Wattana Panich - Braised Beef Broth That's Over 50 Years! @ Bangkok in Thailand

Fans of Bangkok would no doubt chance upon the above photo on their social media feed and for me, it kept appearing so often that I told myself; fine, I should check it out, even though beef broth doesn't quite appeal to me.

Especially in Thailand, when I don't quite understand the language except for the standard sawadee, kop khun krap etc, and I am a 101% sure that the gigantic simmering pot of beef broth would contain beef organs that I don't enjoy. 

In case you don't know about this braised beef broth from Wattana Panich; it's legendary and has been brewing in the same pot since 1974, older than me! Now, the pot is cleaned daily but the day's broth is kept and used as a base for the next day; hence, the flavour was said to be intensely rich!

Well, let's get ourselves seated in the hot and humid, and did I mention frustratingly hot Bangkok weather! To be fair, we walked from Ekkamai BTS station, a short 1.8 kilometers away. 

Ordering from the menus, which came in Thai, English and Chinese but no pricing, and the items, while numbered, don't seem the same, after translation! Number 2 was bovine's tendon stewed in English, but the Chinese menu indicated goat's penis soup! 

I ordered from the Chinese menu instead, effectively using my short fingers to point at the dishes I "think" I want. So, the above was numbers 5 and 7; mixed beef broth and beef horfun.

According to the Chinese menu, number five would mean beef ball, beef sliced and braised beef. It didn't include the tendons which I can see peering out from the broth! Anyway, the first thing was to take a sip of the broth; herbal it sure was although the flavour was more smooth, not as rich and not as thick as I thought it would be. 

The selling point here was more the beef; the sliced beef was tender despite being 100% well done, and the braised beef was even better with a tastier flavour compared to the bland sliced beef. Texture of the beef balls didn't disappoint but I do prefer a beefier taste. 

Tendons were the one thing I didn't know how to enjoy.

Other than that, I literally cleaned up the rest, even the broth.

Should I return next time, how do I tell them I didn't want the beef tendons? Maybe I should actively use the Google translate app. 

p.s. Alex liked his beef horfun.

And he is a not a beef lover. 

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Address

336 & 338 Ekkamai Rd, Khlong Tan Nuea, 

Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Map

As above.

Pricing

Now, I don't remember if my number 5 cost 150 baht or a total of 150 baht for our meal, including water. My bad.