A place popular with Khao San backpackers, Tuk Tuk manages to surprise you with its good, honest Thai food that is actually great value for money and goes full throttle on the spices. It happens to be an art gallery as well, an added incentive to make a visit to this friendly open-air restaurant. The name is reflected in the traffic motif on the walls, tables and chairs all decked out in white and black road markings alongside multiple drawings of tuk tuks by renowned watercolor artist, Suchart Vongthong. This is his eatery and, as well as offering Thai dishes, he also has prints and original pieces for sale, and an exhibition space, which features other artists. Suchart also uses the place to indulge his other passion, music, by taking to the small stage at 8pm most nights. Even the menu has his personal touch with cute cartoons portraying the different Thai dishes. For starters, try out the kap klaem section which holds a variety of snacks best enjoyed with the decent menu of cocktails, beers and whiskey. Get the yaam wun sen which comes with shrimp and sausage––it really packs a pleasant punch. To help with the spice, order the Isaan sausage, as oily and sour as it should be. Another hot dish is the tom yaam kung. It’s not the best in the business, but is a decent bowl: sour, hot and mildly creamy. For a rice dish, the khao phad kaeng kiew waan isn’t bad, but is slightly too sweet. Do come to Tuk Tuk for some booze with your friends and the not-to-be-missed dish of muu ma-nao. The pork with lemon, chili, onion and garlic isn’t only spicy and sour but its decent slices of garlic perfectly complement the pork. For a cheap and spicy meal in a kitschy joint, Tuk Tuk is worth the trek. Corkage B100.
