Bangkok 101
  • TRENDING
  • PEOPLE, PLACES & BEYOND
    • PLACES & BEYOND
    • PEOPLE
  • COLUMNS
    • Joe’s Bangkok
    • Now New Next
    • Bitchin’ in the Kitchen
    • Kitchen Backstories
    • Eat Like Nym
    • Into the Hood
  • FOOD, DRINKS, ENTERTAINMENTS
  • ART, DESIGN & CULTURE
    • BAM! BANGKOK ART MAP IS ONLINE!
    • Bangkok Art Map Facebook Page
  • TRAVEL
    • Pattaya101
    • Hua Hin 101
    • Phuket101
  • MARKET 101
  • ABOUT US
    • ADVERTISING
    • CAREER
Top Posts
All Thai’d Up: Luxurious Thai Menu at Decanter
Escape to SO Sofitel Hua Hin for a...
Treat your Love to a Splendid Valentine’s Voyage...
Number 1 Gallery Presents ‘The Opera of Metafiction’
Escape to Five-Star Pimalai Resort & Spa on...
La Lanta Fine Art Presents Group Exhibition Featuring...
Centara Grand at CentralWorld Rolls Out ‘The Place...
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort Wraps Up Challenging Year...
Emirates takes A380 experience to new heights
Kathmandu Gallery Examines Race Issues in New Photo...
100 Tonson Gallery Presents ‘House Calls’ by Pinaree...

Bangkok 101

  • TRENDING
  • PEOPLE, PLACES & BEYOND
    • PLACES & BEYOND
    • PEOPLE
  • COLUMNS
    • Joe’s Bangkok
    • Now New Next
    • Bitchin’ in the Kitchen
    • Kitchen Backstories
    • Eat Like Nym
    • Into the Hood
  • FOOD, DRINKS, ENTERTAINMENTS
  • ART, DESIGN & CULTURE
    • BAM! BANGKOK ART MAP IS ONLINE!
    • Bangkok Art Map Facebook Page
  • TRAVEL
    • Pattaya101
    • Hua Hin 101
    • Phuket101
  • MARKET 101
  • ABOUT US
    • ADVERTISING
    • CAREER
ThaiFOOD, DRINKS, ENTERTAINMENTSReviewsStreet Food

Kim Leng

written by Bangkok101 December 21, 2018
Yum Tua pu Kim Leng restaurant photo

by David J. Constable


A small, family-run operation that I should be hiding from you all.

Here’s a treat for you. A small, family-run restaurant located close to Democracy Monument. It isn’t anywhere shiny or new, and it’s not attention-grabbing or bathed in the media spotlight, so you’re not going to find any bloggers or city hipsters discussing it online. They don’t even have a website or Facebook—or air-conditioning! This is that rare kind of restaurant that delivers way more than you expect. Kim Leng is all about the good: food at a reasonable price, eaten in the company of happy people; all laughing, toasting, revelling in homestyle cooking.

      At the front of the shop, pre-cooked creations satisfy lunchers and those on a schedule, while at the back, scruffy tables and plastic stools hardly entice diners to stay and make themselves comfortable, but there is little option, so you plonk your butt down and order from a somewhat limited menu. What’s on offer, however, is authentic and fire-driven; dishes and flavours of central Thailand, cooked fresh and without vanity.

      Both yam and som tam contain the kind of clean, refreshing flavours that have made them such a Thai table staple, and yam þlah dùk foo, a mixture of catfish deep-fried until crispy with strands of tart, green mango, is fit for sharing; a beautiful plate that perfectly reflects all that is expansive in the Thai flavour wheel. The fish is only lightly deep-fried to create an airy nest and then placed alongside shredded mango, red chillies and a generous scattering of salty peanuts.

Kim Leng restaurant Bangkok photo
Kim Leng restaurant street view, street food, local thai food

      Those wanting more punch can go for yum tua pu—Thai Winged Bean Salad—with shrimp and spice, and there’s a really special mee krob, a favoured dish of Thai crispy vermicelli that has a prominent, overriding sweetness. I’m advised to drench fistfuls of squeezed limes to counter the sweetness and bring more acidity to the dish, but on a recent visit, follow suit of the neighbouring table and substitute fish sauce and sugar with soy sauce, for an overall darker, stickier, and more umami-laden profile. They also make these moreish hor mok cakes, steamed fish with curry. Everything is reasonably priced with some options not priced at all, but expect to pay between B50 and B150 per dish.

      Business is doing just fine here, but it’s a small place and things are changing fast in Bangkok. Restaurants here are all about chasing the imaginary market of wealthy tourists and bonus boys. Many are forgetting what’s really important, and it’s not even the food, but the customer, the local, your neighbours and your business year-round. This place will disappear if I don’t write about it. Thai food is about simplicity, balance, flavour; it’s about community and making a connection with the person or persons you’re sharing it with. Kim Leng knows this, and now I’m telling you about it.


Kim Leng

158-160 Tanao Rd, (behind the Government Saving Bank, Ratchadamnoen Branch)

Tel: 02 622 2062

Open: Mon-Sat, 10am-7:30pm

Kim Leng was last modified: September 6th, 2019 by Bangkok101

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
bangkokBangkok 101restaurantstreet foodthai
0 comment
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Bangkok101
Bangkok101

previous post
Le Du
next post
Silavadee Pool Spa Resort – Koh Samui

You may also like

Museum of Floral Culture Introduces Tea Time at “Salon de la Rose”

November 1, 2020

IGNIV Bangkok Charts New Culinary Ground in Thai Capital

November 26, 2020

Haoma X Blackitch Artisan Kitchen #NOONEHUNGRY Charity Dinner

October 24, 2020

Banyan Tree Bangkok to Host ‘Culinary Farmer’ Chef James Noble for Exclusive Pop-Up

November 29, 2020

Monsoon Tea Introduces Indigenous, ‘Forest-Friendly’ Northern Thai Teas to the World

December 29, 2020

Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin Unveils New “Winter Journey” Set Menu

October 20, 2020
thiptara tid lor

Thiptara Thai Restaurant

April 3, 2020
All Thai'd Up Decanter

All Thai’d Up: Luxurious Thai Menu at Decanter

March 4, 2020
chef jon

Pizzeria Mazzie: Bangkok’s Brooklyn

February 27, 2020
Supanniga Cruise

Supanniga Cruise

February 14, 2020

Michelin* Chefs Joe and Saki of 80/20 fishing in Koh Libong

Read the latest issue of Bangkok 101 Online Now!

Bangkok101 Mar-Apr 2020

Bangkok 101 Magazine Archive

Bangkok101 magazine archive

Follow Us

Bangkok 101 Magazine

Book Your Next Trip

About Us

  • Work with us
  • Subscribe to the magazine
  • Contact us
  • Advertise with us

Sign up for our newsletter

Keep in touch

Facebook Twitter Instagram Email RSS

© Copyright 2016 - Bangkok101 - developed by Webmajors

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.