Pan Mee at PJ Old Town – Springy!

Outside Yan Woh Medical Hall, 80, Jalan Othman, 46000, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia (Opposite Public Bank)

Lady Fartsalot has been bugging me to take her to this pan mee stall for months.

I haven’t been too eager to go because I am not very interested in pan mee in general, and the traffic and parking at PJ Old Town can get quite stressful.

But she is persistent and we finally went.

It was an outdoor stall set up right outside a Chinese medical hall (which happened to be closed) with tables and chairs placed wherever possible, including on the five-foot way next to the medical hall’s entrance. Wonder what the arrangement is on days when the medical hall is open?

Run-down stalls like this occasionally serve epic food. This wasn't the case here, however.

The wait for our food was surprisingly long considering we were pretty much the only customers there.

We ordered a bowl of dry noodles each and when they arrived, I could immediately smell the sesame oil – an ingredient not present in typical pan mee. This dish stands apart from regular pan mee in several other ways:

• The ‘dry’ noodles weren’t very dry because it had quite a lot of sweetish dark gravy.
• On top of the usual minced pork and ikan bilis, it also had thick, juicy slices of shiitake.
• Most interesting of all, the noodles were – as the headline says – quite springy as opposed to the doughy texture of most pan mee I’ve had.

The mushrooms – thickly sliced, plump and juicy – are definitely the highlight of this dish for me.

Overall it’s not too bad – while it’s not exactly epic, it is at least slightly above average. What it has going for it is that it offers flavours and ingredients that aren’t typically found in pan mee.

Worth a try if you happen to be in the area. I wouldn’t make a special trip for it, though.

Bite-sized review

Interesting pan mee in PJ Old Town with springy noodles, sesame oil, thick slices of shiitake and lots of sweetish dark gravy that makes the ‘dry’ noodles not so dry. Worth a try if you happen to be in the neighbourhood.

Stats

Price: RM14 for two bowls of noodles and two drinks.

Hours: Sorry, not too sure about their opening hours.

Kin Kin Kota Damansara – Now even more accessible!

No. 39-1, Jalan PJU 5/12, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

We found out recently that the legendary Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee has opened an outpost in Kota Damansara.

No one was happier about this than Lady Fartsalot – who’s something of a Kin Kin addict. She’s also a pan mee snob – flat-out refusing to eat at any other chilli pan mee shop, insisting that the noodles are just ‘not the same’. I personally can’t tell the difference but seeing as I’m equally sensitive about sub-standard char koay teow, I will take her word for it.

I think most people have eaten the Kin Kin dry chilli pan mee before, but if you haven’t, here’s a quick description… along with my deepest sympathies. The thick, chewy noodles come with minced pork, crunchy ikan bilis, scallions, little bits of chue yau char (crunchy pork lard croutons) and a perfectly poached egg with runny yolk.

This is a historic moment: the first-ever food photo on this blog taken by Lady Fartsalot's brand-new camera.

On the table is a container full of oily chilli flakes that you add to taste. I usually add 2.5 spoonfuls, then mix thoroughly. The heat of the chilli doesn’t feel very intense in the mouth, but it starts to burn quite uncomfortably in the tummy about 20 minutes after the meal.

The new camera really captures the oily menace of the chilli extremely well.

As I eat, I try to get a little bit of everything in every bite: firm noodles; salty, crunchy ikan bilis; meaty minced pork; fresh, crisp scallions – all held together nicely by the spicy chilli.

Before you know it, there's barely anything left in the bowl. As you can see, the chilli flakes turn the creamy-white noodles a potent-looking orangy yellow. Consider the colour an effective visual warning: the deeper the colour, the more it'll burn.

They also have pan mee soup, but I’ve never ordered it before.

The Kota Damansara branch opened in early 2014, but I guess not many people know about it yet because – though there was a steady stream of customers – it wasn’t as packed as I expected.

Maybe it’s because Kin Kin fans are now spread out over more outlets. They currently have branches in Cheras, the Publika food court and Kota Damansara in addition to the main branch in KL. They’ve also just opened an outlet in Singapore, prompting a buddy of mine to comment that it’s now just a matter of time before the Singaporeans try to copyright Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee as a Singaporean invention.

