Photo Essay: Bangkok's oldest restaurants getting better with age
Meet the faces behind the city's longest surviving shop-house diners.
9 years ago
Tek Heng (aka Mee Krob Jeen Lee, Mee Krob Ror Ha)
326-330 Toedthai Rd., Talad Plu, 02-466-9170, 02-466-9037. Open daily Mon-Fri 10am-2pm, 4:30-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10pm
130 years old
Signature dishes: mee krob (crispy fried noodle) dry and in soup
“Most of the old faces have moved away from this neighborhood. It’s just us still here, as we have been for five generations. People know us through their parents, who keep coming back for our mee krob [crispy fried noodle], to which King Rama 5 awarded the royal Garuda badge, as cooked by our grandpa, Lee. Too bad we lost the badge to a fire 40 years ago. The biggest problem is trying to find old ingredients like som saa (bitter orange) as people don’t grow them anymore.”
Suwanit Nitipisit, 58 (from left: Arom Eiam-aong-art, 82, Sinchai Nitipisit, 43, Supart Nitipisit 61 and Saran Waritthikul, 36 and Suwanit)
Foo Mui Kee
10-12 Prachum Rd., Silom, 02-234-6648. Open daily 10am-9pm
Roughly 80 years old
Signature dishes: ox tales soup and ox tongue stew
“Our father used to work with Western chefs at an embassy. He brought back the recipes and started this restaurant. We adapted some of the recipes, like the ox tail soup, until the flavor became more sour and spicy to match Thai tastes. I always feel delighted when our old customers say the food still tastes as good as before. We’re old now and don’t do the cooking, so we rely on our chefs who have been with us for 30 years. If one day they decide to leave us, we may have to close down."
Lerdluck Tabloga, 69, pictured with Lalida, 66, and Sunee Tabloga, 73
Udom Pochana
78 Soi Phraeng Phuthon, Rattanakosin, 02-221-3042. Open daily 7am-3pm
80 years old
Signature dishes: beef stew and roasted pork
“My father started off as a vendor at Sanamluang, creating his own recipes for curry, beef stew and roasted pork. I have been doing this since I was 16. We do everything from scratch and have always kept the recipe and cooking methods the same. A job like this isn’t meant to earn you a fortune. You just do it to feed yourself. Now, in addition to my siblings who help at the restaurant, my daughter is also learning to take care of the business. We never hire staff.”
Suwan Rungrojsuwan, 66, pictured with Titikarn Rungrojsuwan, 31
Nattaporn Ice Cream
94 Phraeng Phuthon Rd., Rattanakosin, 02-221-3954. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm
70 years old
Signature dish: coconut ice cream
“My father inherited this place from an older friend who was like a grandmother to me. But I didn’t like the ice cream, which wasn’t homemade, and so my father and I helped make our own recipe, starting with coconut milk flavor. After 30 years, children started to want other flavors so we diversified. Our business was hit when the government offices and residents in the area started to move away, but luckily I have some regulars who helped spread the word and sometimes place big orders.”
Nattaporn Rungrojsuwan, 61
Potsapakarn
443 Tanao Rd., Rattanakosin, 02-222-2686. Open daily 11am-7pm
91 years old
Signature dishes: pongwaree teelakham (fried seabass meat with mayonnaise), mee krob (crispy fried noodles), saeng wa (non-spicy Thai salad) and nam prik (chili paste)
“It all started with my great grandfather, who was a cook for one of Rama 5’s sons. We used to appear on TV and in magazines and there were always some relatives complaining about it—they don’t work here, yet they act like they own the place. So we decided to stop making appearances on TV and it’s surely affected the restaurant. Who doesn’t want their business to be known? Though we have such a little space, there’s still a cost to keeping it open. We don’t want to talk about the future of it yet. Just keep it running each day.”
Prachak
1415 Charoenkrung Rd., 02-234-3755. Open daily 7:30am-20:30pm
106 years old
Signature dishes: roasted duck and roasted pork
“I had to quit school after eighth grade to help run this restaurant. Still, I studied in the evenings until I passed the entrance exam to Chulalongkorn. Eventually I won a scholarship to study in the US and graduated with a master’s degree before teaching at Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy. I fully took over this place when my father was too old to run it. Now I’m training my youngest daughter.”
Sanguan Mahasirimongkol, 70, pictured with Panisa Mahasimongkol, 36
Mitr Ko Yuan
186 Dinso Rd., opposite Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, 02-224-1194. Open Mon-Fri 11am-2pm, 4-10pm, Sat-Sun 4-10pm
72 years old
Signature dishes: tom yam goong and hoy lod pad cha (stir-fried razor clam with chili paste)
"Back in my grandfather’s time, we were in a three-unit shop-house on the opposite side of the road, before the extension of Bangkok City Hall. After that, we took up this single unit and stopped serving dishes like khao mun gai (Hainanese chicken rice), roasted pork and beef to fit the space. The sales were so much bigger back in the day. Now it’s very hard to find staff. It’s a tough job and we open daily, only ever closing during Songkran.”
Saksun Harnjeerapunya, 42
See also: The people behind Bangkok's disappearing family businesses
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