On the surface, Klom Klom looks like your typical trendy restaurant run by a rich Bangkok kid: a cutesy dining room serving confounding Japanese-Thai fusion creations or Thai dishes augmented with bacon, the kind of place that puts atmosphere above flavour. But looks can be deceiving, and after several visits, I can confirm that Klom Klom serves some homey, delicious, real Thai food.
The namesake dish here (Klom Klom means 'Round Round') is roti, a type of fried bread with origins in South Asia. Unlike the thin, oily disks you'll see sold on the street, the roti here -- made to order in house -- are thick, flaky, crispy and surprisingly non-oily. They're practically pastry-like, and are easily some of the better roti I've encountered in Bangkok, but they're really only a vehicle for Klom Klom's exceptional curry. Described on the Thai-language menu as kaeng khiaw waan, green curry, the dish seems to have much more in common with kurumaa, the local equivalent of the South Asian korma. Unlike your typical Thai-style green curry, there's no vegetables in this one, the emphasis instead being on meat -- beef or chicken -- and much of the dish's character comes from the generous use of dried spices, not fresh herbs. In talking to the owner I learned that there's a good reason for this: the recipe comes from his grandmother, who was born in Pakistan. The dish was a hit among friends and family in her adopted hometown of Kanchanaburi, and the owner described how he still follows her recipe, employing the same time-consuming process and expensive dried spices. The result is a curry that's somewhere between Thailand and Pakistan: spicy and fragrant, yet meaty and rich.
Klom Klom also do a slowly-expanding menu of basic Thai dishes, such as rice noodles with pork, as well as interesting drinks such as naam dok anchan (also pictured above), a drink made from an indigenous flower.
Klom Klom Th Convent, Bangkok 10am-7pm Mon-Sat
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