Lay Lao - Michelin Bib Gourmand Restaurant @ Ari in Bangkok [Thailand] #michelin

I first walked past Lay Lao after a visit to Dog In Town in Ari back in 2022, after noticing the michelin logo sticker; told myself to check it out soonest and this soonest took me about three years to materialize! 

Opened in 2014, Lay Lao served Hua Hin and not Northern Thai cuisine that some social media influencers mentioned. Even though we reached at about 6.00 pm, the place wasn't crowded as I would have expected from most Michelin bib gourmand eateries, with the second floor being totally empty.

While awaiting our food, I took to exploring the local snack corner next to the cashier. While it's beneficial to sell local food souvenirs, it would be better if sampling can be provided! p.s. the crispy shredded pork at just 248 baht (about S$10) would be nice with plain porridge! 

Coconut Soup with Seafood - this was said to be spicy and I was anticipating the spiciness to make my scalp sweat! It didn't happen as it was surprisingly quite mild. Nothing tomyum about it; in its place was a bowl of aromatic soup with a strong coconut punch that tasted like green curry! 

Homestyle Grilled Chicken - I was expecting this to be like the isaan style one I had at Singapore's Un-Yang-Kor-Dai. Sadly, the meat was bland, and mushy with the tendency to stick to my teeth. Definitely needed the two sauces to up the flavor.  

Deep Fried Sun Dried Pork Belly - lovers of char siew and siew yoke would enjoy this! Nuggets of caramelized pork belly that were sinfully sweet; said to be the result of a secret lay lao sauce! What's lacking, however, would be a bowl of Thai jasmine rice! 

Pad Thai with Crispy Pork Skin - ever since I sold my soul to Thipsamai, it's quite hard for me to try pad thai in Bangkok as I am leaving the heavy carbohydrate dish to my favourite! However, one ingredient stood out from the menu.

Crispy pork skin, which I correctly assumed to be deep fried pork lard! Unfortunately, while they were in large chunks, the pork lard failed for being too cloyingly dry! The pad thai noodles themselves were nice although they could do with more oil as the noodles were clumped up! 

Deep Fried Squid with Roe - said to be a another recommended dish that also used the secret lay lao sauce, I was seriously anticipating this as I recalled it being raved about on a social influencer page! And I love squid. 

Let's dissect the little baby! 

p.s. looks like a slug in this photo.

Utterly delicious! Squid was well seasoned (with a sweet twang) and nicely grilled, resulting in a texture that was non-rubbery and surrounded by a smoky aroma that was so addictive as my teeth chewed through it! For an extra punch to the flavor, dip it into the spicy seafood sauce! 

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My companions didn't quite like the food, although I only counted the Pad Thai with Crispy Pork Skin and Homestyle Grilled Chicken as failures. Maybe I would be back this October! 

Address

65 Phahon Yothin 7, Phaya Thai, 

Bangkok 10400, Thailand

(Near Ari BTS Station)

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

10.30 am to 10.00 pm

(Daily)

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Coconut Soup with Seafood - 295 Baht

Homestyle Grilled Chicken - 195 Baht

Deep Fried Sun Dried Pork Belly - 185 Baht

Pad Thai with Crispy Pork Skin - 155 Baht

Deep Fried Squid with Roe - 295 Baht

(Subject to Service Charge and Taxes)

Rung Rueang Pork Noodle (รุ่งเรือง) - Michelin Bib Gourmand Eatery @ Bangkok [Thailand]

The Greatest Kon is well-known for his deep passion in food and when he said Rung Rueang Pork Noodle is one of the eateries he revisits every time he is in Bangkok; I knew I had to check it out, especially when our hotel was just 20 meters away! 

Thanking our lucky stars as there wasn't a queue, which was said to be the norm. Do note that there were three branches, and all were located within 20 meters! Beats me why the owner didn't bother consolidating all three.

p.s. this is a michelin bib gourmand eatery, and from the above photograph, it seemed like they have maintained a consistent record since 2018! Whatever the case, secure your table, prepare your order and then get the attention of a service staff to order.

