Looking for a Good Indian Meal? Tread Carefully in Little India
May 18th, 2009
Vegetarian Thali at Punjab Sweets
Bangkok, Thailand – It was strange. The hookah shopkeeper told me so. As did the Indian food importer. And the girl selling bangles and sequined sandals. Even the samosa vendor, who sniffed at Punjabi Dhaba across the street as “okay,” pronounced it “excellent.”
So, why was it that I never saw locals in Royal India? Why did one friend have just an okay meal and another set of friends had the worst Indian meal of their life? The service, they said, was indifferent, the food bland, but salty and the small space was half-filled with out-of-towners thumbing through their Lonely Planets, in which the restaurant is recommended.
My meals there, perhaps misordered, were in line with my friends’ experiences. Something I would expect from guidebook recommendations, which, through no fault of their own, are often a few years behind a restaurant’s peak and subsequent decline. But why were all the locals pawning this place off? Was it a conspiracy against farang? The assumption that visitors would like it? Or was I clueless when it came to Indian food?
You would think that Bangkok, with its proximity to India and large immigrant population, would have an abundance of great Indian spots, but it didn’t seem to be the case. Finally, one mak vendor in one of Chakraphet’s back alleyways told me that all the restaurants were for tourists and that most Indian-Thais cooked at home. (It didn’t totally fit with what I’ve seen of both locations of Punjab Sweets, which are usually filled.) Later I also found out that most upper class Thais had their Burmese maids cooking Indian at home for them. It might be that great Indian food is being cooked all over the city, just in people’s homes, though.
Still I found a few bright spots. I really did like the masala chai and richly spiced dals at the perpetually empty Khana Khazana, which would normally be off-putting, but the normal ways of finding a good restaurant don’t seem to hold around these parts. The chaat at Punjab Sweets was crisp and fresh. I enjoyed watching my chapati puffing up over the flame at a no-name restaurant across from Mama.
Outside of Pahurat, the more upscale Mrs. Balbir’s Fine Indian Cuisine on Sukhumvit Soi 11 has a reputation for being one of Bangkok’s best Indian restaurants. We had an uneven meal there with the makhana dal, fish vindaloo and palak paneer showing off clean ingredients and fresh spices, while a few of the dishes, like the vegetable pakoras, kebab and biryanis fell flat. It’s a fine enough place for a night out with friends.
However, if I’m thinking of purely eating, I’d suggest piecing daytime snacks together – green peanut fritters in front of 203 Pahurat, samosas in front of India Emporium, maybe dal or chai at Khana Khazana and the samosa chaat or pani puri at Punjab Sweets. That or figure out the key to Royal India, and let me know if you do.
This is the last of my Pahurat posts for now. For more pictures, click here.
Dal Fry at Khana Khazana
Pani Puri at Punjab Sweets
Masala Chai at No Name Outdoor Restaurant Across from Mama Restaurant
Standard Sweets and Restaurant
Papri Chaat at Punjab Sweets
Royal India
392/1 Chakraphet Road
02-221-6565
Punjab Sweets
436/5 Chakrapet Road
02-623-7457
Khana Khazana
382 Chakrapet Road
02-221-5398
Standard Sweets and Restaurant
95/47 Chakraphet Road
02-623-8620
Mrs. Balbir’s Fine Indian Cuisine
155/1-2 Sukhumvit Soi 11/1
0-2651-0498
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