Tee Pochana, also known as T-Restaurant, is a classic. The family-owned restaurant, opened in 1970 in bustling Pratunam, cooks up tasty, fresh and comforting Thai-Chinese seafood. Though the new generation opened a swankier venue in Sukhumvit Soi 31, we feel the original address has more charm, and remains reliable as ever when you’re hankering for some fresh and tasty Chinese food. The place isn’t much to look at: in fact, it looks like a drab office during the daytime. But when the giant neon sign out front switches on, families and co-workers begin to pour in, seeking out the best seats on the ground floor and mezzanine in anticipation of a superb meal. Service, too, is wonderfully old-fashioned. The attentive waiters actually know the menu, can make useful suggestions and, for items listed at “market price,” they can rattle off the day’s rates without a second’s hesitation. Backstage, things are equally professional, with dishes getting churned out at breakneck speeds. The steaming hot tom yam pla (spicy fish soup, B300-B400) strikes a perfect balance of sour and spicy while its sea bass is clearly fresh. The nor mai talay jian (stir-fried sea asparagus with vegetables, B350-B600), made tantalizing by the vegetables’ vivid green color, sees its mushrooms and sea asparagus absorb the light brown sauce’s delicious flavors. Even more impressive is the steamed goby fish in soy sauce (B1,000 per kilo on our last visit). The fish meat, fluffy and soft, just melts in your mouth. While we’ve never found fault with Tee Pochana’s produce, you do get the occasional misfire. The popular poo pad pong kalee (stir-fried crab in curry powder sauce, B1,500 per kilo) can be a bit light on the curry powder’s fragrant balancing force, despite fantastic crab. Similarly, the pad mee goong (stir-fried noodle with shrimps, B100-B300) boasts lovely shrimps, but was overcooked and a bit oily on a recent visit. Even if Tee Pochana is not consistently mind-blowing, it still packs plenty of amazing dishes. Already 43 years old, we hope it will keep up their high standards for many more decades to come. Corkage B100 for wine.
