It is true that great food can always be found in the most unassuming looking restaurant. Krua Apsorn is a good example. Moreover, if David Thompson (executive chef at Nahm Bangkok) recommends it in one of the Lonely Planet books, you know that this is a place to be.
We dropped by for lunch after a visit to the Grand Palace. It Is about 10 minutes drive away. Remember to come here before at either 11-ish or after 2 pm to stay away from the huge lunch crowd. It’s a short cab ride from Wat Pho and makes a nice lunch stop away from the crowds
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None of the staff speaks much English, so we ordered by pointing at the English/Thai menu. We started off with Mieng Kam, a traditional Thai appetiser where you wrap various ingredients wrapped in leaves. I like how we can customise our own Mieng Kam by taking a leaf and place a small amount of each of the filling ingredients such as shallots, bird’s eye chilies, ginger, lime wedges, dried shrimps and pork lards in the middle, top with a spoonful of palm sugar, and fold up into a little package. Pop the package into your mouth and enjoy the fresh, springy taste
We were also very happy with our order of Thai fish cake (tod mun pla). It was thick and bouncy to chew. The kaffir lime leaves, long bean bits and red curry paste also imparted much flavors and texture to the fish cake.
Deep fried chicken wings came next, and it was nothing remarkable.
The two must-have dishes at Krua Apsorn are the “stir-fried crab in curry powder” and the “omelet with crab”. I like how the chef de-shelled the crab, resulting in a plate full of chunky, tender crab meat drenched in an eggy, mild yellow curry sauce. It was delicious that we ordered extra plate!
The crab meat omelette was incredible. Even my mum kept asking how does the chef makes such a fluffy and thick globe of egg.
We cut open the omelette, and it reveals a beautiful filling of more crab meat!
Out of curiosity, we ordered the stir fried thai flower with minced pork. Can anyone please enlighten us on the name of this vegetables? It was delicious nonetheless.
Remember to extra rice if you are having the Thai green curry with pork slices. Made with and a blend of fresh herbs and spices, the curry gravy was fragrant and flavourful.
There are four branches of Krua Apsorn in Bangkok but we went to the one in Samsen Road. It is also very near to Khao San Road (backpacker’s heaven) and Wat Pho. Our total bill came out to 2500 baht for 10 pax, pretty reasonable even for Thai standard.
Samsen Road Branch
0-2241-8528, 0-2668-8788
10:30-20:00, closed Sundays
Din So Road Branch
0-2685-4531, 080-5500310
10:30-8:00, closed Sundays
Sanam Bin Nam Branch
0-2967-1733, 081-6851386
10:30-9:00, closed Mondays
Vimanmek Palace Branch
087-0155101, 086-3301996
10:30-4:00, closed Mondays
Love this place. Perfect for lazy people who likes Crab. Its a Crab heaven :).