If you’ve been to Bangkok before, you may have heard of Raan Jay Fai, a famous local street food vendor notorious for its delicious seafood dishes, that aren’t so cheap.
Located in Phra Nakhon District in an unassuming shop lot, Raan Jay Fai’s owner, Jay Fai, has been cooking up a storm for decades. Jay Fai, who is now in her 70s, can be spotted whipping up her famous dishes in her signature ski goggles to protect her eyes from the intense heat.
Despite working for hours on end over a hot stove, she still has time to look fabulous in a little bit of makeup!
Source: Facebook
According to VICE, the famous restaurant has been around for nearly 40 years, and has garnered popularity among locals and tourists during that time.
The restaurant has even garnered praise from none other than Martha Stewart, who called Jay Fai the best cook in Thailand. It was even featured as one of the top restaurants in Bangkok by Lonely Planet.
Source: Tiny Urban Kitchen
“Okay, but what food should we try and how much are the damages?” we hear you ask! Well, don’t worry because we’re getting to it!
So, one of the must-try dishes in this restaurant is their signature ‘pad kee mao‘ (which apparently translates to ‘drunken noodles’). The noodles are reportedly the best drunk food in the city.
Source: VICE
Source: Daniel Food Diary
The ‘drunken noodles’ consist of seared rice noodles with crunchy coconut palm hearts and fresh prawns. Since it’s Thai food, you can expect a good amount of spice from this dish too! These noodles are priced around Baht 400 (approx. RM51).
Raan Jay Fai’s ‘khai jeaw poo‘ or crab omelette is definitely not one to miss. Yes, this one comes at a pretty steep price, but it’s reportedly very worth it. The omelette contains half a kilo of fresh crab meat, wrapped in a simple layer of eggs fried to perfection. *Drools*
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
This dish is definitely one of the more pricey ones, at Baht 1,000 (approx. RM129).
Another one of their specialities is definitely the fried rice porridge. This simple yet flavourful dish is filled with seafood items such as prawns and topped with a hefty amount of fried rice porridge, ginger, Chinese parsley, a runny egg and crispy ‘pathongko‘ (deep-fried dough sticks) on the side.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the exact price of this particular dish online, but you can expect it to be within the 400 – 500 Baht (approx. RM51 – RM64) range.
Source: Hungry Onion
Source: Diary of a Growing Boy
Since it’s such a popular spot, you can expect huge crowds lining up to have a taste of their food. We suggest getting there as soon as the restaurant opens to beat the crowd and long waiting times, since Jay Fai mostly cooks all of the dishes herself. Don’t forget to bring a lot of cash and an empty stomach, too!
Address: 327 Maha Chai Rd, Khwaeng Samran Rat, Khet Phra Nakhon, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10200, Thailand
Opening hours: 3pm – 2am
Also read: 7-Eleven in Bangkok Now Offers Freshly-Cooked Omelettes!
