Home-cooked comfort food on the periphery of Bangkok
One of the trips I made, just outside of Bangkok, to the northern side of the city, was to a friend’s favourite Thai restaurant.
Krau Sa Rod Jad is the name of the restaurant and it is situated on Vipawadee Rungsit Road, on the way to reach proper Bangkok.
We arrived late in the evening and as soon as we pulled the car into the parking lot, just across from the restaurant, a man walked over and asked me if i wanted to “look at Buddha amulets?” to which I replied, “Erm, no, thank you. I’m here for the food.” The man nooded, then helped us park the car. “We expect a client who wants to take a look at Buddha amulet,” he said. “Oh, right,” I replied, “But I am really here for the food.”
We were led into the restaurant which had the design and appearance of a large house. Inside, I saw a big poster written on the wall which read: “Checking Buddha amulets service” alongside the restaurant name.
The owner specialises in indication Buddha amulets whether its real or not, this section is on the other side of the compound. I’m thinking this is interesting!
But I got distracted right away when I entered the restaurant house by seeing the decoration of the space. It feels like someone’s dining room at home. The walls are filled with portraits of Thai Kings hung gracefully.
We sat close to the door which allows us to have a broader perspective to look at the restaurant and we were stunned by the look of it, filled with old European statues and furniture, chandeliers and Thai music of yesteryear. Then came the menu. I had heard that they specialise in home cooking Thai food, so we ordered many dishes, such as moo satay or pork satay-style which arrived with peanut sauce and vegetable pickle. I must say that this is a love at first bite. The Moo satay was so soft and tender, and its sauce was complex in taste, there were more spices than other places I had. We all agreed that the aromatic and distinctive taste was coriander seeds that blended in the sauce.
Pad tam leung moo sap is a local green leaf called Tamleung, fried with minced pork which was delicious like my grandmother used to make. There was no complicated sauce to interfere, it was just a simple dish that we had at home when we were young.
Hoy Disco or blanched cockles dish was among the most popular dish with spicy nam jim, dipping sauce (lime, fish sauce, garlic and chilli). Blanched cockles were served in big sizes and ultimately fresh. It was the same sensation as having fresh oyster. When I drop nam jim that tastes like dancing on the beach, we knew that we needed to order one more. Then Kaeng kiewwan lukchin plakai (green curry with fish meat in thick coin shape ) was aromatic with its paste and taste of curry heaven! We also ordered tom yum pla kung (tom yum river fish) that had perfume aroma of galanga, kaffir lime leave and sweet basil which made the whole experience of tom yum soup extra delightful.
I admire the freshness and the intensity of the whole meal here.
Address: Krau Sa Rod Jad is in Vipavadee-Rungsit Soi 44, going straight for about 300 meters, the restaurant will be on the left and parking lot is on the right across from each other. Tel 081 496 9181, 02 561 3355
Open daily from 11:30am-22pm (closed on 3rd Sunday of the month)
