transpac

I still like Suda (Sukhumvit Soi 14), I think the food is good, fresh ingredients, well-prepared and the ambience is more or less standard for an open-air Thai restaurant. I think the service lacks a bit mainly due to the crowds. It's not unusual to see 30+ tables occupied and, I think, one lone oldish woman waiting on all the tables. I take visitors there because of the location, while I personally go to similar restaurants closer to where I live. Street peddlers are just one aspect of Bangkok al-fresco dining that some find harassing and others find quaint. A simple wave off and a “mai kob” is enough, unless you want to buy a lottery ticket. I doubt you’ll find an open-air restaurant anywhere devoid of peddlers?

I recently became interested in the local variants on fish-head soup (hwah baah) so scouted out two establishments that offer this. (One stall-like outlet in Din Daeng remains.) Anyway both of these are recommended, especially so the one in Chong Nonsi. I’ve added these to the map.


Hwah Baah Chong Nonsi – in Chnong Nonsi (not to be confused with the BTS stop of the same name) right on Rama 3. This is a massive seafood restaurant with hundreds of fresh seafood and shellfish offerings. There are ~ 100 tables and when we arrived there was only one open table. I did not see any foreigners. The fish head soup was really good, as were the other choices (fresh oysters, grilled scallops, grilled shrimp, tom yum goong). Great prices, ~ 15% less than Rut & Lek (Yaowarat Road, previously mentioned). Location is on Rama 3, Chong Nonsi, same side of the road (west side, rama 3 here runs almost due north) as German Tawan Daeng ( a giant brewhouse, also recommended ) but at the next intersection (Wat Chonglam intersection) south.


Hwah Baah Pink Klao (pin gao) – This smaller restaurant is in Pink Klao (pronounced pin gao) on the left as you are coming down the ramp from the bridge. There is an adjacent parallel street with a several shops, this restaurant is roughly in the middle and easily identified. There are ~ 20 tables and a good-sized menu with a focus on seafood. The fish head soup was good, slightly better (imo) than Chong Nonsi, but the overall quality was slightly below, with fewer menu items.