New Srifa 33

Standing amid countless hostess bars and shoddy clubs, New Srifa 33 isn’t blessed with the most appealing location. But this Sukhumvit old-timer offers a reliably excellent and extremely good-value late night meal. This long-running khaotom shop is now manned by the fourth generation, but it doesn’t look its age. The air-con shophouse is simply furnished with chunky wooden tables. But despite the no-frills décor, it still manages to exude bustling warmth as the attentive and well-informed servers converse nonchalantly with the families of regulars. The picture-based menu reads like a cross between a streetside khaotom parlor and a proper Chinese restaurant, covering everything from a pak boong fai daeng (stir-fried morning glory) to steamed seabass in spicy lime sauce. Here, the quality of the ingredients is good and the kitchen never fails to impress with its reliably tasty food. With the sud yod krachet fai daeng (stir-fried water mimosa), for example, New Srifa 33 leaves out the chewy old stems and selects only the crisp, young tops of the pak krachet. The kitchen continues to prove its knack for stir-fried dishes with the oily-yet-addictive muu pad namlieb (stir-fried minced pork with salted black olive) and the spicy stir-fried clams with chili paste. Other must-tries are the toothsome homemade hoy jor puu (deep-fried crabmeat dumplings served with plum sauce) and bateng, a home-style sweetened diced pork that goes great with a bowl of boiled rice. Those looking for something hot and zesty can try the Super Kha Gai, a spicy herbal soup complete with chicken wings and feet. The invigorating broth makes it a perfect after-hours supper. In comparison with other streetside khaotom shops, eating at New Srifa 33 is, of course, relatively expensive. But we don’t mind paying that little bit more if that means we get to enjoy good food and efficient service in the comfort of this clean, air-con room. Corkage B300.