But that’s a problem for the future. For now, PJ folks rejoice! It’s now easier than ever for you to satisfy your Kin Kin addiction. As a bonus, the new shop is clean, air-conditioned and run by two nice ladies who provide good service. Go eat there quick before the queues start to form!

The new place is air-conditioned, brightly lit and so clean it's almost clinical. Perhaps the lady in black is looking so glum because she misses the grimy 'character' of the main branch?

Bite-sized review

The legendary Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee now has an outlet in Kota Damansara! PJ folks can now enjoy this unique pan mee in air-conditioned comfort without having to endure shitty KL traffic.

Stats

Price: RM7.00 per bowl. The Publika branch charges RM7.90 a bowl – likely because of higher rent. We haven’t been to the KL branch in a long time but we suspect it’ll be about RM6.50 or thereabouts per bowl there.

Hours: 10am to 9pm.

Coffee Sprex – Basic

No. 9, Jalan SS25/23, Taman Plaza, 47301, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

I normally just write about the food at a restaurant, but here is a rare opportunity for me to furnish a little backstory.

A while back, there was this new cafe that opened up in Damansara Perdana called DiB, which stands for Deaf in Business. It was a Hawaiian-themed joint opened by a doctor to – as its rather unimaginative name indicates – provide jobs for the hearing-impaired. Its name aside, DiB did serve up pretty good food and coffee. They used quality ingredients and I felt that they offered good value for money.

So I was rather saddened when they shifted away to the nearby PJ Trade Center – and thus outside the radius within which Lady Fartsalot would be willing to walk.

Then in August 2013, two of the staff from DiB decided to strike out on their own and thus opened Coffee Sprex. My lazier half found out about it on Facebook and here we are at lunch one weekend.

Firstly, the place is very small. It occupies just half a shoplot and in that space they had to fit their kitchen, coffee machine, a display cabinet with cakes and pies and six tables that can seat two each.

It may only be half a shop, but the food is not half bad!

The menu is interesting, with many items that are probably unique to Coffee Sprex. We’re curious about quite a lot fo them and will definitely go back often to try them out.

The staff are hearing-impaired so we ordered by pointing at items on the menu. Then they somehow managed to crank out all the stuff we ordered from a tiny kitchen that has only one burner.

The drinks arrived first. Mine was a macadamia latte that didn’t really taste very much like macadamias, but was still a decent glass of iced coffee.

Let's just call this kopi ais, then.

Lady Fartsalot decided to be more adventurous, and ordered one of their ‘exotic brewed teas’. It was a turmeric milk tea that was incredibly thick, particularly if you stirred up the bits at the bottom of the really, really big teapot they brought to our table. It was sort of like a pale yellow porridge, and tasted of, well, turmeric… and – to me – dried Chinese medicinal herbs. It certainly was exotic, perhaps a bit to much for us.

Seriously an acquired taste.

The food was more successful.

The steamed burgers are very basic, devoid of sides or garnishing, and at a basic price that’s just slightly higher than Ramly Burgers. Steaming made the patties extremely tender and juicy.

The beef burger had some runny sauce that tasted strongly of dried herbs – perhaps oregano – and was sandwiched between incredibly soft steamed buns.

And the cheese was all nice and melty, too.

The pork burger was as juicy, though with a more springy quality. It had a porky taste that was just right and its sauce was more barbecue sauce-like and less herby.

The pork burger is nice, but I still think lamb and beef make the best burger patties.

Our favourite of all was the lamb – which we had on a later visit and didn’t get a picture of – just like the beef burger but with a very nice lamb flavour.

Spicy Joe was a pasta dish with a spicy, tomatoey sauce and minced pork. It tasted hearty and delicious, but the pasta was unfortunately overcooked.

Sigh.. if only the pasta had been a little more al dente... 

Finally, the cheese dip with toasted bread. I was expecting a creamy dip but what we got served was a very watery liquid with strands of half-melted cheese and bits of bacon and mushroom floating in it. It tasted fine but I really wouldn’t call this a dip. I actually ordered this on two separate occasions and was served the same thing – so I guess this wasn’t a mistake and they really meant to make it this way.

They should name this 'cheese soup' instead.

