T & K Seafood @ Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand

The epic battle in Bangkok is never between the political-driven red shirts and yellow shirts.

Instead, a continual battle occurs nightly at a side road along Yaowarat Road (otherwise known as Yaowaraj Road) in Chinatown, noticeable by the distinct segregation of red shirts at one side of the road and the green shirts on the other.

It’s the battle for meeting one of human basic needs (and my personal favourite need); food!

According to various sources on the World Wide Web, green shirts (aka T&K Seafood) seem to be the popular choice and this is what I am going to concentrate on today!

Shark’s Fin Soup

This is as good as you can get from most of the wedding banquets that actually serve shark’s fin soup!

Unlike the banquets, this special claypot shark’s fin soup was served with an additional plate of bean sprouts, spring onions and coriander leaves.

Depending on your preference (Karen Au, for example, will never add bean sprouts), a rich and thick broth is guaranteed with the refreshing fragrances of spring onions and coriander leaves. And before I forgot to add, the crunchiness of fresh bean sprouts!

It has never been a question of the fins for me; I would feel equally satisfied to chomp down a bowl of pseudo shark’s fin soup from the pasar malam. And judging from the picture above, I have serious doubt on the authenticity of this shark’s fin.

Grilled Crab (Small)

I have never known grilled crabs can be so delicious!

Granted the meat was dry when compared to the steamed version, this cooking process locked the natural crabby flavor and resulted in a meat that tasted much better.

My only grouch with grilling was that whatever little meat left in those crustaceans legs needed a lot more effort to excavate! And that’s too time-consuming when you are holidaying!

To extract the sinfully high cholesterol meat, steamed crabs are much easier!

Oyster Aor-Saun

A typical oyster omelette (Orh-Jian) we can get from most hawker centres in Singapore, this dish was prepared to look like a pancake.

Looking so perfect on that bed of bean sprouts (did I mention I love taugek?), the taste was unfortunately without much seafood flavor although we counted 17 (small and medium) oysters!

Even the eggs failed to save this dish!

Fried Squid with Garlic

Deviating from the usual fried squid we know, this had a generous sprinkling of fried garlic that enhanced the seafood taste so much!

You want the perfect way to eat this?

Dip the lightly battered squid into the bowl of chilli that came with the dish AND dump it into this bowl of green chilli that the waiter served before the arrival of all your dishes!

Seafood Soup

Mom loves drinking soup although she is not Cantonese! And seeing this hotpot on most tables made her wonder if we should also order.

Normally, it’s pretty safe to assume that a particular dish is good when you see most of the diners having it on their tables.

Fresh seafood makes the tastiest soup and this did not disappoint us! Awww, the fresh sweetness of clear seafood soup!

Bird’s Nest (Small)

One of the cheapest quality bird’s nest soup in Bangkok can be found at T&K Seafood (only 100THB that was roughly S$4.50)! Of course, please don’t get your expectation too high as it was not a thick serving of dried-up saliva!

Unlike Nam Sing, this did not have any gingko nuts. For better quality bird’s nest that would definitely burn a bigger hole in your pocket, I would recommend Nam Sing!

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Location

49-51 Phadung Dao Rd, Chinatown, Bangkok.

Using White Orchid Hotel as a landmark, you turn left after coming out of the hotel and walk less than minute till you come to a side road. You should see a prominent green building; that, my friend, is T&K Seafood!

Price

Shark’s Fin Soup – 300 Baht

Grilled Crab (Small) – 250 Baht

Oyster Aor-Saun – 120 Baht

Fried Squid with Garlic – 150 Baht

Seafood Soup – 100 Baht

Bird’s Nest (Small) – 100 Baht

Additional Information

Sad to say, I have never patronized the red shirts since I have always been extremely satisfied with the greenies! So don’t expect anything from me on the red hotties.

The restaurant is open from 4.30pm to 2.00am. For those who preferred a lesser crowd, do reach between 4.30 and 5.30pm!


Third level dining area!

The second level that you need to take out your shoes! Shun this level if you know your feet stink!

Right besides the alfresco area is an air-conditioned building with three levels that are available for pampered Singaporeans like me who prefer a cooler dining environment!