Baan Phadthai: Michelin-Awarded Crab Pad Thai & Larb Meatballs In Bangkok

Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok’s Bang Rak area is full of generations-old eateries and Michelin-awarded street food. Tucked along Soi 44 in a blue shophouse is Baan Phadthai, an eatery that’s been listed in the Michelin guide for three years running and teeming with tourists most times of the day. 

The retro-style establishment serves aesthetically-pleasing trays of pad thai, Thai appetisers with a modern twist, and sumptuous desserts.

Its spot in the Michelin Guide Bangkok from the years 2018 to 2020 even has the Bib Gourmand distinction for good value. Said awards are proudly displayed on the shelf, visible as soon as you enter the restaurant. 

A glance at the menu shows that starters, mostly consisting of grilled or fried meats, spring rolls, and yum or som tum Thai salads, range from THB160 to THB230. Pad thais range from THB190 for a vegetarian one all the way up to a frightening THB1,800 for a two-person pad thai with a 900g mud crab.  

We tried mostly mid-range dishes in order to closely replicate the experience of the average diner—but we did spy a group of tourists on a Monday morning ordering the mud crab pad thai.

To begin with, we tried two starters.

First, the Miang Khana (THB250), which is a tray of kale leaves with eight pots of condiments for customers to fill and wrap themselves. Served atop a tray of raw rice, it’s a great start to the meal, sure to draw “oohs” from your whole dining party. 

To make your own miang, fold in one edge of a kale leaf to make a small cone, and spoon in peanuts, pork crackling, chicken, red onion, ginger, lime, a dollop of shrimp paste sauce, and as much (or little) chilli as you want. 

The result is one of the freshest, rawest pockets of zest and crunch in Thai cuisine. However, we noticed that the addition of chicken and the use of kale leaves instead of the usual sourer, fragrant Piper sarmentosum (wild betel) leaves offered a more toned-down and perhaps, more tourist-friendly version of the dish.

This can be said for the pad thai offered here as well—but we’ll get to that in a bit.

The other starter we tried, the Louk Laab Moo (THB210), was one of our favourites of the entire meal.

Rather than a traditional larb pork meat salad, the balls of pork with larb seasonings are deep-fried. Each ball was a tasty, meaty crunch with all its flavours tied together with a tamarind-mint-dill-red onion sauce. Crunch down on a flute of cucumber or string bean, if things get too spicy for you.

From the choice of signature pad thais available, we went for the recommended Phadthai Poo (THB320) which includes crab. It’s good for sharing between about two people and is served on a vintage patterned tray. 

Like the Miang Khana, although the pad thai was in no way bad taste-wise, it did taste “safe” to a Thai tongue. Zestier eaters may find themselves reaching for extra lime, fish sauce, and chilli powder to spice up the noodles tossed with tofu and shallots.

However, the chunks of crab meat were generous enough. The Michelin Guide lists Baan Phadthai’s pad thai dishes as having 18 to 20 ingredients in them, including the sauce, and this showed in the rather delicate, nuanced flavours versus the more in-your-face tastes of roadside pad thais sold for much less.

Arriving in a vintage bucket were the condiments to Tub Tim Krob (THB160): ice, smoked coconut syrup, and “ruby” water chestnuts (water chestnuts soaked in Hale’s Blue Boy syrup overnight). 

Although this dessert is ubiquitous in Thai restaurants, Baan Phadthai’s uniqueness lies in its slightly higher price for the dish. You’re paying for the fun DIY element, and the taste that we had to begrudgingly admit, was creamier and silkier than most tub tim krob dishes we’ve eaten elsewhere.

We also opted to try the Khao Niaw Mamuang (THB220), or mango sticky rice. Although admittedly a small portion of only about half a mango, the sticky rice, steamed with pandan juice, was fragrant and the salty coconut sauce balanced out the usually overwhelmingly-sweet dish.

For drinks, we tried the Fresh Watermelon Juice (THB160) and Ginger & Lemongrass Tea (THB120), which is black Thai tea with a slice of ginger and lemongrass in it. Both were refreshing and great for pairing with some of the spicier dishes. 

You can also opt to purchase the Baan Phadthai Cookbook (THB1,016.50), which includes all of the recipes of the main menu in the restaurant so you can make your own pad thai wherever you are, perhaps while wearing the Baan Phadthai T-shirt (THB535).

It’s easy to see why Baan Phadthai is a tourist haven—the bright blue shophouse serves accessible, modern versions of Thai food, as well as shareable trays of pad thai.

Although tasty and a good crash course for visitors, overall flavours were still “safe” and those used to punchier Thai dishes may find themselves wishing for more boundary-pushing ones, for lower prices. 

Expected Damage: THB500 – THB1,000 per pax

*This post was contributed by Nang Linchi, a born-and-bred Bangkokian passionate about showing off the city’s old secrets and new improvements.

*Photos by Siri Thaitrakulpanich