All in all, we had some interesting and creative dishes, though some perhaps not executed as well as others.

I hope they do well and expand to a bigger place with a better-equipped kitchen. In the mean time, we will definitely go back frequently with our support and appetites.

Snack-sized review

A tiny, basic place offering an interesting and creative menu. Decent, no-frills food at no-frills prices. Some items are executed better than others. The steamed burgers are our favourites. Seats 12 max, so don’t bring a large party.

Stats

Hours: 8:00am to 7:00pm

Price: Very good prices with most items below RM10.

Bangkok Part 5/5: Any other business

Finally, we conclude our Bangkok report. Here, we wrap things up with a randomlist of food that we found to be interesting in one way or another.

Raw grilled sausage

The first stall we ate at during this trip was right outside our hotel. There was a lady selling grilled meat. We had the chicken wing, which tasted pretty normal, and then we got these pork sausage things. They were on the grill for barely a minute so the minced pork inside was cold and raw, tasting strongly of garlic and some sort of chimichurri mix. It was sort of a pork tartare, really. It tasted fine, but it being our first day, we were worried that eating raw pork would wreak havoc on our digestive systems and spoil the rest of our makan plans so we had to ask for it to be cooked a little more.

There are many stalls like this around the hotel, each offering a big selection of grilled meats. 

McDonald’s spinach pie

I was quite curious about this, and since I didn’t think we were going to see these in Malaysia, I decided to give it a try. Like all pies at McDonald’s, this one was exceedingly hot inside and took a long time to cool down. I was hoping for more of a spinach taste, but it tasted more of corn than anything else.

Tastes just like creamed corn pie with green food colouring - maybe they made a typo with the name.

Thai kuey chap

This stall was at Khao San Road, right next to the chicken salad stall from Bangkok Part 1. They had rice noodle sheets rolled up like chee cheong fun, together with various pig parts and a few different cuts of pork all swimming in a dark, porky, hearty broth. Great comfort food if you’re someone who adores pig parts as much as Lady Fartsalot does. Like pretty much all of the food we had in Bangkok, you can adjust the flavour to your liking with the sweet-salty-spicy-sour condiments on the table.

More pork parts than you can shake a chopstick at.

Gourd dogs

These snacks were sort of like corn dogs, except they were gourd-shaped and composed almost entirely of batter – a mostly sweet batter that was fried and then dipped in more batter and then fried again to achieve its distinctive shape. When we’ve chewed down to the hotdog bit, we found that it was extremely tiny and tasted sort of sweet as well. It was rather mediocre and sorely lacking in the meat department – something you absolutely cannot accuse our next entry of.

You could also call it a stunted corn dog.

Meat platter

It was the first stall at the Seacon pasar malam that caught my attention – cheese-stuffed sausages, luncheon meats, hams, fish cakes and more… a meat-lover’s dream spread dunked in boiling oil and cut up into bite-sized pieces of salty, meaty, greasy deliciousness and slathered in chilli sauce, mustard and mayonnaise. This massive platter of processed meat goodness was only 100 Baht and filled me up a little too much right at the start of this particular pasar malam crawl, but I have absolutely no regrets buying it.

In my mind, few things in the world look better than this gorgeous pile of processed meat. 

Well, this concludes our coverage of the stuff we ate around Bangkok. We’ve tried some exciting new flavours and are planning to go back for more very soon – and hopefully come back with more lists of tasty discoveries. Next post, however, we’ll be back in Malaysia with a big hawker favourite from Sungai Petani.

Bangkok Part 4/5: Tasty discoveries

You can find good food simply by wandering aimlessly around the streets of Bangkok and stopping by wherever looks or smells good. This post covers the food we stumbled upon that we really liked but didn’t make it into our best-of list.

Pork noodle at floating market

This shop is one of the most unique ones I have ever seen – the dining area is quite long but only about 3 feet wide, with a long table along one wall and just enough space to sit. There isn’t even room for people to walk behind seated diners. It was empty when we were there, but I imagine that when it’s full, diners will have to pass the bowls from the kitchen (situated in a roomier part of the shop) down the table to others seated further away.

