Among hundreds of noodle shops in Chinatown is Hong Kong Noodle, located down a frenzied market alleyway. The owners have lately begun expanding with branches called Noodles n More, typical of a new breed of trendy café that is turning street food into a statement of downtown chic. Another is Lan Som Tam Nua, in Siam Square Soi 5, where MTV-generation students pack out the polished concrete interior for plates of lsan sausage and the fiery salad Iarbgai. The queues here are so constant there are cushions outside for the waiting people to sit on.
Although noodles are a Chinese legacy, one of the most famous, khanomjeen, is sometimes credited to the Mon, among the earliest inhabitants of what is now Thailand.
Khanomjeen is fermented rice-flour noodles served cold and usually topped with one of two sauces - the spicy nam yaa, made of pounded fish seasoned with wild ginger, or the intense, but sweeter nam niaw, a recipe of the northern Shan. According to folk belief, khanom jeen represents long life, and is often served at weddings to ensure a successful marriage.
There’s a tasty recipe prepared on Pan Road, opposite the Indian temple. At a shop house called Krua Aroi Aroi which translates as Very Delicious Kitchen. They sell many classic dishes here, and the food is so good that neighboring street vendors buy it and pass it on to their own customers. Aroi Aroi’s cook protects her reputation by vetting the stalls if they don’t keep the food properly she won’t sell it to them any more.
One of her specialties is the superb, mildly spicy northern curry khao soy, normally a chicken dish, and distinctive for the crispy fried noodles piled on top. Despite its apparent Chinese origins, it’s also commonly found in Burma and the sauce has similarities to some Indian recipes. It was probably imported to Thailand through ancient trade routes, an example of the country’s diversified culinary heritage.
Indian influences are clearer in the food of the south, through the use of spices such as turmeric, and particularly in Muslim dishes. There’s a super little shop called Roti-Mataba, on Phra Arthit Road, close to the backpacker haven of Khao San Road, which sells roti, a flat bread served with the milder curries known as gaeng geri, massaman and korma that are typical of the south.