Showing posts with label Supper. Show all posts

[FOOD] 20150114 Pad Thai Thip Samai (Prathuphi Pad Thai) @ Phra Nakhon, Bangkok


It is said that the Thai national dish i.e. Pad Thai was originated from this stall known as Thip Samai back in 1966. I often see this stall being featured in travel programmes and told myself that this is the one restaurant I need to go.

Pad Thai Thip Samai, or also known as Prathu Phi Pad Thai by the locals ("Prathu Phi" means ghost gate) due to its location nearby Prathu Phi, is well known among the locals and often packed with patrons no matter what time. It's opened until mid night and many will come here for supper after work.

The restaurant is operated in stations to cater for the huge crowd where each station has it's own function i.e. the cooking station, the wrapping station and the garnishing station. Worth mentioning that they use charcoal instead of gas stove for their cookings.

Huge wok of Pad Thai is churned out from time to time, with more than 10 servings per wok. The Pad Thai will then be prepared according to the order and some will be sent to the wrapping station for the Pattaya style omelette wrappings.

It was fun to see how each task was broken down into unit operations in order to be more efficient to cut down lag time between each plate of Pad Thai, without compromising on the quality.

There are a few options available from the normal Pad Thai, Supreme Pad Thai, Prawn Pad Thai etc etc. Not forgetting their special ice blended coconut that taste like 7-11's slurpee but in coconut flavour.

Pad Thai Thip Samai
313 Maha Chai Road Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon Bangkok 10200
Nearest BTS Stations: Nil
Telephone: +66 (0) 2221 6280
Opening Hours: 05:30 pm until 01:30 am

TO GO


Thip Samai is located at Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok, which is very near to Khao San Road or Chinatown. My recommendation will be to come here for supper after your visit to either place. Taking a cab will be the most convenient way but some cab driver might refuse to bring you over due to the short distance. Just tell the driver "Prathu-Phi Pad Thai" and most likely he will know where is it.



SPECIALITY



It was late at night and I managed to get one kind cab driver to bring me over the Prathu-phi Pad Thai. Being the origin of all Pad Thai recipe in Thailand, I was wondering how "legendary" will the Pad Thai be, while being sceptical over the "mass production" method. The restaurant is full of patrons, including the roadside corridor outside the restaurant. Mostly locals who got off work late or dropping by for supper or take away.


The restaurant uses hot flames from the charcoal instead of gas stove, just like how it was done during their inception. Charcoal fire also gives a better aroma and is much hotter than normal gas stove, making the cooking harder as you required to stir fry as quickly as possible to avoid over-burnt.


The cooking starts off from a big wok and then segregate into smaller plates of Pad Thai for the next station to do a fast stir-fry action with intense fire with additional toppings or ingredients according to the order.


Those who ordered the Supreme Pad Thai will be sent to the next station for the omelette wrapping where you can see the worker skilfully wrapped each plate of Pad Thai in a blink of an eye, like a machine.


The finished product will be transferred into a clean plate and garnished with coriander and chilli. The waiter will then fill his hands with plates of Pad Thai before doing the delivery. It was fun and interesting to see the whole process on how fast your Pad Thai can be served and how efficient the workers work.


My Supreme Pad Thai (85 Baht) is ready in a jiffy and looks very inviting.


Traditionally, Pad Thai will be served along with some raw vegetables such as chives and bean sprout. However, I noticed many locals did not touch these raw vegetables and only concentrate on their Pad Thai. 


Not forgetting the coconut "slurpee" which is said to be a secret recipe passed down by the Queen directly to the owner of this restaurant. It does taste like a coconut flavour slurpee, if you are wondering.


The Pad Thai tastes good with nice flavours but was not as good as I expected. Probably I have too high hopes prior to this. The ingredients also seemed "ungenerous" for the pricing of 85 Baht, in contrast to the Pad Thai Fire Look I had in Thong Lo which comes with generous amount of prawns and crab meat, at a cheaper price and better flavour.

SUMMARY


Overall it is still a good and satisfying meal to have especially for supper. However, was slightly disappointed with the taste probably due to the mass production and high bar set by Pad Thai Fire Look that I had previously in Thong Lo. Nevertheless, it is still good to experience the very first recipe and to witness the stations of preparing in Pad Thai Thip Samai.