Anyway, the noodles. They came in a thick, dark gravy with some meaty bits mixed in. The flavour was deep and rich and strong, tasting of aromatics and pork that’s been stewed till the meat and collagen disintegrate into the gravy and thickens it. On the table was also a special chilli paste that added heat and even more body to the gravy.

It was well worth squeezing into that cramped space for a taste of this bowlful of joy.

  

Floss crepe at floating market

There was a guy selling these sweet treats off the back of his bicycle, all his ingredients and gear stored in a tiny storage box mounted over the rear wheel. We took notice because of the neverending crowd of customers gathered around him, waiting patiently for their orders. The ‘crepe’ was actually miniature versions of popiah skin – the really thin, circular type used by popiah hawkers, not the thicker square kind sold frozen in supermarkets. And the ‘floss’ was like thicker versions of cotton candy, taking the form of shards that were hard, brittle and melt-in-the-mouth. It was not too sweet, and tasted like it was made out of soy milk. It was very enjoyable and light, and tasted healthy to boot.

This extremely basic 'stall' looked like it was decades-old.

Like a cotton candy dessert taco.

Orange slush at floating market

I saw this stall and suddenly had a hankering for orange Slurpee. Well I bought one and was thrown off by the taste a little. I thought it wasn’t orange, or orange mixed with pomelo and lime or something. Many sips and wrong guesses later, I realised with intense embarrassment that what I was tasting was orange all along. It was all-natural, freshly squeezed orange juice, with the distinctive taste of pith. I was so used to all that artificially flavoured crap we get in bottles in Malaysia that I didn’t even recognise real orange flavour when I tasted it. Absolutely shameful.

Tastes so natural I didn't recognise it.

Coconut near floating market

We were walking away from the floating market when we saw this stall down a side lane. There were a bunch of guys there, chattering away and nonchalantly carving coconuts into smooth, perfect little shapes for sale. Their knives were seriously sharp, as was their skill. The coconuts they sold were a bargain at only 10 Baht each, and were filled with lots of sweet coconut water and thick but tender flesh. It was a delicious and refreshing treat made all the more enjoyable by the coconut-carving master class happening in front of us.

A really good bargain at just 10 Baht per coconut.

Grilled sausage

We were just walking along the back streets near our hotel when we saw this lone pushcart grilling up delicious-looking links of sausage. Each link was only about a mouthful in size, but packed some really nice big flavours. The skin was firm and popped nicely when bitten into, the meat firm and springy, overflowing with juice, and there was a very nice hint of lemongrass and heat. Whoever you are, anonymous sausage grilling guy, you certainly made our walk highly memorable.

As a bonus, the stall was also situated across the street from the cool-looking brick wall in the background.

Insect larvae

One of my main must-eat items in Bangkok was bugs, so I was really happy when we stumbled upon this stall selling them around the Pratunam area. Tried a sample of crunchy baby cricket, but ended up buying these larvae, which the vendor reheated in hot oil and spritzed with a vinegary dressing. The outer carapaces were nice and crunchy and the insides had the rich taste and consistency of the deep-fried fish eggs I usually order at banana leaf restaurants. It was a good, nutritious and healthy snack which even Lady Fartsalot found enjoyable, once she got over her queasiness.

I'd take these over caramel popcorn any day.

It’s taken far longer than it should, be we will be wrapping up this Bangkok trip report soon. Part 5 is coming up shortly…

Bangkok Part 2/5: Best of the rest

Last post, we covered my top 5 favourite things to eat in Bangkok. It hasn’t been an easy list to make, and I’m still not entirely sure I chose the correct top 5 because there was just so much good food there.

A few of the things we ate could easily have made the top 5 if someone else had written this blog, and this post is for them. In no particular order, here are the next 6 best things I ate in Bangkok.

Chocolate Lava Cake at After You, Siam Paragon

We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table at this famous dessert place in the basement of the high-end Siam Paragon mall. And it was a weekday afternoon – so you can imagine how long a wait you will be in for during weekends.

A taste of the Chocolate Lava Cake and we immediately understood why. It was easily the best chocolate lava cake we’ve ever had. The cake was soft and light, and had a thick, dark, super-rich chocolate sauce oozing out of it. It was not too sweet, and had a pronounced saltiness that added a pleasant savoury dimension to its flavour profile. There was more chocolate hardened and stuck to the bottom of the plate. It tasted like hazelnuts and I spent most of our time there just chipping and scraping it off the plate with a spoon.