Four steps to ordering the signature Rung Rueang Pork Noodle, where you first choose the soup base, followed by the type of noodle, the kind of ingredients and finally, the size. 

Black Tea - I assumed this would be similar to the black tea from Tee Yok and it turned out to be more like the grass jelly drink I would get in Singapore, albeit a lot sweeter! 

My order - clear soup, with egg noodle, no pork entrails and serving size would be small as there were plenty of things I would want to eat in Bangkok! 

Did you notice something?

The small was ridiculously miniscule for 60 baht! I am putting up my fist for comparison. Now, I am not angry as this would mean more stomach space for other food but I can just imagine the expression of my mom if she was with me. 

Trust me, all the noodles given was literally one mouthful for me! While the noodles were soft, they were surprisingly pretty salty. Maybe the chef wasn't accustomed to serving small portions. 

Fish balls were alright tasting; the slices of fish cake were delicious and for the minced pork, I had mixed feelings although still on the positive end. It had that subtle sweetness that was nice, not overly fatty but there's a light tinge of entrail taste. 

Accompanying soup - flavourful, a tad peppery and reminded me of bak chor mee in Singapore, yet without the strong taste of liver that's quite common amongst reputable bak chor mee stalls.

I actually returned to the stall as it was so convenient for us! This time, I got smarter and opted for only soup with no pork entrails, no mee and small. And with the bowl filled up to the brim, I didn't get that "this was ridiculously small" feeling. 

Still the same, nice pork soup taste! Oh, I forgot to mention another pork ingredient; the sliced pork. Tough texture with the porky flavour that I dislike! 

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Address

Soi Sukhumvit 26, Khwaeng Khlong Tan, 

Khet Khlong Toei, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110, 

Thailand

Map

As above

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Small Pork Noodle - 60 baht

(Cash Only)

Bun Cha Ta - A Michelin Bib Gourmand Eatery @ Hanoi in Vietnam #michelin

Do you know that Bun Cha, a popular dry noodle dish in Vietnam, originates from the capital city of  Vietnam?! I don't actually but nevertheless, we shall still be reviewing Bun Cha Ta, Michelin bib gourmand eatery in Hanoi today!

Interior for your reference; as it was packed on the ground floor, we were ushered up to the second level, where one long table for our group of six was just made available.

Despite the smiles, we were starving! 

p.s. I was the photographer.

Typical seating on the second; thank god it wasn't tatami seating as it would have cramped up our feet and legs! We would still have to remove our shoes though. Good luck if you have stinky feet.

Cutleries, condiments and tissue paper for your use. I usually refrain from touching the condiments unless strongly recommended by a local since I wouldn't know how much to add and tastes differ if it is too much, or too little.

Bun Cha Ta + Nem Hai San - basically, grilled pork with two seafood fried spring rolls and a serving of rice noodle, and this was labeled as the "best choice" on the menu. There were other bun cha offerings, including vegetarian option, and one without spring rolls. 

There appeared to be two types of grilled pork here - mini minced pork patties and sliced pork. Former had a softer texture but I personally thought it could have been more charred with a smokier aroma.

Bun cha required us to dip the rice noodle (or vermicelli) into the broth before eating and even though I had bun cha on numerous occasions; the broth here wasn't too sweet and there was even an appetizing sour tinge to it!  

I didn't manage to take a picture of the inside of the seafood spring roll as they were lip-smacking delicious! Most bun cha would provide traditional fried spring rolls which had an overwhelming black fungus flavor. The seafood ones were a lot more nuanced in that and with a great crisp exterior! No wonder there was an option for bun chat with just seafood spring rolls! 

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Swept clean! 

Address

21 P. Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Lý Thái Tổ, 

Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Bun Cha Ta + Nem Hai San - 130,000 dong

Additional Information

You may consider joining the Vietnamese cooking class, which included bun cha at just US$35 (I am assuming it would be US dollars). Should I arrange for a cooking class for my mom? Maybe if I could find a Mandarin speaking one.