After 25 years of living off of Sukhumvit 24, I am moving. To Samut Prakan. And, while I have nothing against Samut Prakan, I have been bummed about it. I suppose everyone in Bangkok believes that they live in the middle of everything, in the best neighborhood in the city; I am one of those people. I loved my neighborhood. Villa (the real one, on Soi 33/1) was close by if I needed American ingredients (Vlasic baby dills!), as was Emporium; Klong Toey was a short motorcycle ride away for Thai ingredients. I had my hair salon, my eyebrow lady, my pedicurist and my massage place, all within walking distance. My Skytrain stop was a 5-minute walk away, partly air-conditioned if I wanted to access it through Emporium. Movies, bars, good Japanese food: it was all there. And if it wasn’t close by, I had my favorite motorcycle taxi gang waiting for me, to the left of the entrance to the park.
I have to find all new places in my new neighborhood. After 25 years, the thought of it is daunting. But I wanted to say good-bye to all of my favorite places near my old house first. So that’s what I’ve spent the last few days doing. They are, in no particular order:
The chicken and bitter melon noodle guy next to Benjasiri Park
I’ve written about this place before. Everyone in Bangkok thinks the noodle person next to them is the best, and I am no exception. So say whatever you like, but I really believe the guaythiew gai mara here is superior to most other renditions I’ve tasted. The broth is flavorful and sweet, the chicken is well-seasoned, and you can put your own toppings on. What’s not to like? I might miss this place the most of all of my places.
Guaythiew Pik Gai Sainampung
This place between Sukhumvit Sois 20 and 18 is famous for its stewed chicken wing noodles. Because of the shop’s name, people think the vendor, Khun Saowarot, puts honey on the chicken, but the name is really because of the old name of Sukhumvit 20, Sai Nam Pung. In any case, the chicken noodles aren’t the reason I go here, though they are good. They make my favorite bowl of yen ta fo, a slight favorite over another close-by noodle shop, Tang Meng Noodle.
Thong Li
My friend Andrew, who lives on Sukhumvit 20, introduced me to this cookshop-style eatery, which is nearby. It’s become one of my favorite places since then. They specialize in pork liver, but there are tons of great dishes here, and if it’s possible, they keep getting better and better. My favorites here are the kai yad sai (omelet stuffed with minced pork); tom kloang ruammitr (clear soup with tamarind); and pla tuna hung boie (canned tuna steamed with pickled plums).
Kitchen Niigata
One of the great things about my old neighborhood is that there are tons of under-the-radar Japanese eateries nearby: an okonomiyaki place in the plaza next to the entrance to Sukhumvit 39, for instance, or Isshin, the soba place a few steps away from Emporium. But my favorite has long been this place, where I go for lunch about once a month. They used to serve “spaghetti naporitan“, but don’t anymore; the last time I was there, they offered a “yum shiokara”, which is as good of an example of Thai-Japanese fusion as I can think of.
Anyway, it’s a place I go to when I want a relaxed, quiet lunch alone, a sentiment likely shared by all the other solo diners around me there.
OnigirI Lab
This is a relatively new entrant compared to every other place on this list. It opened in a spot I once thought was cursed, across the street from my husband’s cousin’s house. A handful of eateries set up shop there and eventually closed down, and I thought this place would only continue that streak, but something happened and now, it’s quite comfortably full in the mornings and afternoons. Even though I walked by this place almost everyday on my way to the Skytrain, I rarely ate there; I did, however, order on Grab. My go-to orders were Basic Bitch Lite™: the mentaiko with cream cheese, and the natto with wasabi leaves. Sometimes I branched out into the miso egg yolk one or the soy sauce oyster. I never got to try everything on the menu, though, unfortunately. Maybe that can be my next project, after I move a half-hour Skytrain ride away.
Bangkok Glutton 