After operating Prung as a food delivery and catering service for several years, Aphichana Sartwaha, the wife of singer Po Yokee Playboy, has now moved her business into a proper home in the Prachachuen district, a little outside central Bangkok. The menu mainly focuses on Southern Thai recipes, with plenty of tangy and spicy flavors.

 

Prachachuen has a reputation for being a great area for foodies—it’s where Southern Thai specialist Baan Ice first started—and Prung is no exception. Unlike its homey-looking neighbors, this two story shop-house is decked out minimally with a black ceiling and gray brick walls, while a bright red facade and golden sign help attract customers.

 

The restaurant owner’s catering expertise is reflected in the long menu of dishes, though not all are as good as the Southern specialties. We highly recommend the kua kling moo (stir-fried pork with chili, turmeric and herbs, B130), which is full of flavor and spices, though the seasonal vegetables served alongside it don’t quite have the variety we’ve found in other places. The kanomjeen nam ya tai (rice vermicelli with Southern coconut curry, B100) is brilliantly aromatic and has plenty of texture from the mashed fish curry.

 

Prung’s other dishes are still pleasant enough, but less so. The gaeng lueang koon krapong (yellow spicy soup with giant elephant ear plants and seabass, B150), for instance, comes in a pallid-looking broth that lacks depth, though the flavor is still sour and spicy, while the cherng pla grai tod (deep-fried clown knife fish belly, B120 per piece) is a bit of a disaster, with a bland flavour profile and very fatty fish.

 

Other Central dishes are pretty unorthodox, like the khamoo nam daeng boran (traditional braised pork knuckle in red soup, B150), which is cooked in a salty sauce at odds with the normally sweet dish (not to mention the sad, reheated boiled eggs at an extra B20 each). The taste, however, is surprisingly pleasant, and goes well with their nicely textured Chinese bun (B40).

 

For those who love Southern food but not Baan Ice’s prices, we’re happy to recommend Prung. Corkage charge B100 for liquor and B200 for wine.

---

This review took place in May 2015 and is based on a visit to the restaurant without the restaurant's knowledge. For more on BK's review policy, click here.