477
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Salad of Issan
Somtum Der is a clean and modern somtum (spicy shredded raw papaya salad of Issan style) joint with her debut in Silom area few months ago; the air-conditioning and comfortable ambiance do not wash down the authentication and genuine flavor of this Issan street food - somtum.
Somtum Der ***1/2
5/5 Soi Saladaeng
off Silom Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.632.4499
Open daily : 11 am - 11 pm
Pay (food only for one): around THB 400
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474
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Cheap eat, good eat!
Recently, my local friends complained that Bangkok's food court meal is not wallet-friendly anymore since a small portion of any single menu dish (such as khao mun gai, or Hainanese chicken rice) cost at least THB 50 as norm at the food courts of all Central Plazas, the Emporium, the Siam Paragon and the MBK Mall. Nowadays, the lunch cost is a burden to all local salarymen.
I don't blame the vendors as I realized that they only earn a minimum profit to make their ends meet at the end of a day, while the high food price was reflex action by the bullying rental charge (or profit share) in shopping centers, but not the cost of ingredients and raw materials.
Not all property vampires are bloodsuckers. At Pier 21 Food Terminal, a standard size of order costs from THB 30 - 40, that is 20 - 35% cheaper than those served in other major shopping mall's food courts with the same serving size, and even with better quality and taste, as the operator only enrolls a shortlist of the city's most renowned street-food vendors to serve. There, it is not just cheap eat but also good eat!
Pier 21 Food Terminal ****
6/F the Terminal 21
288 Sukhumvit Road
Klongtoey-nua, Bangkok 10110
Open daily : 10 am - 10 pm
Pay (food only for one): around THB 100 (three dishes/courses)
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423
.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
