Japanese-style sukiyaki has had a foothold in Bangkok for several decades now, with the restaurant laying claim to being the first to serve the do-it-yourself hotpot dish having opened back in 1955. This has seemingly left enough time for Thais to put their own unique spin on the dish, and today there are a couple unique variations on sukii, as its known in Thailand, ranging from a one-serving street stall version to my personal favourite, sukii haeng, a fried 'dry' version.
Selling both of these is Sukii Rot Kraba, a stall in Bangkok's Chinatown. The concept here edges perilously close to novelty: the stall's distinguishing characteristic is that the sukii is prepared in the back of a truck (rot kraba):
But it's a solid, if not outstanding version of the dish.
Like elsewhere, the dish takes the form of mung bean vermicelli wok-fried with napa cabbage, green onions, egg and meat -- here chicken, pork or beef. The fried version comes from the truck somewhere between wet and dry, and the highlights here are the tender, marinated meat -- the beef version in particular is great -- and a savoury/spicy all-you-can-eat dip.
They do a couple other dishes here, including a mediocre kuaytiaw khua kai, wide rice noodles fried with chicken and egg, but the cleverest game plan is to stick with the sukii.
From a Thai television programme that featured the stall:
Sukee Rot Kraba Soi 27, Th Charoen Krung Bangkok 5.30-11.30pm
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