Follow the grey haired man of Nye Ngok to forgotten flavor

By Cole Pennington

Mar 25, 2014 | 3:57pm Bangkok time

COCONUTS HOTSPOT — Eating Thai at restaurants in the capital’s cosmopolitan center comes down to two choices: street food-style places with penthouse prices or experimental options such as the recent wave of “royal” Thai cuisine, fusion fare or just cleverly marketed, pedestrian recipes.

What happens at Nye Ngok in Ram Inthra’s suburbs doesn’t fit into either. It’s in the ‘burbs, so the prices are low, but they also come up with inventive Thai dishes that are genuinely interesting and delicious in addition to bringing back recipes from the past that simply aren’t popular anymore.

Shuffling around the restaurant and barking out orders is Nye Ngok himself, who indeed does have a head of greying hair and a belly that says he knows a thing or two about good food

The outdoor dining environment flirts with Bangkok’s romantic past with antique sewing machine tables and other artifacts from when people ate noodles from boats and khlongs were king.

Of course, being outdoors can be hell when it’s hot or wet out.

Try the keang keaw wan with roti for some mean green curry that will make you wonder why this combination isn’t served at all Thai restaurants, or the hed tod sai kung which are snack-able morsels made from mushroom heads stuffed to the brim with shrimp and then lightly fried. The kaw moo grob teriyaki puts a strange but delicious twist on moo grob (pork belly) and again makes you wonder why these combinations aren’t ubiquitous.

It isn’t all about new flavor combos, though. Nye ngok, the white haired man, pays special attention to recipes from the past. Try some of the nam prik platu to test his allegiance to tradition. This fiery mash of vegetables used to be considered a Thai staple until people decided that the painstakingly long preparation process made it too difficult to serve in our fast-paced society. What especially fits with the whole theme of the restaurant is the boat noodles, kuey teow ruea, their zesty and slightly sweet broth draws such a large crowd during weekend mornings that the venue is usually full.