Welcome to southern Thai food heaven. As the image above was meant to suggest, this restaurant in northern Bangkok is serious about southern curries. Walk in any day before lunch and you can choose from at least 30 different curries, fried dishes and soups. And most of them are pretty good. I think it's a "famous" restaurant, as I've seen it mentioned in a magazine. But the most important thing is that it's close to my house, so I've eaten here many, many times. We've always got to order kaeng lueang:
This is the southern version of kaeng som, and is bright yellow with turmeric and shockingly spicy. This one was loaded with or, the pithy interior of the taro stalk, as well as huge chunks of fish. I harbour suspicions that they might season this dish to please Bangkok eaters, as it's usually pretty sweet. Scandalous.
One of my favourite things about this place is that, in true southern style, you get a vast tray of fresh herbs and veggies regardless of what you order:
And there's also herbs in the curries, such as the kaeng hoy sai bai chaphluu, a coconut milk curry with shellfish and wild tea leaf:
This being southern food the seafood didn't stop there. There was an excellent plaa thod khamin, fish deep-fried in turmeric:
(a dish for which I have previously described the recipe here), and a yummy hor mok plaa:
This is a lunchtime joint; if you are unfortunate enough to arrive in the evening the selection of curries is none too impressive.
Pak Tai 41
Lad Phrao Soi 41
(near the Wat Lad Phrao intersection)
02 931 7887
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