I love fried chicken. It’s one of the things that I feel betrays my true Thai-ness. I mean, I may not really act like a Thai person, or speak Thai perfectly, but at least I eat like a Thai person. And there are few things that Thai people love more than 1. fried things and 2. chicken.
Which is why it’s a bit strange that Hat Ya-style fried chicken is not so easy to find in Bangkok. Instead, our capital is flooded with Isan-style fried fowl like the sort you’d find at Polo Fried Chicken, buried under a mountain of deep-fried garlic. Although this dish truly does count as one of God’s finest creations, sometimes you feel like having a bit of Southern Thai flair with your chicken.
So I was excited, to say the least, when I did end up in Hat Yai while tagging along with my husband on business. Of course, because we are bona fide Bangkokians now, we had to stop by one of the city’s most popular Southern Thai restaurants, Pa Yang (which, like every other general Southern Thai restaurant, strangely neglects the allure of Hat Yat-style chicken). Instead, we had all the usual suspects: a Southern Thai-style sour curry bristling with fresh turmeric and coconut shoots (gang luang), stir-fried stink beans with sliced pork and shrimp paste (moo pad sator), and a big, fluffy omelet to sop up all that spice.
The next morning, my fried chicken wishes finally came true: a trip to See Kim Yong Market, the most famous market in the city and named after the wealthy Chinese businessman on whose land it sits. I can’t know for sure, but legend may have it that Hat Yai-style chicken was born here, created by a fried chicken vendor who ended up also deep-frying a bunch of shallots given to him by a fellow vendor because they were going bad. The addition of deep-fried shallots was a hit, and Hat Yai chicken was born. Today, Hat Yai chicken is the city’s traditional breakfast, with vendors slinging hot chicken from the break of dawn to just before lunch, when other dishes are allowed to take center stage.
Out of all of the vendors in the market, Bang Loh Kaitod appeared to be the most popular, with a steady queue of customers right up to its closing time at 11am. Unlike many other fried chicken vendors, the meat here isn’t accompanied by sticky rice; instead, the vendor goes full Southern-style with an enormous heaping plate of fluffy Thai-Muslim-style biryani, garlanded with even more deep-fried shallots. Needless to say, everything is absolutely delicious, and they even provide plastic gloves with their food to allow for easy, thorough picking.
Is it one of the best breakfasts available, not only in Hat Yai, but anywhere in Thailand? Yes, absolutely. Will I be frequenting this vendor on a regular basis? Alas, no. The plane ride to Hat Yai is sadly too much of a hassle, and driving there takes 13 hours. I will have to bide my time, like a crocodile in the Nile, until Hat Yai and its magical chicken wander into my gaping maw once again.
Bangkok Glutton 