be Khunthong, whose his father was the one who brought up this Thai-French breed of cattle, at Ponyangkham Village, Sakon Nakhon; that is where the name kokhun ponyangkham beef came from. Today Khunthong's family is the key Thai-French beef supplier to local supermarkets and individuals through its Thai-French specialty butchery; Khunthong himself runs jim-joom and barbecue restaurants under the brand Kokhun Khunthong Ponyangkham Restaurant (nine of them now). There they serve kokhun ponyangkham beef with choices, barbecue or jim-joom, and a wide range of Issan 'must-have' delicacies, such as somtum (spicy shredded raw papaya pok-pok salad) and gai yang (grilled chicken).
Kokhun Khunthong Ponyangkham Restaurant ***
Huaykwang branch:
Ratchada Soi 4
Ratchadapisek Road
Huaykwang, Bangkok 10310
Tel.: 085.056.7330
Kokhun
Open daily : 5 - 11 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 500
420
.Chicken noodle landed in the ParadiseFifty years ago Mae Sri Ruen stared from selling chicken noodle in Pattaya and has now expanded to a chain eatery with nearly twenty branches in Bangkok and Pattaya; with her renowned chicken noodles (either soup or stir-fried style) still being the star of the shop. Last week I went to the Paradise Park and spotted that there is a Mae Sri Ruen outlet, so I settled my early dinner with her chicken noodle.
sa-te barbecued pork skewer, THB 96
fresh spring roll a la Mae Sri Ruen with crab's claw meat, THB 85
stir-fried flat rice noodle with eggs and chicken (guay-tiew kua gai), THB 60
half-century famous chicken noodle a la Mae Sri Ruen, THB 37
sizzling small oysters dipped in batter on hot plate (hoy tord), THB 175
(this hoy-tord is a surprise, very fresh oysters, nice blend of batter)roasted chicken a la Mae Sri Ruen, half, THB 140
Mae Sri Ruen Restaurant ***1/4
Paradise Park branch
3/F the Paradise Park
61 Srinakarin Road
Prawet, Bangkok 10250
Tel.: 02.931.9443
Mae Sri Ruen
Open daily : 10 am - 9 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 500
419
.Bye the fish and cheapBangkok has too many fish and cheap (chip) eateries but almost all of them treat their customers with either greasy chips and fish, fishy, unapproved sauce, or overpriced, and some luxurious hotel restaurants even serve fish and chips with rather inexpensive dory fish but cast an expensive price tag (guys, dory sold less than two hundred Thai baht per kilogram at Marko) on it.
I am a fish and chips eater, I have been long waited for a proper chippie in Bangkok, one like Rock and Sole Plaice or Golden Chippy in London; but not those that serve in a pub while the beer is the show, which is very popular in Bangkok.
The recent opening of Snapper, a seafood eatery with mostly New Zealand catches to offer, let me finally see the light (to eat good fish and chips here); this Kiwi seafood eatery serves gorgeous, lightly battered, non-greasy, ocean fresh fish and chips, with six choices of fish (all) from New Zealand. Snapper also has a brief seafood menu on service, eventually it is a seafood restaurant with wild-caught catches from the New Zealand waters to offer, but her fish and chips just steal the spotlight on her. Snapper, arguably the best chippie in Bangkok, is also the only New Zealand restaurant present here.
Their service, enthusiastic, prompt and kind.
NZ thick cut home-style chips, THB 120+; NZ red gurnard, THB 180+
NZ lemon sole, THB 220+; NZ Southern hake, THB 180+
a scrumptious fish and chips feast at Snapper New Zealand Restaurant 
chunky seafood patties, THB 260+, slow cooked, w/ tangy mango salsa
jalapeno tiger prawns, THB 280+, sauteed in NZ butter with onion,
garlic, capsicum, lime and jalapenos, served with toasted ciabatta
pan-fried NZ lemon sole, THB 300+; marinated mixed olives, THB 110+
spiced fish salad, THB 240+; NZ style seafood chowder, THB 240+
Snapper New Zealand Restaurant ****1/2
1/22 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.651.1098
Open daily : 6 am - midnight (except Sat & Sun, opens at 11 am)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 700
