Petchaburi Soi 5 in Bangkok is famous for Thai Street food and should be on your itinerary on your next visit to the bustling capital. The one place you’ll need to seek out is P’Aor. The shopfront gives nothing away – that is until you notice the sign proudly claiming it as the site for ‘The Best Tom Yum in Bangkok’.
Now that’s a tall order coming from a Thai street restaurant that’s just one of the many out there.
It’s rare to find a creamy version of Tom Yum Kung (or Goong) soup that’s served with noodles in BKK these days though, and P’Aor specialises in this very dish. Portions are available in S, M, L and XL, with L being a good size to feed two hungry people.
This has got to be the most atas bowl of Tom Yum Goong that I’ve ever seen. The bigger and more expensive portions (like the one pictured), will set you back by THB1200 (around SGD$48), which seems unheard of for a place with cheap food like Thailand.
But just wait till you hear what’s inside: Crab stuffed with minced meat and roe, a medium-sized lobster, mussels, salmon, sotong stuffed with minced meat and tang hoon, an onsen egg and noodles of your choice. Now that seems like value for money to me.
The winning component however, seems to be the broth. Made creamy and flavourful by condensed milk and giant shrimp heads, the soup is not too spicy (you can request it to be!) and is apparently truly something to write home about.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to head to BKK right now just to see if it’s true.
