Soi 5

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During my lesson this past week, I mentioned to my teacher that I really like eating tom yum kung, a spicy Thai soup with shrimp in it. It's undoubtedly one of my favorite dishes. I'm a bit unusual in that I prefer noodles in it to having it the more traditional way, with rice on the side. My teacher immediately told me of one of the best and busiest places in Bangkok to eat kuay tiaw ton yum kung. He drew me a map and the next day a friend and I set off to find it.

The map my teacher had drawn me was helpful but I was glad I'd looked online before setting out. The map he'd drawn showed Siam station and Central World mall; we really needed to get off at the next stop unless we wanted to walk an extra 20 minutes in the tropical (and possibly rainy) heat.

We took the BTS to Ratchethewi BTS station and then started walking along Petchaburi Road. Our destination was Petchaburi Soi 5, a little alley off of the main street. Bangkok seems really confusing to navigate until you realize that everything is organized by main roads, side sois off of the main roads, and the occasional side street off the soi.

We turned onto Soi 5 and it was tiny. Most sois are small, but this was a bit smaller than usual--only one car wide! Shops lined the road, close together, making us feel cozy and happy, as if we'd suddenly been transported somewhere different. It felt intimate and friendly.

Finally, we reached the end of the soi, where I was told the restaurant was. My teacher said it would be obvious where to go, but there were two places and we couldn't tell which one we should go to. Both had tables and chairs. Neither had a sign. Only one had food out. So, finally I walked up to the busier one and tried to order; the woman behind the table pointed me to the other restaurant.

It turns out that the cook was out of noodles, so I ended up getting my tom yum kung with rice instead. While I was eating a friendly white cat or two kept rubbing itself all over my legs, making me giggle. The cook's wife would shoo it away and then tell her husband I was a crazy foreigner. I'm going to hope she meant that in a good way.

Our food was delicious but a bit expensive for such an informal setting. I ended up paying nearly 80 Baht for my soup and rice; I pay closer to 50 at my local shop back near my apt. Perhaps the extra money was for the extra attention from the cat. All in all, it was worth it for the experience and the soup was delicious!

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Photos

Shops lined the soi
This is a sewing shop, amongst other things.

The Prize
My lunch!