Taste
☆☆☆☆
Good pad thai
Value
☆☆☆
Pricing towards the high side with minimal ingredients and toppings
Service
☆☆☆☆☆
Despite the huge crowd, service is excellent and prompt with very good manners.
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆
Opening Hours
05:30pm until 01:30am (Daily)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Minimal
Website
Nil

GPS: 13.752750, 100.504708
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[PLACE] 20150113 Thong Lo Food Street @ Thong Lo, Bangkok


Street food is what Bangkok is known for, and to find abundance of street food, you need to find a food street where the food stalls gather. Similar to our Malaysian version of "wai sik gai" (Glutton Street) like those in Jalan Alor, Pudu or PJ SS2, There are many street foods around Bangkok, some open in the morning, some in the night, some all day long.

Thong Lo Food Street would probably be one of the well known ones with some famous stalls around. The Sukhumvit Soi 38 transforms into a busy street after 6pm with shops and vendors opening for business.

The number of tourist is less here compared to hot areas like Chinatown or Pratunam. You may find most of the common street food like soup noodles, rice, pork satay, mango sticky rice, desserts, pad Thai etc including the famous stalls like the Pad Thai Fire Look and Ning Mango Stick Rice that I introduced in separate posts.

Sukhumbit Soi 38 is very accessible via BTS as it is just right below the BTS Thong Lo Station and spans across more than 200 meters. It opens from 6pm onwards until mid night.

Sukhumvit Soi 38, Thong Lo
Nearest BTS Stations: Thong Lo
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: 06:00pm onwards

TO GO


The Thong Lo Food Street is conveniently located under the BTS Thong Lo station. Just take the Sukhumvit Line (Light Green) and exit at Thong Lo station. You wouldn't miss the sight of the busy Sukhumvit 38 street from the station.



ATTRACTION



Restaurants, shops stalls and street vendors are all here waiting for you if you are looking for your dinner or supper.


There are more locals than tourists here but nevertheless you will still spot some around due to its convenience by the BTS station.


Stall selling Thai dessert, which I guessed should be something like the red ruby or sweet soup with condiments.


The famous award winning Pad Thai Fire Look at the alley on the right of the street.


The famous Ning Mango Stick Rice which serves very quality mango stick rice, definitely recommended.


Pork satay (skewers) and sausages like those you commonly seen around the streets of Bangkok.


This fruit juice stall sells cheap and quality juices with price ranges between 20 Baht to 40 Baht, depending on the type of juices.


Passion fruit juice is one of the recommended juices because you rarely see this in other place, but you need to bear with the blended seeds although it is edible.


Too much spicy food in Bangkok and need something thats lighter? Try the congee stall as well as it serve Cantonese-liked porridge which is cooked into very fine and almost watery texture. The one in the picture above is the salted egg with mince pork, Chinese style.


Last but not least, a glimpse on my dinner, the Pad Thai by Pad Thai Fire Look.


SUMMARY


Overall the Thong Lo Food Street has many to offer especially with the famous stalls around to guarantee your journey here. The price seems to be on the higher side with minimum cost per dish of at least 40 Baht and up. However, the people here don't speak Englishv very well, most of the ordering are done by pointing and numbering. Those stalls who are familiar with tourists will have a picture menu ready and you just need to point. It may not be the best food street, but it also will not disappoint.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
who can resist food street??
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
food by the street, but that's what makes it delicious
Entrance Fee
Nil
Opening Hours
06:00pm onwards (Daily)
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A

GPS: 13.723467, 100.579003
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[FOOD] 20150113 Ning Mango Sticky Rice @ Thong Lo, Bangkok


The sweet mango and the savoury sticky rice, the combination of both is probably one of the most popular Thai dessert that is served in almost every Thai restaurant and found in many streets around Thailand.

It is very easy to prepare, but it is not easy to make a mouth watering mango sticky rice without the understanding of the ingredient. Among all, the best mango sticky rice I had so far is definitely the Ning Mango at Thong Lo Food Street.

There are a few stalls selling mango sticky rice in Thong Lo Food Street located at Soi Sukhumvit 38, but the one you need to look out for is definitely the one hidden at the side alley, which is the same location with the Pad Thai Fire Look.

Right side alley, Sukhumvit 38, Thong Lo
Nearest BTS Stations: Thong Lo
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: 06:00pm onwards

TO GO


The Thong Lo Food Street is conveniently located under the BTS Thong Lo station. Just take the Sukhumvit Line (Light Green) and exit at Thong Lo station. You wouldn't miss the sight of the busy Sukhumvit 38 street from the station.

Once you are at the street, you need to locate the side alley at your right side, behind the fruit juice stall. Inside this alley is where two hidden gems are located along with a Korean food stall operated by a Korean lady. The Ning Mango is right behind the fruit juice stall.




