February 2012

TASTE OF TRADITION

The Thai capital teems with speedy lunch stops but gourmets willing to make the effort should try their luck with these old-school eateries

WORDS CHAWADEE NUALKHAIR
PHOTOGRAPHY AUSTIN BUSH

The perfect example of a street food standby, Jib Gi Ped Yang does not look like much. However, this unassuming, open-air shophouse in Banglamphu is known throughout the city for its succulent Chinese-style duck and pork, dishes it has spent years perfecting. "Our family has been serving customers in the Nang Lerng market area for the past 100 years," says Nittaya Saewong, who now forms part of the third generation of family members helming Jib Gi.

Jib Gi's secret: it specialises in what Thais consider 'old-fashioned' ped yang, making it a distant cousin to the brittle, lacquered 'Peking-style' roasted ducks popular today. Instead, it is a study in understatement — the skin soft, slightly chewy, smelling a bit of star anise. The duck is not the only star on Jib Gi's bare-bones menu: the moo grob, or crispy pork, boasts tissue-thin, crackling skin over moist, rich flesh.

Like Jib Gi, the ambience at Tang Meng Noodle is nothing to write home about. The down-at-heel dining room, exposed to the rushing traﬃc of Sukhumvit Road, has seen better days, but the menu — a mix of street food favourites like pork soup noodles, stir-fried noodles in soy sauce, and Hainanese chicken rice — attracts a loyal local clientele.

Illustrative of the typical neighbourhood noodle joint, Tang Meng Noodle has been a neighbourhood fixture for the past 50 years. But recent construction a few steps away shows gentrification is nipping at Tang Meng's heels. "We have been here for a long time, but who knows if we will have to move?" said Niwat Thulaladluangnam, one of the owners' 13 children.

Regulars favour the chicken rice or khao mun gai, steamed skin-on chicken meat atop a fluffy mound of rice, accompanied by chicken broth bearing a single, puckered rectangle of bitter melon. But don't forget the delicious guay tiew yen ta fo (soup noodles in a pink soybean paste-based broth), a unique combination of rice noodles, sturdy greens, tofu, seafood and pork.

The friendly faces at Tang Meng may draw diners eager for a quick bite, but lunchtime at Sanguan Sri can sometimes resemble a madhouse. "I don't know, I'm busy!" shouts a septuagenarian server when asked about the restaurant's specialities. Diners queue up to settle their bills; bewildered non-Thais grapple with the Thai-only menu.

Yet the dining room remains resolutely full, thanks to the old-style dishes. "No one cooks like this any more," says 60-year-old 'Lek', longtime server and one of the restaurant's founders. Among the dishes she is referring to is the widely-praised kanom jeen nam prik. Set on a base of fermented rice noodles, the nam prik (literally, 'pepper water') isn't fiery at all, but sweet and salty, aided by the tangy crunch of raw green beans and fresh acacia leaves. A sweet green curry comes studded with meaty pork spareribs; pla goong (lemongrass-shrimp spicy salad) is slathered in a pungent red sauce that brings tears to the eyes.

Like Lek, many of her fellow servers are similarly faithful, carrying on after the original owners left the business a few years ago. "We have been here for 41 years, since the beginning," says Lek. "As long as we have enough money to pay our rent and have our customers, we will continue serving food."

A similar philosophy prevails at Silom Pattakarn, a Bangkok institution that has been operating for the past 68 years. Born after World War II, Silom Pattakarn once numbered among Bangkok's high-end restaurants, reserved for special occasions. "We are known for so many different dishes," says eldest sister Supatra Disanpanurat. "You'll never find a menu like ours," cuts in younger sister Sumalee. "People no longer get the concept."

The concept is a Thai-Chinese spin on Western food, popularised at the court of King Rama IV. Among its most popular dishes are steak with salad, a tomato-based stew featuring braised oxtail or ox tongue, and, in a nod to the British Raj era, a Chinese-style chicken curry with minimal coconut milk. Instead of rice, white bread and butter accompany the meal, perfect for dunking into sauce.

Unfortunately, Silom Pattakarn has been up for sale for the past 6-7 years, hinting that yet another culinary chapter is about to end as a once-famous restaurant enters its final decline. By contrast, Krua Apsorn is on the up-and-up. Although only open for a little over 10 years, Krua Apsorn is resoundingly successful, pulling in packed dining rooms at all three of its branches throughout Bangkok.

"We've caught on through word of mouth," said Jantarat Sagulgan, owner/chef and a former cook for the late Princess Galyani. Krua Apsorn specialises in what can only be characterised as 'grandma' food — when Thais rhapsodise over home cooking learned at the knee of an elderly relative, this is the kind of food they are thinking of.

This translates into smooth, harmonious dishes without any sharp edges, like the fish ball curry (green curry with homemade fish meatballs) and kaeng luang (sour yellow curry with lotus stems and shrimp).

Despite being a relative neophyte compared to some of its old-school peers, Krua Apsorn shares the same underlying motivations: good, straightforward Thai food prepared the way their parents did it.

The city's old-school eateries, all reveal different glimpses of a kinder, gentler Bangkok. But hurry — most places close early, and all tables are hotly contested!

TAKE ME THERE

JIB GI PED YANG
Nakhon Sawan Rd (across from Nang Lerng market entrance), tel: +66 (2) 281 1283 Open 9am-2pm daily

TANG MENG NOODLE
887 Sukhumvit Soi 49, tel: +66 (2) 258 7202 Open 8am-5pm (except Sundays)

SANGUAN SRI
59/1 Wireless Rd, tel: +66 (2) 252 7637 Open 10am-3pm (except Sundays)

SILOM PATTAKARN
Soi Silom Pattakarn (the alleyway after Silom Soi 15), tel: +66 (2) 236 4442 Open 10am-9pm daily

KRUA APSORN
Dusit branch: Samsen Road near the National Library, tel: +66 (2) 241 8528 / 668-8788 Open 10.30am-8pm (except Sundays)
Banglamphu branch: Dinsor Road (near City Hall), tel: +66 (2) 685 4531 / 550 0310 Open 10.30am-8pm (except Sundays)
Nonthaburi branch: Sanambin Nam Road, tel: +66 (2) 967 1733-4 Open 10.30am-8pm (except Sundays)