The sour strawberries complemented the rich, sweet chocolate very nicely. The scoop of ice-cream was, however, more of a nice-to-have.

We also ordered the Horlicks Latte which was great –rich and thick, with a caramel-like sweetness. 

The stirrer gives me an idea: this would be EPIC if frozen and served as a popsicle.

But the strawberry crepe was a big disappointment. It was watery and didn’t have much strawberry flavour. Avoid at all costs.

Probably the best thing on the plate was the dollop of cream on the side.

Thab Thim Krob in Chinatown

This is such a ubiquitous item on Thai restaurant menus and we’ve obviously had it many times before in Malaysia. But the one we had on arriving in Chinatown is simply on another level. The santan is rich and thick and sweet, and the sourness of the jackfruit slices just offsets it perfectly. There were also cubes of thick but surprisingly tender coconut flesh, as well as deep red water chestnut pieces. A bargain at 40 Baht, especially compared against more expensive versions in Malaysia that’s nowhere near as good.

I would eat dessert more often if more of them tasted like this.

Chee Cheong Fun in Chinatown

This stall outside the Seiko shop in Chinatown serves up a chee cheong fun variant that’s unlike any of the ones we typically find in Malaysia. The rice noodles are incredibly light, and covered in a tasty soy sauce-based stew with tender chunks of pork, mushrooms and cuttlefish. Slices of fried garlic add just the right touch of bitterness and fragrance.

Single portions of the noodles are steamed in individual bamboo baskets.

Like all Thai eateries, this one had a holder with 4 different condiments on the table. One of these condiments – the tangy green one, seemed unique to this stall and goes very well with the chee cheong fun.

Just 40 Baht for this plateful of wonderfulness. It was so good I had to order a second one though I was already quite full at the time.

The stall owner hard at work preparing an order. If you crop out the Thai writing, this photo could easily have been taken in Hong Kong.

Pad Thai at Ban Laem

We decided to go to the Maeklong Market by train. The first leg of our journey was a 1-hour ride from Bangkok to Ban Laem. From there, we were supposed to take a second train direct to Maeklong. But on arriving at Ban Laem, we found out that the train schedule had changed and we needed to wait a few hours to catch our train.

This turned out to be lucky for us. As we were wandering around while waiting for the train, we randomly stepped into this shop that turned out to have pretty good pad thai. The noodles were nice and firm and chewy. They were a little on the sweet side but that’s easily balanced off with the condiments on the table. Add heat, salt or tang as desired and enjoy!

Our first plate of pad thai for this trip was a pretty good one.

Grilled scallops at Amphawa Floating Market

On arriving at Maeklong, we checked out the market, which didn’t offer anything special beyond the train that passes inches from your face. Once we’ve experienced that, we immediately hopped on a tuk-tuk (my first one ever) to the floating market nearby.

There were plenty of food stalls at the floating market, as well as along the narrow streets connecting to it. Of the many tasty things on offer there, among our favourites were these fresh, perfectly grilled scallops. Firm, sweet and a decent size, they came with a spicy-tangy dipping sauce that reminded me of the sauce at Nong & Jimmy back in Malaysia.

At 50 Baht for half a dozen, it was a pretty good deal too.

Century eggs at night market near Seacon Square

These eggs were coated and cooked in a spicy fish paste and came with a spicy-sweet thai chilli sauce. The black yolk was rich and creamy, almost runny. There was more heat in the fish paste coating, and it matched up nicely with the richness of the egg. This was a very interesting century egg experience - very nice and tasty but totally different from any century eggs I've tried before.

If century eggs freak you out (guess you must be a Westerner) they also sell regular eggs.

So ends part 2. Do look out for the next installment in this series of posts on Bangkok. Part 3 will be on well-known makan places that don’t quite live up to their hype. See you then!

Bangkok Part 1/5: My top 5

We recently took a 5-day trip to Bangkok, partly on a whim, partly to clear some leave before year-end, and mainly because I hadn’t been there before and was tired of Lady Fartsalot’s overly-dramatic incredulous reaction every time this was brought up in conversation.

