There are thousands of Thai restaurants in Bangkok and, though some of them are acclaimed for having revered recipes, after tasting them you may come out thinking these awful so-called "authentic" dishes shouldn’t have survived into the new millennium. Letting those ancient recipes die of old age would be better. Thankfully a few of the good ones have deservedly survived. Years ago, Bharani on Sukhumvit was one of our favorites for its delicious food and the friendly matriarch, Aunty Bharani. Homeless for two years, Bharani is back, now on a sub-soi of Sukhumvit Soi 23. The homey décor of the original has been replaced with a contemporary family vibe, and of course Aunty is no longer there to greet diners. One thing that remains from the old days is the menu, and those tasty dishes of old are still ready for us to enjoy. Tacos pizza (we asked for half chicken and pork) has always been a must for an appetizer together with Vienna sausage (a.k.a. Saigrog Bharani). The two were exactly as they were, but the salsa this time was hotter and spicier. With a taco shell on the bottom then minced pork/chicken, sliced cabbage and sliced cheddar cheese on top, it may look so baan but once you soak that taco with salsa, you’ll find yourself reaching for another without even knowing it. The sausage is a yummy, sweet pork flavor, which doesn’t need ketchup at all. The main courses came along in a blink. We had Spanish fried rice, roti and red chicken curry and phat phrik khing kaak muu (fried long bean with crispy pork). The fried rice dish was just so-so, but the roti came crispy and the thick red chicken curry was gorgeous—not too sweet and with a little bite of spiciness at the end. (Shame it didn’t come with enough roti). Phat prik khing kaak moo was prepared for those with a sweet tooth, and if you’re not one of those, there’s Meggi (seasoning soya sauce) right there on the table for you. The homemade kaak muu was great. It wasn’t too greasy and the crispiness was not bad at all. It would be perfect if you had this with plain rice, instead of with Spanish fried rice as we did. To end the evening we had the puffy banana fritter with vanilla ice cream, which was good, but we were too full to finish it all. On the whole from this dining experience, we knew one thing for certain: if you can’t think of anything for dinner, ask Aunty Bharani. She knows best. Corkage B100.
