You have to be pretty determined to visit this place; not only is it situated across the river, it’s also down a deep, barely-lit soi. Pla Song Kwai Restaurant sits on the first floor of an old condominium with little other signs of life. While they have a big, bright sign at the entrance, the place has an oddly unfinished feel about it. The tables out on the dim terrace are especially unwelcoming. Indoors, though, it’s packed with families who have piled into their shiny luxury cars for the pleasure of eating here. This is probably because the kitchen serves up some tried and trusted Chinese-Thai dishes that are hard to find in the area. The menu is packed with fish and seafood, ranging from expensive abalone to rarely-found giant catfish. Some of it is very good, too, like the delicate stir-fried soft-shell crabs with black pepper sauce (B130-B150 per gram). We also really like their stir-fried champignon with prawns (B150), which captures the feeling of old-style Chinese cooking thanks to its aromatic oyster sauce. They also prove adept at Thai dishes; the tom yam pla buek (giant catfish B200-400) is deliciously tangy, while the goong song prode (fried big prawns with chili cream sauce, B300) comes with a sweet sauce comprising chopped chili and fresh garlic that really cuts through the oil. There are plenty of missteps, though, like the stir-fried duck tongue with salt and chili (B200-B400), which contains far too much sugar and is positively buried in dried garlic. The deep-fried seabass with fish sauce (B450) has a lovely crunchy texture balanced with soft fresh meat, only to be let down by an overly watery dipping sauce. Pla Song Kwai may be a solid choice for Chinese food in a neighborhood short on options, but it’s not a dining experience to especially seek out.