Sa Nguan Sri

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
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Sa Nguan Sri

First time to visit Sa-Nguan-Sri, I walked back and forth (three times) between Ploenchit intersection and the All Seasons Place on Witthayu Road (Wireless Road), cried in the sun for (almost) missing the canteen until I checked on a bunker alike facility.

Everything in Sa-Nguan-Sri is old-fashioned including the interior, the menu, the recipes, the taste and even the price. Most of the dishes cost Baht 50-90. Food in Sa-Nguan-Sri is not good, but superb. Adding we can play music-chair during the busy lunch hours in order to secure a table, this canteen is fun too!





Sa-Nguan-Sri Restaurant ****
59/1 Wireless Road
Ploenchit, Pratumwan
Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.252.7637

Open daily (except Sunday) for Lunch only 10:00am - 3:00pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 200


* don't let me fool you with this empty seats picture, as it was taken at 3pm; during the lunch hours, you need to play music-chair in order to secure a table

Suea Non Kin

139
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Lazy tiger, eating only

Normally I don't review pub food, because those pub-cum-restaurant places usually focus on the vibe but not on the food. Inside Soi Sawasdee, there is an exceptional one.

There, Thai accent food were served, although not to-die-for but fair enough for foodies, with only the best ingredients chosen from all part of the country sent to the kitchen. A feast in Suea Non Kin is like a tiger need not to hunt but well fed; exactly the meaning of the restaurant name in Thai - suea non kin.



Suea Non Kin ***1/2
231/2 Sukhumvit Soi 31
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.662.1779



Open daily : (dinner only) 5 pm - midnight
Pay (food only for two): around THB 900

Ruen Tong

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET .

Ruen Tong

Spicy and sour prawn soup with coconut meat, coconut milk and fresh milk, one of best tomyumgoong in town!



Ruen Tong Thai Restaurant ****
517/9 Narathiwas-rachanakarin Road
Chongnonsi, Yannawa, Bangkok 10120
Tel.: 02.681.1284

Open daily 11am - 1am
Pay (food only for two): around THB 800

Hong Seng

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
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Rim nam chill chill riverside

Hong Seng by the Pak Kret Pier, a five decades old community restaurant offers a breezy riverside cum countryside dining atmosphere, is renowned for the freshwater catches the Chaophraya (River) has on offer. I traveled almost 100 miles to Hong Seng due to dear recommendation by a celebrity chef, TV host and food critic McDang (M.L. Sirichalerm Svasti). Taste of food here is definitely local, heavenly spicy and sinfully salty.


1. phlaa goong salad; 2. deep-fried marinated chicken with salt and lemongrass

3. grilled river prawn (Baht 450 each); 4. stir-fried bitter gourd

5. tom yum goong; 6. kra-tawn (santol) loy-kaeo

not only dine by the river, but also dine on the river!



Hong Seng (Rim Nam) Pochana ***
280 Moo.2 Pakkret Chaengwattana Road
at Pak Kret Pier
Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand 11120
Tel.: 02.583.7654

Open daily: (Mon-Fri) 10:30am - 2 pm, (Sat, Sun and public holidays) 10:30am - 6pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 700
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Cafe de Laos

136
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Cafe de Laos

A touch of Lao (taste) in Bangkok!


1. amuse bouche - miang kum; 2. miang goong

3. tap waan (liver in spicy sauce); 4. chicken with herbs

miang goong

5. gaeng om kop (spicy Lao soup with frog leg); 6. banana fritter on pineapple


Cafe de Laos ***1/2
16 Silom Soi 19
off Silom Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.635.2338

Open daily: lunch 11am - 2pm; dinner 5-10pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 1,200

55 Pochana

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Khao Tom Fifty Fifth (a.k.a. 55 Pochana)

Khao tom means rice soup in Thais, and khao tom shop usually serves up spicy Thai salad and Thai-Chinese dishes to go with the rice soup (or plain rice) and a bottle of chilled beer.

55 Pochana is sitting on the mouth of Soi Thonglor, on Sukhumvit Road toward Ekamai. I have no idea when was this busy and famous (at least in the high-so Thonglor community) shop house style khao tom eatery opened for the first day and how it earns the heart of Thonglor queens and clubbers. At least I am one of the 55 Pochana regular for 15 years, at that time I 'roamed' and later lived in the area. My regular visiting hour was 1am to do my supper with a friend, who just finished his duty in the hotel. At 1am, sometimes we couldn't grasp our table if we were being slow and polite. This devil khao tom eatery was packed from 7pm until they close at 4am. Simply because the food is good and the price is right.



Last week, I placed 55 Pochana a revisit. The shop is still that popular despite of the economic downturn, packed with patrons from the neighborhood. Servers are still quite laid back. Owner is still coughing toward patrons while they asked for the bill. The food, authentic and those yum (Thai salad) and tom (spicy soup) that burn your tongue, still serves with good quality.

During the dinner we ordered seven dishes. Started with Yum Hoy Krang (spicy Thai salad with herbs and slightly cooked cockles), and Or-Suan (sizzling pan fried oysters with flour and eggs). The cockles were fresh and the yum tasted fiery hot enough! Followed were Tom Kom (spicy soup with local herbs and prawn) and Stir-fried Clam in spicy Holy Basil and Chilies; both of them pungent hot and ultra aroi (delicious). To go with a dish of Seafood Fried Rice, we preferred the simple Stir-fried Morning Glory and Steam Eggs; and both were satisfying. The bill, at Baht 640, good value!

Khao Tom Fifty Fifth ****
Sukhumvit Road, corner of Soi Thonglor
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.391.2021

Open daily 7pm - 4 am
Pay (food only for two): around THB 600

* Both air-conditioning dining room and sidewalk sitting are available.

Gedhawa

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
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Gedhawa

Chiangmai is the second largest city in Thailand; however, strange that northern Thai (Lanna Thai) cuisine is not popular in Bangkok. When I meet my Chiangmai friends who live in Bangkok, they never agreed to do Lanna. Their answer - too oily (of Lanna food) and they had enough back in their childhood days. That's also answered why Issan (northeastern Thai) food is relatively popular in Bangkok due to the heavy use of fresh and herbal ingredients with the less-oily cooking method.

Thanks to two expat foodies, finally I am able to sample savory Lanna Thai cuisine in Bangkok!


1. khanom-jeen nam ngew Baht 70; 2. larb moo northern style Baht 100

namprik oong (red) and namprik noom (green)

3. namprik oong-noom Baht 220

4. tord mun pla Gedhawa (spicy deep-fried fish cakes) Baht 85

5. Gedhawa omelet with fermented sausage Baht 95
6. laem mok (spicy fermented sausage northern style) Baht 85

7. yum jin gai (ultra spicy soup with chicken - northern style) Baht 100

8. daily-home-made tubtim krob (red rubies chestnuts) Baht 45;
9. chao kuay (herbal jelly) Baht 45

choice of garden seat or air-conditioned dining room


Since the discovery of Gedhawa, an excuse to visit Chiangmai just for sampling northern Thai cuisine became nonsense.

Gedhawa Lanna Cuisine ****
24 Sukhumvit Soi 35
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.662.0501

Open daily: Lunch 11am - 2pm, Dinner 6 - 10pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 500