Where You Should Eat in Bangkok According to a Pro Chef

Condé Nast Traveler

Chef Pam Pichaya Soontornyanakij joins Condé Nast Traveler to guide you through Bangkok’s must-try food spots. From where to find the city’s best street food to ordering noodles like a pro, discover the Thai cuisine that defines Bangkok’s vibrant food scene.

Transcript

00:00This curry will change your whole world of Thai cuisine.

00:07Hi everyone, I am Pam Pichaya Suntan and today I'm gonna take you to my favorite spot in Bangkok.

00:16That's a perfect bite.

00:20This is where the chefs eat.

00:22Here we are, Lim Laosa, my favorite fish noodle soup.

00:38See, this restaurant is actually in between two buildings as you can see.

00:43So this neighborhood is called Songwad, which is very close to Yawarat or Chinatown.

00:48So I decided to open a restaurant here.

00:50It used to be abandoned with old buildings.

00:53But nowadays the new generations value the heritage building.

00:57This place has also become well known and more people started to come.

01:02As you can see, there's a queue outside as well.

01:04So for me, seeing a restaurant that I grew up eating, grow also in business,

01:10is something that is very special for me to come back here.

01:16See, this is one of my favorite plates to order here.

01:19It's actually almost like a dumpling.

01:20But the wrappers of the dumpling is made from fish.

01:24And it's very bouncy and it's usually sold out.

01:27But she kept it for me because she knows that I must order this one and the noodle.

01:32And you can see the top is very simple.

01:34And at the top is seasoned with fried garlic oil.

01:37Just like that, eat it with the noodle.

01:39Perfect match.

01:40This is normal situation where there's a lot of cars in the alleys.

01:45You know, this is normal.

01:53So see, this place is very special.

01:55The soup is super clear.

01:57You can taste the ocean in a good way.

02:05Very clean taste.

02:08And then mix everything first because the vinegar is at the bottom.

02:14And my trick for eating this noodle is not putting on a spoon because we don't have soup.

02:19I do like this.

02:20So the noodle is very gooey and stretchy.

02:28And when my first bite, I can feel the slippery of the noodle.

02:33But everything about this place is clean.

02:36Clean flavors.

02:37You can taste the seafood.

02:39And you're here for the quality of the noodle, the fish balls, and the dumplings.

02:44That's it.

02:45I'm gonna try the dumpling.

02:50They use only the belly part of the fish to make the wrappers.

02:54I just know that today.

02:56So that's why it's very succulent, very fatty, in a good way, and very moist.

03:01Amazing.

03:03Every time I come here, I feel like it's very warm welcome.

03:07It feels like, you know, my mom cooks for me.

03:15So right now, we're at Rung Reung noodle shop.

03:20And it's the best tom yum noodle ever for me.

03:24Guaranteed.

03:24So it's a must place to visit.

03:26And it's always crowded.

03:28So make sure you come early or you have to line up.

03:30Hello.

03:31I'm excited.

03:31Hello.

03:32Oh, hi.

03:33And this is my husband and my partner and my business partner as well, Thor.

03:39I know he's gonna be here because it's his favorite also.

03:42We like different things from this place.

03:44So let's see who's better at ordering.

03:46So Rung Reung, this noodle place is in the middle of Sukhumvit.

03:50When we were dating, before we got married,

03:52we come here like once or twice a week.

03:55We love it so much.

03:56How many bowls you're gonna have?

03:58Usually I do three.

03:59Three.

03:59Let's see.

04:00And with different noodles.

04:01Oh, okay.

04:02Ordering noodles in Thailand is very complicated for first timer.

04:07Because first of all, you need to choose the noodles.

04:09Yeah.

04:09And there's like six kinds of noodles.

04:12The big one.

04:13The medium one.

04:14The small.

04:14The egg noodle.

04:16The glass noodle.

04:17And like a dumpling noodle.

04:19Almost like a spazzle.

04:21And then the second one is whether you want soup or dry.

04:24He ordered dry.

04:25They order soup.

04:26Always dry.

04:26After that, you have to choose your proteins or toppings.

04:30Whether you want like all ground pork or you want liver as well.

04:34Or you want intestine.

04:35You have to be very specific, right?

04:37Yeah.

04:37And we are very specific of what we like.

04:40And then you order whether you want peanut or not, right?

04:44Yeah.

04:44I don't do sugar.

04:45So I ask for not putting sugar in.

04:48Ordering noodles is very customized and very detailed for each person.

04:54I'm sure he's the cameraman.

04:56He has his own version of ordering.

04:57You like the same one like me.

05:00Okay.

05:00So here it is.

05:11Oh my god.

05:12Wow.

05:15This is mine.

05:17See?

05:17So different.

05:19So you ordered two?

05:20Yeah.

05:21One thick, one small.

05:24I need to eat this one first.

05:25So in Thailand, we have a box of utensils like this one.

05:29And you just grab your own.

05:31So spoon.

05:34And you have to eat with this metal spoon.

05:36It's the best.

05:37Don't go with like the plastic one.

05:38This is the best.

05:39And this kind of chopstick reminds us of like childhood, right?

05:43So you see the broth is, it's not like a clear broth.

05:46You can tell that there's a lot of, you know, cooking meat in here already.

05:50So what you do is we mix.

05:51Mix it well.

05:53And this too.

05:54Yes.

05:54Oh, this is a must.

05:56It's fish skin fried.

05:57It goes well with noodles.

05:59So I order the small noodle.

06:01You order the big one.

