Charmgang :: ชามแกง

I didn't need fancy food or that it was a must to get reservations at hip restaurants. I was like, if it fit the schedule, we could go. Anyway, I wanted to check out Charmgang (ชามแกง), a contemporary Thai restaurant. Never mind its Michelin Bib Gourmand rating; I do not care about Michelin-anything. I just wanted to taste its curries. 

This restaurant has two sister outlets in the area — Charmkrung, and Charmkok. One concept is a wine bar and small bites, and the other is a lunch venue that becomes a standing bar at night. The husband had no opinions about whichever restaurant/bar to check out. So I chose Charmgang, which is billed as 'a curry shop'. 

The three owners-chefs have all worked at Nahm. Chefs Mew, Aew and Jai. They are Geravich 'Mew' Mesaengnilverakul, Atcharapon 'Aew' Kiatthanawat, and Aruss 'Jai' Lerlerstkull. I wasn't into Nahm's food be it in London or Bangkok. I'm not a fan of David Thompson's food. LOL Since these chefs have left, I had a little more confidence in how they would want to do their own things now. I wanted to taste Charmgang's take on Thai curries. I wasn't disappointed. The food was excellent, and they were absolutely agreeable to my tastebuds. 

The restaurant kept its decor casual and its vibes were pretty all right. Bangkok's Chinatown has gentrified and this restaurant and its outlets are smack in the middle of gentrification. But the shops seem to be able to keep their charm. At Charmgang, maybe stick to beer or non-alcoholic spritzers. Their cocktails are dicey at best. The wines would work but you need to want to drink a whole bottle; they don't come in glasses. 

The scallops on cupcakes (like wonton skin) were fun. The smoked pork jowl salad with sour mango was right up my alley. No regrets eating loads of rice with the white curry and smoked kingfish topped with wild coriander. This curry was delicious.  I rolled eyes at the grilled beef skewers. It's one of those dishes catering to the tourist palate. I only liked the dipping sauce for the skewers; that's jaew pla ra / แจ่วปลาร้าพริกป่น or jaew bong, a pungent fermented fish sauce, but this version is a little too tourist-mild for me. The grilled tiger prawns with edamame and Thai salad were gorgeous. The husband was very pleased with it. 

It was hilarious because the moment we walked into Charmgang, we ran straight into friends. Friends that we would take a moment to say hi to. Wheeeeee. How lovely to see E and GL tonight. How very unexpected! We knew they were in Bangkok, but we didn't know how long their trip was, and we definitely didn't know they were at Charmgang for dinner tonight at this very same timing. 

We got to dessert. And were astonished by the plate that arrived — the wordings. I didn't mention anything about our anniversary to them. In fact, I didn't want it to be known. Neither is this Bangkok jaunt an 'anniversary trip'. I didn't know who thought it cool to wish us that on our plate. Say whuuuut. We thought E and GL did it. They swore that they didn't. Theirs held 'Happy Honeymoon', which was apt since they were on their honeymoon Part 2 (yes they're doing many parts).