Attention to detail

A friend of mine regularly goes all the way to Paeng Thong, a restaurant tucked down a soi in a remote area at the edge of the city, just to buy grilled lookchin for her daughter, who craves them and nothing else.

When they set up the Paeng Thong about 15 years ago, Kornvivat Kanchananithipat and his wife Nuttanun hunted for the best recipes for making perfect meatballs, broth and condiments for noodle soup. Kornvivat, a native of Phetchaburi province, developed lookchin that harmoniously blend softness and crunchiness.

"The secret is the amount of meat you put in the meatballs," Kornvivat says. "We only use the freshest meat and we use a lot of it. Our meatballs are soft and tender because they are all natural. We mix chopped ice into the meatballs to make them naturally crunchy, and we do not cheat by adding chemicals to make them crispy."

Paeng Thong's popular dishes include beef and pork noodles (Bt25-Bt30). For pork, only noodles with clear soup is available while for beef, you can order noodles with meatballs, braised briskets or blanched beef served in clear soup or dense beef broth.

Grilled pork or beef meatballs cost Bt6 for a stick of three. They are served with a spicy-sweet dipping sauce. You can buy them in bulk for Bt180 for 100 pork meatballs and Bt190 for 100 beef. The dipping sauce is available for Bt40.

In the evening, Paeng Thong serves rice soups - one with young pork ribs and another with duck meats and some innards (Bt25-Bt30). We tried them both and they alone were worth the long trip.

Don't forget to add a small spoonful of chilli-vinegar to the noodle soup.

"Our chilli-vinegar is made from Karen chilli grown in the mountains of Phetchaburi," Kornvivat says. "These chillies have a distinctive aroma and taste. We keep them dried for a full year after the harvest to allow their full flavours to flourish. Just a spoon-full of dried chillies wonderfully flavours the whole soup. That's what makes our noodle incomparable."

Paeng Thong

1/389 Phaholyothin Soi 60

9.30am to 9pm daily (closed every last Monday of the month and during national holidays)

(02) 531 4199

Sirin P Wongpanit  

The writer can reached at saleewong@gmail.com.