06:03This is how he loves to do.

06:04Rolling the chopstick.

06:06But that's not how I do it.

06:07This is, you're not good at chopstick.

06:09No, I'm not.

06:10So this is a tip for first timer for chopstick.

06:13You can roll it like that.

06:14So usually what I do when I get a bowl of noodles,

06:17I would taste the soup first.

06:18Whether I need more salty or sour.

06:21Oh my God, he's in heaven right now.

06:25I get the noodle.

06:27Decent amount.

06:29And then I swirl in the spoon.

06:33So you don't get splash.

06:36And then top with the pork.

06:38Oh my God.

06:38Then soup.

06:39And then right there.

06:41That's the perfect bite.

06:42Perfect amount of noodles.

06:44Perfect amount of ground pork and soup inside as well.

06:46Let's enjoy.

06:48Cheers.

06:49Yay.

06:52And this one.

06:53Usually in principle, you don't put crispy thing in soup.

06:57But for Thai people, we always put like crispy,

07:01whether it's pork or fish skin into the soup.

07:03It's just add that crunch, but not crispy to the bite.

07:08It's weird, right?

07:08Put fried food in the soup.

07:10Let me explain the taste of the soup.

07:12In Thai we call ching ching, which means like it's very simple,

07:18but in the same time, there's a lot of flavors of pork and pepper and salty.

07:23And that's it.

07:24But it's the most balanced soup.

07:26Very simple, but it's very difficult to perfect it.

07:29See?

07:32Really worth waiting all day just to eat this bowl.

07:36He finished.

07:36I'm eating too fast.

07:38How do you feel?

07:39It's really good.

07:42I love it.

07:50So right now we're at Seetrad, one of my favorite Thai cuisine.

07:53They serve Eastern rustic food.

07:57I love the food, of course, and the vibe,

07:59and you know the whole experience here.

08:00So let's go and see.

08:04So the owner of this restaurant is called Khun Tam and Khun At.

08:08We became good friends and actually Khun Ak's mother,

08:11as you can see in the picture.

08:12She used to be in beauty pages.

08:14She's also helped the kitchen, you know, creating the recipes,

08:18because she came from Thrad, which is close to the sea.

08:21And they would get the best produce from there, the best fish.

08:25They also get the spices from Isan.

08:27So it's very unique and it adds up with the whole flavors and complexity for this restaurant.

08:39Wow.

08:39So this is my favorite appetizer.

08:42It's very refreshing.

08:44It's made from pork and barracuda.

08:46And the dressing here, this is something super unique.

08:50This is my first time trying a dressing like this.

08:53And it's actually very popular down in Thrad.

08:56Let's taste.

08:57So it's just like a salad bowl, but it's Thrad style,

09:01with lemongrass, cabbage, barracuda meat, you know, boiled, and some pork.

09:07Then you get a little bit of this dressing,

09:09which is like chilies, lime, a little bit of sugar, and brittle peanut.

09:15So it's something very nutty, in the same time spicy and sour.

09:20It's just another level.

09:22Let's try.

09:27I love when a dish has a combination of sourness,

09:31some freshness, and herby, a little bit of sweet and salty.

09:35The crispiness of the peanut brittle is amazing.

09:38So the sugar gets very crispy when it dips in this sauce.

09:42This is the perfect appetizer.

09:43You guys have to come and try.

09:51So our second dish is a dish that is almost like a snack before the main course.

09:57This one, I usually use my hand, because you can see it's a whole fish.

10:01So the fish is called silago fish,

10:03and you can actually eat the whole fish, including the fins.

10:06So let's try.

10:10There's actually some bones in there, see?

10:12But you can eat the whole thing, and it gives that more texture and the flavor.

10:17Good salty, umami, and garlicky.

10:20The garlic we use is called Thai garlic,

10:22which is different from what you can find in Europe.

10:25Because this garlic, you can eat with the whole peel as well, see?

10:29And it's very fragrant.

10:30Usually it comes in a very small bowl.

10:32It's not like the Chinese garlic, where it's big.

10:35It adds up with the whole, um, aromatic of the dish.

10:38Over here.

10:45Super crispy.

10:46So here we are, our main course.

10:56And this is my favorite top of the top list for this restaurant.

10:59It's called Mu Cha Muong, which is like pork with cha muong leaves.

11:04The sourness of the stew doesn't come from any lime or tamarind juice.

11:09It comes from this leaf.

11:10He chews this leaf very particularly.

11:13It cannot be too young.

11:15Otherwise, it cannot keep that sourness.

11:17And it cannot be too old.

11:18Otherwise, it's going to be too fibrous.

11:21So let's taste.

11:22You always have to end up your meal with rice.

11:26Sometimes curry in Thailand, a lot of people around the world

11:29would imagine an ordinary curry with coconut.

11:32But actually, some of them doesn't contain any coconut milk as well.

11:35So this is a version that doesn't contain any coconut milk.

11:42This curry will change your whole world of Thai cuisine.

11:45So must try this one.

11:47So my perfect bite for this curry is get the pork belly, the fatty part.

11:53Get some of the cha muong leaves on top.

11:55Rice at the bottom.

11:58This is the bite of your life.

12:01It's so delicious.

12:06I grew up in Bangkok, and even though I study abroad, like in New York,

12:10Bangkok is always my home.

12:12I cannot live anywhere apart from Bangkok because I love the vibe,

12:15the business of it, the charm, and the food here.

12:19I cannot live without Thai food.

Category

Transcript

Recommended