The Meat & Cheese Georgian Triumvirate of Bangkok: Khachapuri, Khinkali, & Tolma

“I’ll take cuisines that you would never see in Bangkok, Thailand for $100, Alex.” “This popular dish features unleavened bread formed into a boat shape and filled in its center with cheese, eggs, and sometimes meat.” “What is Georgian food, Alex?” “That’s correct. In last place, we have Big Body who has just correctly answered his first question of the day and now has the board.”

I can thank ‘Avra’, a popular Georgian and Greek restaurant-hybrid in Bangkok for giving me this knowledge that keeps me from getting shut out in my imaginary Jeopardy! Debut. Even in my dreams, I’m the worst contestant on the show. 

A Scrumptious Seafood Congee in Bangkok’s Buzzing Chinatown

I went on several eating marathons in Bangkok. But I offset them by walking everywhere. My most arduous and longest journey of the one-month stint I did in Bangkok had to be walking from Sukhumvit 11 out to Chinatown. I was a man on a mission. Other than getting to Chinatown in one piece and without having soaked through my t-shirt (I failed), I had no real plans or idea of what to do (or where to go) when I got there. 

However, like a light bulb turning on (insert whatever cartoon resonates with you where a lightbulb flashes on over a character’s head when they get an idea) I knew I found what I was looking for after passing by a small outdoor food stall with cafeteria style foldable tables and three silver-haired Thai men hovering over bowls of fresh squid. 

Enter ‘Khao Tom Pla Plaeng Nam’ – a fresh seafood Teochew-style congee spot near Yaowarat in Bangkok’s bustling Chinatown. This place is a congee institution. And I found out why.

Sushi Misaki-Nobu: an Omakase Experience For the Books

I would have never guessed that Bangkok just happened to be home to some of the best Japanese restaurants in the world. I guess that one is on me considering it is a frontrunner in the Mr. and/or Mrs. Universe competition for best gastronomic cities in the world. Cue Sushi Misaki-Nobu, a powerhouse Japanese omakase restaurant (and Michelin Guide recommendation) located in the Saladaeng area serving up Edomae-sushi – raw fish, cooked rice, and seasoned red vinegar (as opposed to traditional rice vinegar).

Northeast – a Bustling Bangkok Haunt Serving Up a Killer Crab Curry

Located across the street from the south center of Lumpini Park (and a 3-minute walk from the Silom MRT), where monitor lizards roam freely and cats sleep in the middle of the road with zero cares in the world, sits ‘Northeast’, a no-nonsense, bustling, Thai restaurant serving up familiar (and unfamiliar) ‘Northern-style’ dishes including – a killer soft-shell crab curry. 

As I’ve mentioned in several other posts, Bangkok makes a more than formidable bid as the gastronomic capital of Asia (at least in my books), and ‘Northeast’ is the staccato on the end note of this culinary symphony. 

Let’s take a look at what makes this popular haunt for locals and tourists alike a must-go when you are in Bangkok and the feast that single-handedly forced me into bed by 8 PM. 

Wattana Panich: Tucking Into a 50-Year-Old Bowl of Beef Noodle Soup in Bangkok

I am declaring this now for all to hear…errr…read. From this day forward, I am only consuming beef broth that has been aged more than 50 years. Fleetwood Mac and I are both never going back again to day-old beef broth. We demand 50 years. Wattana Panich Beef Broth, located on Ekkamai Road in Bangkok, is to thank or curse for that. 

Passed down for three generations, Wattana Panich has set the bar for what beef broth and beef noodle soup restaurants should aspire to be – simple, unapologetic, and filled to the brim with savory, herbaceous, salty flavor. This article definitely will not do it justice and will be one of the few where I attempt to let the pictures speak for themselves.