SPECIALITY



The view from above at the BTS station. The whole stretch of the street are all food stalls while the Ning Mango is located at the right alley seen in this picture.


Here, meet Ning, the stall owner who has her smile everytime, preparing plates and plates of mango sticky rice. The serving here is either small, medium or big, priced at 60 Baht, 80 Baht and 100 Baht respectively (RM6.60, RM8.80 and RM11). Pricey? maybe. Worth it? Definitely.


I ordered the medium one and the portion is generous as shown above. What separates Ning's mango sticky rice with the rest is the quality of ingredients used. 

The mango is very sweet, and fiberless which I believed it's the famous local Thai Nam Doc Mai mango. I can just eat the mango alone! The sticky rice texture is just soft and nice unlike some other stall which might be hard or undercooked, with the thick coconut milk to add the creamy texture and flavour.

This will be a stall I will definitely come back for my next trip when I'm craving for mango stick rice.

SUMMARY


Tried many mango sticky rice in Malaysia and Thailand, and I think Ning's mango sticky rice might be one of the best thus far. It is professionally prepared with fresh and quality ingredients, and most of all, 5 star restaurant quality at street price. 

Taste
☆☆☆☆☆
Probably one of the best you can get from the streets
Value
☆☆☆☆
slightly pricey but well worth for the quality
Service
☆☆☆☆☆
very friendly Ning
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆
Opening Hours
06:00pm until midnight (Daily)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Nil
Website
http://www.facebook.com/NingMango

GPS: 13.723178, 100.578379
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[FOOD] 20150113 Pad Thai Fire Look @ Thong Lo, Bangkok


Pad Thai is the Thai version of Char Keow Teow (or Char Keu Tiow) to us in Malaysia. Both are basically stir fried flat rice vermicelli but what sets them apart is the vermicelli and the taste. Pad Thai uses a thicker version of vermicelli which has chewy and tangy texture while the Malaysian Char Keow Teow is a thinner and softer version of the vermicelli. Taste wise, Pad Thai is towards the sweet side while Char Keow Teow is towards to savoury side. Pad Thai vendors can be found every where in Bangkok.

I went to Thong Lo Food Street for my dinner and to search for this little hidden stall that's at the side alley instead of the main food street. The Pad Thai was so good that I need to have a separate post for it instead of summarized within the Thong Lo Food Street Post.

It may not seemed like one but this stall, which is known as the Pad Thai Fire Look (sorry didn't managed to get any of the Thai name) is one of the award winning Pad Thai and was crowned as the best Pad Thai some years back, as shown by the newspaper cutting displayed at the stall.

The stall is manned by a middle-age man, very cool guy and never smiles (maybe that's how it gets its name of Fire Look??). All he does is just stir frying with his spatula and wok but his pad thai is one of the best I have tried, even better than the famous Pratu Phi Pad Thai.

Right side alley, Sukhumvit 38, Thong Lo
Nearest BTS Stations: Thong Lo
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: 06:00pm onwards

TO GO


The Thong Lo Food Street is conveniently located under the BTS Thong Lo station. Just take the Sukhumvit Line (Light Green) and exit at Thong Lo station. You wouldn't miss the sight of the busy Sukhumvit 38 street from the station.

Once you are at the street, you need to locate the side alley at your right side, behind the fruit juice stall. Inside this alley is where two hidden gems are located along with a Korean food stall operated by a Korean lady. The Fire Look Pad Thai is located at the end of the alley, which is also a seafood stall.


SPECIALITY



The view from above at the BTS station. The whole stretch of the street are all food stalls while the Pad Thai stall is located at the right alley seen in this picture.


The stall is actually like a seafood stall, serving various other dishes. But right below the sign board you will notice his claim on the champion of Thai cooking contest.


Communication was a big challenge as they don't speak English at all. I checked the menu displayed at the stall to confirm that this is the Pad Thai stall I was looking for and saw the newspaper cuttings. I asked the girl, who is also the stall assistant whether they have Pad Thai because most of the menu displayed are seafood rice dishes. The girl nodded her head, and I said "Pad Thai, one".

The man in the beanie is the main chef while the other guy in black shirt apparently is co-chef, mainly preparing other meals like the seafood rice dishes. I noticed some tourists asked for Pad Thai after my order but was told "no Pad Thai..", not sure whether it is communication error or just sold out.

The Famous Fire Look Pad Thai - 70 Baht (RM7.70)

The Pad Thai took some time to reach my table. First glance, I noticed that this Pad Thai is very different from the normal Pad Thai with its abundance of condiments and ingredients. Most of all, the pieces of crab meat on top that justifies the price of 70 Baht. Trying hard to list out the ingredients which includes chives, tofu pieces, dried shrimp, omelette, prawn, fresh mango and crab meat. It's accompanied with condiments like lime, bean sprout, mint and chives.

