Charoen Saeng Silom Pork Leg Rice

At Charoen Saeng Silom, a Michelin Select rated eatery. Pork leg rice or khao kha mu. It’s like wanton noodles in Hong Kong. Almost every hawker stall offering is ‘above average.’ Such is the level of standard for this beloved Thai staple

It’s a dish - like bak kut teh - that home cooks like me have attempted (still) to master - but fall ‘short’ of these humble Thai masters. If there’s one fav dish of mine (counting frequency of times consumed), then this would be it. Every. Single. Day.

Charoen Saeng Silom is one of the most popular shops selling places to eat Thai khao kha mu in Bangkok. My Thai colleagues (and ex colleageus) swear by this place.

Using Bak Kut Teh as an analogy; there are many variants and practitioners of this humble dish. But somehow Charoen Saeng Silom has taken the crown as the overall best (for me). Even Mark Wiens and his wife Ying agrees. And it’s not uncommon to see this shop packed with customers from all walks of life - fancy sports cars to bicycles and those on foot - one could easily walk past this unassuming shop (back street) of it was not peak hours.

Total damage THB135 which is beyond a steal for this Bangkok staple. God bless them. I’d be honest (and a little jealous): their khao kha mu is inextricably soft and chewy to the bite simultaneously, and is so well balanced with a (secret?) blend of spices and herbs.