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. 

I made a trip out of this. I mentally prepared. I shadowboxed in my apartment while dawning a raggedy old sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off and listening to the Rocky soundtrack just to pump myself up for this. “I ain’t hear no bell,” is what the Wattana Panich staff resiliently countered the first day their shop was set to close for the evening nearly 50 years ago as they stored the leftover broth from service. 

I didn’t just tuck into one bowl of this delectable, savory, soothing broth from the Gods, I had three; two beef noodle soups and one goat soup. Here’s why you need to get your body moving over to Wattana Panich as soon as possible – you won’t regret it. 

What to Expect When You Arrive at Wattana Panich

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.facebook.com/WattanaPhanich/

Location: 336 338 Ekkamai Rd, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

First, you can’t miss the place. As soon as you roll up, you are greeted with this:

Second, I should have known Wattana Panich was set to make a mark for me because as soon as I sat down, the old Thai woman next to me pointed at my belly and gave me a thumbs up. We traded thumbs-ups and smiles throughout my marathon of a meal and parted ways with a fist bump. 

Third, it feels like you are stepping back into time as soon as you enter – this would make sense since you are literally eating a beef broth that has been on deck since the 1970s. I think a real estate agent in Beverly Hills would market it as ‘rustic,’ ‘chaotic’, and ‘nostalgic’. 

The red walls, adorned with white menu lettering in both Thai and Chinese, green Chang beer posters and Coca-Cola advertisements, and Thai newspaper write-ups and Michelin Guide plaques, silver cafeteria-style tables topped with all the fixings (silverware, chili sauce, and hand sanitizer), and of course, a giant cauldron of simmering beef broth displayed in all its glory at the entrance – the pièce de résistance. 

Fourth, there is a healthy mix of both locals and tourists. Wattana Panich is far enough away from Sukhumvit Road and some of the more mainstream haunts (even though it is a stone’s throw away from Thong Lo Road) that it isn’t saturated with the usual suspects you may be picturing when thinking of Bangkok. 

“What’s Beef [Broth]?” – Notorious B.I.G.

“Beef [broth] is when I see you, guaranteed to be in ICU.” One of my favorite Biggie tracks that for some reason was playing in my head as I tucked into my several bowls of beef broth and one goat soup. 

Looking at the menu I was overwhelmed. Everything sounded delicious. I wasn’t exactly sure what to order that would get me the bowl I had seen on YouTube Shorts from that cauldron to my bowl. One of the waitresses pointed me in the right direction, dropping her finger down on the ‘Number 6’, fine noodles served with sliced beef, stewed beef, and beef balls (in a soup) to let me know that is what I most likely wanted. I nodded. 

Think of the best beef broth or beef noodle soup that you’ve had in your life – now multiply that by ten (or maybe one hundred). This herbaceous, fragrant, slightly sweet beef broth was home to melt-in-your-mouth beef flavor explosions and packed with Chinese spice(s). It’s both salty and sweet and not an overly thick broth. Light in “spoonage” (and viscosity) but rich in depth. 

Wattana Panich’s beef noodle soup is a Taiwanese beef noodle broth and a pho broth that had a child and then it turned out to be Dorian Gray (my point here is that the beef broth’s beauty only grows stronger as it ages). 

The beef trio offered up a nice contrast in textures, from the fork-tender (or should I say spoon-tender) stewed beef, to the slightly chewier sliced beef, and one of the most underrated types (forms?) of beef, to the absorbent yet somewhat firm beef ball (it almost generates a ‘snap’ when biting in), you won’t have to worry about meeting your beef-quota for the day.

The noodles? An egg noodle (kuai tiao neua) that teeters on the slightly chewier side, with a little bounce and elasticity that almost reminds me of a glass noodle texture-wise. 

I drank every last drop and then ordered one more bowl just for good measure. I should note that these are modest-sized bowls, so if you are a ‘Big Body’ like me (Big Body’) or have the appetite of Matt Stonie, then you are likely going to order more than one bowl. 

Price: 80-100 baht per beef noodle serving (USD 2.35-3.00).

Now, onto the goat. 

Goat That Floats My Boat

If you’ve read any of my posts on Vietnam then you’ll know that I hold goat meat near and dear to my heart. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe because I was raised right next to an Icelandic sheep farm. But then again, I never actually ate the sheep, I just named them (I still miss you little ‘Cosmo Kramer’). If goat is on the menu, I almost always strive to try it. 

I ordered the ‘Number 1’, goat stewed in selective Chinese herbs, sans-noodles, as I had already packed away two bowls of the beef noodle soup and was feeling guilty. I was a bit of a bozo so I assumed that the goat soup would be stewed in the near-50-year-old beef broth (I know, I know, I’m not sure why I assumed that). However, after taking my first sip, I knew that wasn’t the case. I do think that there are beef bones added to enhance the flavor in this soup but it is not coming straight out of the cauldron.

That is not me saying that the goat soup is not fantastic. It is genuinely delightful. It just isn’t 50-year-old broth (which I now only exclusively eat and/or drink). The flavor is stronger, bolder, and heavier on the star anise. Some might say it is more ‘medicinal’ in flavor due to the herbaceous punch it packs. 

The braised goat meat was plentiful, a generous mixture of both tender chunks of prime cuts and tendons. The chewiness of some small tendon meat was more reminiscent of lamb. Overall, zero complaints about this dish and I slurped it down without hesitation.

Price: 200 baht per goat soup serving (USD 5.87).

Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you decide to walk back to Sukhumvit 11 area from Wattana Panich, make sure to stop at one of my favorite Japanese bakeries ‘Custard Nakamura’ for a custard bun or Katsu Sando.

Bangkok Reigns Supreme Gastronomically in Southeast Asia

Total Price: Mix in several Coke Zeros and water and the total damage came to just over 500 baht (USD 14.66). 

I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again. Bangkok is what I consider the gastronomical capital of Southeast Asia (and maybe even Asia – I still haven’t been to Japan yet). Wattana Panich set me off on one of the most memorable eating journeys I have embarked on in my thirty-two years on this planet. It laid the eating foundation for the rest of my stint in Bangkok and is a spot I will undoubtedly return to the next time I’m back in Thailand.

If you are planning to go to Wattana Panich or have already been, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or by email (info@palealetravel.com)! Also, if you have any favorite or legendary eating spots in Bangkok that you think I should check out, also do let me know!

Eat well,

Big Body