Thailand is my second home. One of the reasons is because I love Thai cuisine. Everything in Thailand tastes good (and most of them are really cheap). I will never be bored to jump from one resto to another resto in the same street.
And this is my favorite dish in Bangkok: PAD THAI!
You can find Pad Thai everywhere in Thailand. But so far, the most delicious Pad Thai I have ever tasted is this one. The stall is on Khao San Road (a tourist favorite area), Bangkok. Precisely in front of 7-eleven. This stall is only open at night (like other roadside stalls on Khao San Road).
The menu is varied. He sells various types of Pad Thai. I usually buy the original or the seafood one (because I don't eat red meat). The price is also very cheap. On average a portion of Pad Thai is priced at 20-25 Baht.
Because it is located on the 7-eleven terrace, so every time we are thirsty we just have to buy a drink from 7-eleven. Usually, I would buy a bottle of milk and a big bottle of mineral water.
Even though it's just a small street stall, it's always busy (before the pandemic of course). Sometimes we have to wait until there are empty seats to be able to eat here. I usually prefer to wait, because I don't want to take this food home and eat it at home. I live on the 3rd floor and I feel very lazy if I have to throw trash on the ground floor after eating.
While waiting, we can enjoy snacks purchased at 7-eleven, or from other street stalls. There are many street food vendors on Khao San Road. The most famous of course: fried insects and mango sticky rice.
Mango sticky rice in Bangkok is a bit pricey (for a snack). But it tastes so good! Somehow mangoes and other fruits in Bangkok taste very different from other countries.
After a while, I finally found a seat. One of the kiosk employees gave me a menu book. I didn't open it because I already knew what I was going to buy: Pad Thai Original.
It's warm, savory, and delicious. Hard to explain. Anyway delicious. Since it's hard for me to explain how Pad Thai tastes, I'm going to divulge the basic Pad Thai recipe!
p.s: it's just a basic recipe. I don't write the measure, so just use your feeling~~~
PAD THAI RECIPE
Ingredients:
- Rice noodles
- Bean sprouts
- Egg
- Garlic
- Leek
- Cooking oil
Sauce:
- Fish sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Brown sugar
- Tamarind gravy
- Sweet soy sauce
- Pepper powder
- Vegetable oil
- Broth powder
How to cook:
Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
Soak the vermicelli in hot water until the texture is just right, remove and drain. Add a little cooking oil to prevent sticking, mix well.
Saute garlic until fragrant, add eggs, stir. (You can also add meat or fish or shrimp if you want).
Add the vermicelli and sauce. Stir well.
Add bean sprouts and spring onions. Cook until done.
Serve on a plate. Can be added with peanut powder, dried chili, or Thai chili sauce.
HOW TO GET THERE
Of course, before trying to cook Pad Thai at home, it would be better if we tasted it first. So I'm going to explain how you can go to the best Pad Thai stall in Bangkok.
If you are from outside Thailand or outside Bangkok, you can look for lodging on Khao San Road. Besides being close to my favorite Pad Thai stall, this area is also very strategic and easy to access.
If you've just arrived at the airport, try taking the public bus bound for Khao San Road. You can take bus number A2 from Don Mueang Airport, or take the MRT to Siam from Suvarnabhumi Airport, then take bus number A2 (there are several other buses you can take, just look for it).
After seeing this building, it means that you have almost reached your destination. Stand by the door immediately, because you have to ring the bell before the bus arrives at the Khao San Road stop.
Walk along Khao San Road for about 200 meters. After seeing Burger King on the right side of the road, it means you are close. Walk a few meters, then you will find the first turn on the left.
Turn left. Not far from the bend, on the right, you will see a wooden table that is lined up neatly. The opposite is a clothing store. If you look again, these wooden tables are in front of the 7-eleven building. That's the Pad Thai stall I'm referring to.
Along Khao San Road (and everywhere in Thailand), there are tons of 7-eleven outlets. So don't go wrong in the shop. The 7-eleven I'm referring to is on the right side of the road and was the first 7-eleven we saw along the way.
If you arrive at noon, you may not see the rows of wooden tables belonging to the Pad Thai stall. But if it's night, you'll see a scene like this:
The red table is the chef's table. You can order your meal from there. But I'm too lazy. If I walked to that table, I can lose my chair lol. So I just shouted for the stall waiter (the man standing with the plastic bag on his head).
So that's it! I hope you have an opportunity to visit my favorite Pad Thai stall in the world! I always bring my friends to this stall because I know they will love it (and that's true).
I took these photos with Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) in 2019.