Homecooked Flavors At Krua Apsorn Original

Decided that the original Krua Apsorn at Dinso Road would be a better choice over Thip Samai for a satisfying dinner. Both eateries are in the area of Phra Nakorn. Had dutifully wrote down the address for Thip Samai, but they only open at 5pm, and my evenings have been all taken up by one event or dinner or another. I wasn't going to bother about phad thai when I get to devour the best ones cooked by the friends' parents. Of course the deciding factor is that when I asked the Thai friends (who share similar tastebuds) about Thip Samai, none of them thought very much of it, so that's that. :P

I love Thai food and its spices. Not too keen on fine-dining all the time as the repertoire can be unexciting. A frequent visitor to Bangkok, I can afford to take my time to check out its offerings. This trip, I would like to go around the casual eateries to see their presentation of food. There's an outlet of Krua Apsorn at Samsen Road. But most Thai friends prefer the one at Dinso Road for a slightly cosier feel, so that's where our hosts took us.

Ordered so many dishes that came out absolutely home-cooked. There's something earnest about its flavors that aren't exactly found in other restaurants. It's sincere, and I think that they might have gone very light with the MSG. Nothing fancy. Dishes that could have come right out of your mother's kitchen.

Specifically, there were two dishes I tried extensively on this trip at every restaurant- mieng kham (เมี่ยงคำ) and cowslip creeper flower, otherwise known as dok kajon (ดอกขจร). I've always loved mieng kham, but especially gravitated towards it this week. Every restaurant serves up their interpretation of the appetizer with slight variations. The fun is in tasting the sticky gravy that's made of palm or sugar cane syrup and fish sauce. Different places do either a crappy version, or a fabulous-on-the-tongue version.

The friends introduced me to this vegetable of kajon. It's apparently not always in season, and not every restaurant offers it on the menu. The other restaurant that offers it calls it "little green flowers". Not helpful. Nobody had bothered about the English name, and I had to hunt it down. Cowslip creeper flower. Okaay. Most interesting! I've never had it before! I think, next to wing beans, this might just be my next favorite vegetable in Thai dishes.

Apparently dok kajon goes best with pork. But I prefer it stir-fried plain or with chilli.