Launched in February, Chulaos Churos is an unassuming street food stop hosting Lao cuisine. The authentic flavors, high-quality ingredients, and wallet-friendly bill have all contributed to the word-of-mouth success and virality on social media. Last month, diners were still willing to queue up one or two hours to get a seat. BK joins the crowd to check out the hype. 

 

 

The restaurant is usually busiest during weekends, so we tried our luck on a weekday. Visiting a little over an hour after the restaurant opened, we managed to hop in the queue and get in within 20 minutes. But if you’re running on a tight schedule, you can book in advance. 

 

Chef Daeng, also the owner, used to be a head chef at Lao Dtom Lao. This spot brings out his Lao background—with his own mother in charge of the mortar and pestle station, grinding away at the papaya salads.

 

 

Chulaos Churos’ grilled meats and salad offerings are all over social media. So we went straight to the famous picanha beef (B180) which is fired on a charcoal grill to get that smoky aroma. The cook is medium rare so it still has some juicy and fatty bits that lend an addictive chewy quality. You can alternate the bites with some diced pickled daikon or dip it in the sweet-meets-savory jaew sauce. 

 

Next up is the ox tongue (B180) which has been sous vide and cooked again with their signature charcoal grill. It’s soft and delicate, similar to a rich liver pate. It’s served with jaew sauce but you can also ask for nam jim kom, a bitter sauce made of cow bile that matches up the gaminess really well.

 

 

For the salads, don’t miss the tum chulaos (B65) which slices their papaya in thin but generous sheets. The texture is crunchy and goes well with their house made pla ra, fermented fish sauce. The dish leads with saltiness and follows up with a bit of heat. For comparison, this sauce isn’t as intense as their Luang Prabang papaya salad.

 

 

As for a lighter and less spicy option, the strawberry salad (B150) is served with bouncy raw shrimp and drizzled with some sweet-and-tangy yum sauce. There’s also flakes of peanut and dried shrimp sprinkled on top. We ordered extra seasonal magosteen on top for that extra tartiness, this gives an overall flavor similar to the sweet fish sauce you’d usually dip with raw mango.

 

 

Their grilled meats and papaya salads are certainly worth the wait and are a good way to punctuate your night out. But for those who don’t want to traverse to the other side of town, Chuloas Churos recently announced on their Instagram an October project that’ll come to Siam with an emphasis on more parking space, seating, and aircon.