I am not known to be adventurous when it comes to food and i wouldn't step into an eatery unless i have done some research / was recommended by friends / the ever-enticing queue that always makes me wonder what the big hooha is.
Without any of the aforementioned factors, it's surprising that i would even step into this dining establishment that's synonymous with the many similarly old buildings at Chinatown in Bangkok.
There's another reason; the pull up banner outside with the mouthwatering pictures of noodles topped with crab claws! This brought back great memories of the famous Bangkok Soi 19 special wanton mee near Platinum Mall i had in 2015!
And it appeared to be quite famous. Okay, i am a sucker for such things even though my specialisation was marketing in Singapore Polytechnic and the least i could do is to exercise some skepticism to such marketings!
Stepping into the air-conditioned dining area; it's a blessing to have air-conditioning in Bangkok as it's hotter and more humid than Singapore! I heard from my Thai friends that it's better to visit between October to February as weather would likely be cooler.
Noodles with Claws of Crabs - ordering wasn't too difficult with the menu with English translation. The pricing of this particular crab claw noodles ranges from 150-500 baht and the higher you pay; the bigger the claw. Guess how much i paid for the above claw?
200 baht (decided to splurge a little more as it was my last meal before leaving for the airport) and honestly, i found it pathetically small even though the taste was good. There were shredded crab meat on the noodles but i still felt the need to ration the claw meat so that i could slowly enjoy it...
Noodles were the dry, rubber-band type that my friend, Sandra, would usually enjoy. I am alright with such noodles but i thought they were a bit too dry for my liking despite a good tossing. You may also opt for soup instead of dry noodles. I was more taken aback by the prawn dumplings; literally the whole prawn as the filling which reminded me of the har-gao in dim sum.
Fried Prawn Wanton - this was given a star on the menu which i presume to either a reference to best seller or signature dish. As we just wanted a try; a small serving at 20 baht would likely be sufficient.
It was crispy and like the prawn dumplings in the crab claw noodles, the insides were filling with delicious prawn meat! We couldn't stop munching the wantons and before we knew it; they were gone. Did we stop? Heck no; we ordered a bigger portion for further indulgence!
p.s. the staff were making the above outside the eatery which i wrongly thought would be the prawn wantons. Would it be the crab meat balls indicated on the menu?
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Address
724 Charoen Krung Rd, Talat Noi,
Khet Samphanthawong,
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10100,
Bangkok, Thailand
Location Map
As above.
Operating Hours
8.30 am to 8.00 pm
Menu
As above.
Pricing
Noodles with Claws of Crabs - 200 baht
Fried Prawn Wanton (Small) - 20 baht