I live just off of Thanon Silom, which in addition to being the area of Bangkok with arguably the most restaurants and street food, is also directly adjacent to the epicentre of the current conflict. As a result, the streets in this part of town feel particularly empty today:

Shops are closed, rubbish isn’t being collected, armed soldiers outnumber civilians, and the contents of my fridge are starting to run low. And what is normally an area with an overabundance of food has now been reduced to one stall, the lone noodle vendor pictured at the top of this post.

Stopping by for a bowl today at lunchtime, I had the following conversation with one of the ladies running the stall:

Wow, you’re open today. Aren’t you scared?
Yes it’s scary, but I have to earn money. We haven’t been able to open in five days!
How has it been today? Have you heard any gunshots or explosions?
Yes, but from way over there [points towards Lumphini Park].
You must be selling well since you’re the only place to eat at Sala Daeng. How late will you stay open?
We’re almost sold out now!

And indeed she was selling well, with the bulk her customers, not surprisingly, hungry journalists:

Urai, a boat noodle restaurant in Ayuthaya’s Sena District, is part of a government-funded scheme called Thong Fah (’Blue Flag’) that has established exceedingly cheap restaurants, often serving regional dishes, around the country (Mae Sri Bua in Mae Hong Son is another Thong Fah restaurant I’ve previously blogged about). I think a bowl of noodles here cost 15 baht (less than 50 cents).

As illustrated above, the broth at Urai is practically coffee-like, and is almost certainly the darkest and thickest I’ve encountered. Yet despite this, it was somewhat under-seasoned, and really need a few splashes of fish sauce and a generous scoop of dried chili. And in contrast to that of previously-mentioned boat noodle joint Jay Nit, the meat here is nothing special, having been simply flash-boiled. On the other hand, the noodles at Urai are served the traditional way, in tiny bowls:

I believe I ate four…

Urai is located in Sena district, about 15km west of Ayuthaya.  It’s the only boat noodle place in town, and is located right at the bus terminal.

Urai
Located at the bus terminal, Sena District, Ayuthaya
9am-3pm

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I’m finally back home after about two months in Laos, and yet again, am craving odd Thai dishes. This time it’s kuaytiaw reua (boat noodles), so naturally I headed to the heartland of the dish (and possibly one of the more underrated food cities in Thailand), Ayuthaya.

Inside knowledge from a local led us to Jay Nit, a longstanding ‘restaurant’ on the man-made island that forms Ayuthaya’s old town. To get here you have to walk through Wat Ratayachai, a temple at the edge of the Chao Phraya River, until you reach what looks like a dilapidated wet market at the edge of the river. The place is frankly filthy, but filthy in that reassuring Southeast Asia way that often suggests good eats.

The ladies here claim that the restaurant has been in business for 40 years, although only the last decade has been on solid land:

The noodle dishes at Jay Nit, which include yen ta fo, are done at two stations, although I didn’t really understand the division of labour (one pork station and one beef?). Regardless, they’re doing something right. The broth of the pork version was satisfyingly thick, thanks to the addition of blood, but wasn’t actually as rich or as spicy as it appeared. But I was most impressed with the pork (illustrated at the top of this post), which was fatty and tender and served in thick slices not unlike a very good bowl of Japanese-style ramen. And unlike most other places in Ayuthaya, the servings here are rather generous (boat noodles are typically served in tiny bowls that sell for as little as 10 or 15 baht - possibly a legacy of the dishe’s waterbound origins), making it a heartier version of the dish than most of its counterparts.

More boat noodles to follow; in the meantime, another good bowls can be got at Lung Lek.

Jay Nit
Wat Ratayachai (Wat Jin), Ayuthaya
9am-2pm

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It wasn’t all sticky rice and grilled meat for the last couple months. Setting out on a road trip to central Laos with my trusty driver Christophe (above, on the left), I picked up a grab bag of French goodies at Les Boutiques Scoubidou, Vientiane’s best French deli:

There was raw milk camembert, saucissson and liver pate. Both loaves of bread were from Le Banneton, Vientiane’s best bakery. And because I was with Christophe, who is Lao but who spent most of his life in France, lots of pastis. All of this was enjoyed in a bamboo hut at the edge of the Nam Lik:

The other gentlemen controls the cross-river ferry here, and in his youth was a revolutionary fighter, having fired his gun at American planes in Vieng Xai in the late 1960s. He ate more camembert than I expected.

In addition to being a fan of pastis, Christophe is also an excellent driver, speaks fluent French and decent English and knows Laos like the back of his van.

Christophe Kittirath
+856 21-223 663, +856 20-550 4604
laowheels@yahoo.co.uk

Les Boutiques Scoubidou
Th Tha Deua
+856 214 073
8am-9pm

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