The ingredients overwhelmed the noodles and I wished it had more noodles because one plate is not enough!

SUMMARY


Overall a very enjoying plate of Pad Thai with its rich flavours and generous ingredients that justifies the price of 70 Baht. Would definitely come back one day to try it again.

Taste
☆☆☆☆☆
One of the best Pad Thai with generous ingredients.
Value
☆☆☆☆☆
That crab meat alone justifies the price.
Service
☆☆☆
Very mean guy, communication difficulty
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
Opening Hours
06:00pm (Daily - I suppose?)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Nil
Website
Nil

GPS: 13.723178, 100.578379
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[FOOD] 20141221 Guilin Rice Noodles 爽又爽桂林米粉 @ Haizhu, Guangzhou



Guilin Noodles 桂林米粉 is a well known and common noodle dish in China, believed to be originated from Guilin, Guangxi Province (yet to be verified). Unlike other noodles which are mostly made of wheat, the Guilin Noodle is actually made of rice flour. However, the texture differs from the rice vermicelli (beehun) that we usually had. I used to have rice vermicelli and keow teow but never knew that a third variant of the texture can exist.

The Guilin Rice Noodle has a very smooth yet tangy texture. It will not soak up the broth like normal rice vermicelli but will hold enough for taste. Typically preparation includes cold noodles, sour and spicy, beef noodles etc.

I stumble upon this noodle eatery known as Shuang You Shuang Guilin Rice Noodle 爽又爽桂林米粉when I'm on the way to the Guangzhou Tower after late arrival from Shenzhen. It is located not too far away from the Guangzhou Middle Ave Bridge (there are many bridges along Zhujiang River!). My stomach was growling and have no idea where to grab a quick bite. The weather was cold and I was thinking a hot bowl of soup noodle would be a good choice.

This eatery is a small cornet shop at the side of the road, with about 6 small tables within (Sorry no pictures of the shop as I was starving!). There are a variety of Guilin Noodles and normal noodles to choose from, rice dishes are also available. Price ranges from RMB8 (RM4.50) to RMB12 (RM7) for a bowl of noodle or rice.

No. 71, Jinju Rd, Haizhu, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
广州市海珠区金菊路71号
Nearest Metro Station: Lujiang Station, Exit A
Telephone: +86 20 6126 7525
Opening Hours: 07:00am until 01:00am

TO GO


Disclaimer: Google services are barred in China. You need to either bypass the "Great Wall" or use a VPN. Alternatively, you may use their domestic sites such as Baidu Map.

There's no direct access by Metro for this eatery, with the nearest Metro station being the Lujiang Station. It is more recommended for you to take a bus or a cab or just take a walk from Guangzhou Tower as the river bank overs quite a scene.




SPECIALITY


A hot bowl of soup noodle is all you need during a cold weather. A quick glance a the menu, you will notice a variety of noodles can be chose from with beef and pork being the dominant flavour.

Char Siew Rice Noodle 叉烧粉 - RMB9 (RM5.20)

I ordered a very safe choice which is the char siew rice noodles. The serving here is more generous in comparison to Hong Kong, with different toppings like peanut, fried long beans etc within. The broth is clear soup yet flavourful. The peanut is surprisingly good with a very nutty flavour, which is very different from normal peanuts available in Malaysia. The char siew was just mediocre while the noodle was the highlight.

Mixed Variety Noodle 什锦面 - RMB9 (RM5.20)

This is my personal favourite as I like the texture of this noodle. It gives more filling to the stomach with a richer flavour due to the topping used.

五香卤肉饭 Five Spices Stew Pork Rice - RMB12 (RM7)

Last but not least, I also ordered a bowl of rice to try (please note, on sharing basis). However, would recommend to give the rice a skip and just focus on the noodles. 

SUMMARY


Overall, you have to try Guilin Rice Noodles when you are around in China. Not necessary from this same stall, but can be any other stalls that you stumble upon. No harm trying something new that you never taste before.

Taste
☆☆☆☆
for the noodle
☆☆☆
for the rice
Value
☆☆☆☆
pricey for cheap eatery like this but overall cheap
Service
☆☆☆☆
not too bad with prompt service
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
cheap eatery, hence lower hygiene cautious 
Opening Hours
07:00am until 01:00am daily
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A


GPS: 23.100896, 113.313899
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