As usual, this trip was primarily about looking for good stuff to eat.

I’d had good food in Thailand before: in Phuket (in spite of the fact that it was overly touristy) and in Koh Lipe (even though it was nearly off-season when we were there and a lot of shops were closed); but Bangkok would offer up a whole new level of amazing tastes and textures.

There was food everywhere. It seemed that there were little push-carts and shops liberally spread out along every main road and down every side lane. Massive, neverending markets were filled with stalls displaying a maddening array of tempting treats. Obviously we didn’t have enough time (or the stomach capacity) to try everything, but we did eat enough to fill 5 whole posts.

This first post, let’s check out my top 5 favourite things to eat in Bangkok – the best of the best in a city filled with really, really good food.

5. Fried chicken salad

We were at Khao San road, which was choked with gaudy, touristy bars; neon-lit tattoo places (probably the sort where drunken farang go to get tattoos of Chinese words expressing deep and philosophical thoughts like ‘chicken noodle soup’); and overpriced seafood places serving mediocre food.

Following my usual rule of thumb, we pushed past the throngs and walked till we stopped seeing white people – and came to a small cluster of stalls where the locals who worked there presumably went to enjoy proper Thai food at decent prices.

My favourite view when on vacation: not a single foreigner to be seen. 

This was where we came upon a roadside stall selling fried chicken salad. It was a bargain at just 50 Baht, with generous chunks of tender fried chicken breast, the batter crispy and flavourful. This was tossed with raw onions, carrots and assorted greens. It had peanuts, and some raw long beans with a subtle sweet flavour that worked surprisingly well with the other ingredients. Everything was held together with a spicy-tangy dressing.

One of my top 10 all-time favourite salads.

It was a light and tasty meal; and I thought a smaller portion would have made an excellent starter. Trust the Thais to make even fried chicken taste this healthy and delicious.

4. Somtam Nua

There are several branches of this chain. The one we went to was located across the main road from the high-end Siam Paragon shopping mall, down a narrow alleyway lined with mostly-closed shops. If you have trouble finding it, there is a tourist information booth nearby where you can ask for directions.

The place was packed with locals, which was always a good sign. We ordered four of the recommended dishes on the menu, and were not disappointed with a single one.

The papaya salad came with the usual veggies, something that tasted like chicken pate, and fried pork skin that was very nicely puffed so that it was light and crunchy and not at all hard. The dressing was just perfectly balanced: its acidity not too harsh, its sweetness not too cloying. It goes down so smoothly, it could have been a refreshing beverage. In fact, if you tossed a few ice cubes into a big glass of the stuff, I’d happily chug the whole thing down like it was fruit juice.

Can't decide which I like more - the pork skin or the dressing.

The fried chicken was not battered, so it didn’t have a lot of crunch. But this was more than made up for by the wonderful flavour that penetrates deep into the tender, juicy meat.

Just like mom always makes... only 50 times better.

Though the fried noodles were a little mushy, the dish worked really well overall. I don’t know about the wok hei mentioned in some blogs, but it had a really nice, big flavour. The meat floss and pork skin sprinkled on top made it just that much better.

Reminds me a little of stir-fried mee suah.

Next, the spicy pork bone soup had a generous helping of deliciously tender pork that just falls off the crunchy soft bones. The soup wasn’t very spicy and had a nice sourness – but it was a shame that there wasn’t a discernible pork flavour to it. It was like they cooked the soup and meat separately and put them together before serving.

I've come to think of this as sort of a Thai bak kut teh.

Finally, I need to mention this amazing dark, spicy-citrusy dipping sauce that had my saliva glands working overtime. It presented a dilemma: the food was so good it seemed like sacrilege to spoil it with sauce, but the sauce was so good I couldn’t bring myself to leave it untouched. I compromised by ordering some sticky rice and drizzling the sauce on that.

Red sauce in the back was quite generic and tasted bottled - the one in front, though, simply blew my mind.

Gotta have a bit of sticky rice to balance off the big, big flavours on the table.

It's a pretty modern-looking shop compared with those around it. Here's the signage out front to help you identify it.

The meal came up to a very reasonable 440 Baht.

