Chotechitr, Bangkok, Thailand, tasted on December 3, 2005 — Walter and Mary-Alice had been to Thailand a couple of weeks before I arrived. They made only one restaurant recommendation for all of Bangkok. I figured I better get there first. It was a bit of a challenge as the language barrier seemed to ensure that the cabbie would have no idea where the place was even though I had the front desk at my hotel write down the address for him. Apparently knowing the restaurant is located on Phraeng Phuton doesn’t help much if you have no idea where Phraeng Phuton is. At the last minute I found that one of my maps actually had the street on it and directed the cabbie to drop me off nearby Chotechitr.

You need to understand that to me, upon arrival, Bangkok was like a ripe fruit, bursting with possibilities, and I was worried that in my haste I would let too much of the juice drip onto the floor. (OK, that’s kind of yucky imagery but you get the gist.) If I wanted a small restaurant, not frequented by tourists, off the beaten path, and family-owned, this was the place. Needless to say I was pretty proud of my accomplishment at even getting there when I was asked a question by the owner and chef Mrs. Krachoichuli Kimangsawat that I couldn’t answer: “what would you like to eat?” It hadn’t occurred to me what I might want for lunch, so I decided to put my fate in her hands. This was a good idea.

While I waited for my food I ordered a Coke. I was pretty clear on not drinking tap water (or putting ice made from tap water in any of my drinks) and while I thought of asking to see if they had Pellegrino, I decided to settle for a Coke. It always tastes better from a glass bottle anyway.

Soup was first. Tom Yum Goong specifically. This is a soup I love and adore and have had many times. I still remember the first time I ever tried it when the wall of sour and spicy hit me like a heart attack. It really blew me away. This was at once a more confident and down to earth soup than almost any other instance of Tom Yum Goong I’d ever tried. It was hearty, thick, and rich. There were fragrant bits but it was also sweet (but not overly so). The flavors were very balanced but not shy either. There were also enormous prawns in the soup. The shells were mostly gone, but the heads were there in their full glory. I admit I was a wuss about the heads, but I ate the bodies hungrily. The soup was very good.

Next up was Mee Grob. Think of it as a nest of fried noodles with sauce and (in this case little shrimps) dotting the noodle landscape. The dish was certainly deep fried but there was zero grease. The noodles themselves were crunchy but never too hard. And the flavor of the sauce was sweet but not cloying. It almost had an orange juice flavor. Mrs. Kimangsawat assured me it was lemon juice. Excellent.

Finally I had the Banana Flower with Shrimp and Chicken. I really had no idea what the hell a banana flower was so she was happy to show me. I apologize if I misunderstood, but I believe she showed me an example that was young and not quite at the point where it was ready to be included in my dish. I was right to trust them. While the first two dishes had similar flavor profiles, this dish was different. It had more of an emphasis on the savory tones tones than the other two dishes. It was also creamy with a super light acidity (maybe from citrus?). And most enjoyable there was a build up of pepper on your palate way at the end of the finish of the flavor. The effect was that by the end the dish had a nice kick to it. Excellent with the fragrant and perfectly cooked rice that was sent my way.

I’m not sure I could have asked for a better first meal in Bangkok. And while I typically don’t mention cost as it varies and people’s perspectives on cheap and expensive can be vastly different, this meal cost $5.25. It would almost be amusing if the food weren't so good.