My favorite Thai dishes are virtually impossible to find in Singapore restaurants. While I'm in Thailand, and in Krung Thep, I'll toddle out to eat all the flavors that I've missed. Had to stop by an old favorite restaurant for lunch. That's Klang Soi (กลางซอย). It has moved twice in its 22 years. It's now on Sukhumvit 49 in Thong Lor. I love its homestyle dishes and traditional flavors and foods that are so more than tom yam and phad thai.
I was happy to have an appetizer in the form of watermelon with dried fish and shallots — ปลาแห้งแตงโม (pla haeng taeng-mo). Absolutely love this. Had another appetizer of dried beef and crisp holy basil, เนื้อแดดเดียวผัดกะเพรากรอบ. So fun to have it not as a savory krapow. Hahaha. NOMS. I also bravely took two bites of a raw shrimp salad. I took an antihistamine, and decided to risk it by having one prawn. The restaurant does a beautiful version of กุ้งแช่น้ำปลา (kung chae nam pla).
This trip, we're right at the end of the rainy season. We're in time to have a bowl of soup — ต้มกะทิสายบัวปลาทูแม่กลอง (tom kathi sai bua pla thu Mae Klong / coconut milk soup with lotus stems and mackerel). This is a dish that many homes prep at late into the rainy season and as the weather turns colder. This is a rare dish on restaurant menus. It's not easy to find within Bangkok town. I have a greater chance in Samut Songkhram, where mackerel is abundant in the waters of Mae Klong.
We got to dessert, barely. We were absolutely STUFFED. They ordered two traditional bowls, a sour plum sorbet, and erm... some jackfruit iced thing. Even if it's de rigueur to have dessert, we had to find space to stuff them in. And the restaurant was closing up. The staff were so sweet to let us stay for an extra 15 minutes.
Ahhh... my heart. There're these beautiful memories made and renewed. Friendships that truly kept in touch and remained steady. It's more than effort. It's also a love for the humans, the city, the culture and the food.
12, 1 Sukhumvit 49/9 Alley, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana,
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Phone: +66 2 391 4988
Hours: Tuesday- Sunday | Lunch 10.30am - 2.30pm / Dinner 5 - 8.30pm
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