3. Jay Fai

This was a nondescript corner shop that’s open to the street like a typical Chinese kopitiam, with no air-conditioning and completely utilitarian furniture. But the prices on the menu seemed to have ended up there because they took a wrong turn on the way to a higher-end place.

We had Jay Fai herself prepare our meal.

The framed news clippings on the wall explains this discrepancy. They speak of how this legendary shop is frequented by the well-heeled; chauffeured there in big, expensive cars; all happily putting up with the less-than-premium ambience for a taste of something amazing.

We read about how everyday dishes are elevated to stratospheric levels by immaculate skill and top-quality ingredients.

Then the food arrived and we immediately saw what all the fuss was about.

The crab omelette was massive; the size of a small loaf of bread. It had a thin, slightly-crispy outer skin of fried egg, lightly spiced and aromatic. Then we broke it open and gasped: it really was a loaf – a loaf stuffed to near-bursting with big chunks of sweet, firm, fresh crab meat. There was very little egg inside, just mouthful upon mouthful of delicious crab. I believe Guy Fieri would call this ‘All thrilla, no filla’. It was well worth its 800 Baht price tag.

Golden egg crust hides a magical treasure trove.

Holy crap... sooo... soooo much crab!

The second dish we ordered was the drunken noodles: broad rice noodle sheets each coated with a salty-spicy dark sauce that has big, big flavour. There was Thai basil that provided even more heat, along with perfectly cooked vegetables like mushrooms and baby corn, and 3 massive prawns that were probably normally used in sang har meen. What’s interesting is that, although the sauce was very strong, it was somehow able to enhance the flavours of each individual ingredient. 380 Baht seemed a reasonable price to pay to get a taste of such magic.

Massive prawns and even bigger flavours.

All in all, it was an epic meal. This place didn’t make the number 1 spot simply because I felt the top two offered a higher ratio of enjoyment versus price paid.

2. Grilled pork skewer

We passed by this tiny pushcart near our hotel as we were walking to get a cab. It was a simple stall, selling grilled pork, rice and not much else.

Here's the stall, usually parked at the corner of Samsen Soi 2 and the main road.

We bought one each, took a bite as we walked away, and immediately turned around to buy more. We ended up going back 3 of the 5 days we were in Bangkok – but they weren’t open the third time.

The pork skewers were thick rectangles of meat, slightly bigger than playing cards, spitted on bamboo and grilled over charcoal. The taste still haunts my dreams. It had a sweetish marinade that had been very well absorbed; there was some nice charring and caramelisation; and the meat was incredibly tender and juicy, with a springy texture. It was extremely addictive and we would have eaten more if we weren’t saving room to try other things.

Pure happiness on a stick.

The best part? It’s a steal at just 10 Baht per skewer.

1. Sab X2 wantan mee

When Lady Fartsalot first told me we were going for wantan mee, I was incredulous. Why are we trying a Chinese hawker dish in Thailand?

I was glad I went along because here we are at the number 1 thing I ate in Bangkok.

It was a pretty simple bowl of dry wantan mee. Standard-issue char siew, green vegetables, and wantan that are a little mushy but nice and meaty and flavourful. Where’s the magic? Well, instead of dark soy sauce, they drizzle rendered pork fat over the noodles, along with a generous helping of crispy lard croutons (that’s chee yau cha, in case you weren’t sure).

So simple. So elegant. Genius.

The pork oil flavour permeates the noodles and leaves a wonderful taste in the mouth. The crispy chee yau cha… well, I don’t have to tell you what a pleasure it was to crunch into those as you are eating – in my opinion, they could give bacon a serious run for its money.

A deceptively plain-looking bowl of absolute awesomeness.

Also, the cook is quite a colourful character. The way he dresses and the flourish with which he makes the noodles indicates a real sense of showmanship.

Noodle-making performance in full swing.

To get to this shop, find Shibuya 19 in the Pratunam area, go down the narrow lane next to it (the one closer to the McDonald’s). A little way in, on the right, will be the shop. Try the dry wantan mee. Order seconds. Heck, order a third bowl. You can thank me in the comments below.

Well, that’s all for this long first post. Stay tuned for Part 2: Best of the rest!