There are at least two famous kway chap (rice roll noodle) shops in Yaowarat (Bangkok's Chinatown) both on the same main street. There's Kuey Chap Aun Pochana and Nai Ek Roll Noodles. I blogged about Kuey Chap Aun Pochana in 2015 because it left a deeper impression (it later won the Michelin Bib Gourmand award). Nai Ek Roll Noodles on the other hand is no sloth either, it won the Michelin Plate (which is like an honourable mention). In Michelin speak, awards go from Star ⭐ through Bib Gourmand 👶 to Plate 🍽 in descending order.
(Disclaimer: I don't refer to Michelin guides for my food adventures. I don't mind that my food trips are sometimes misadventures as hit or miss, I feel it is all part of the fun.)
Whenever I am in Bangkok, I gravitate towards Yaowarat because I like the colours, sounds and vibes of the place. There seemed to be endless good food and things to discover here. Except for a few tourist traps here and there, I like the charming authenticity here. (Hope that I can hangout here for at least a couple of months to thoroughly understand this fascinating place.)
Whenever I am in Bangkok, I gravitate towards Yaowarat because I like the colours, sounds and vibes of the place. There seemed to be endless good food and things to discover here. Except for a few tourist traps here and there, I like the charming authenticity here. (Hope that I can hangout here for at least a couple of months to thoroughly understand this fascinating place.)
It is hard to miss Nai Ek Roll Noodles when you are on Yaowarat Road as there is always a queue at the shop. Inside, it is always packed and everything seemed to be in a frenzy. Such is the buzz of Yaowarat that keeps drawing me back.
Snagging a table here during peak hours already gives me high blood pressure. Don't worry, table turnover and service is very fast here as they are used to full houses.
Mei mei cooking pork offal in a large steel barrel. This picture was taken in 2014, before the Michelin Plate and hordes of tourists adding to the local regulars.
Nai Ek offers lots of sides to go with rice rolls (kway chap) and everyone is eyeing their crispy fried pork belly.
Thai style crispy pork belly is deep fried unlike Cantonese style crispy pork belly which is roasted.
Tuk tuk tuk, chop chop chop non stop.
Founder Nai Ek 陳億 came to Bangkok from China in 1960 and began selling kway chap from a push cart stall. Saving enough money from his booming business, Nai Ek moved into his present shop in 1989. His popularity just kept on growing.
Pro-tip: Quickly order a plate of Nai Ek's freshly fried pork belly to eat with your kway chap.
The lean meat and fat were tender and moist while the skin was thick and crackly crisp. The crispy skin was neither hard nor chewy stiff. The flavour was just nicely savoury. In many other places, fried pork can be too salty. We can taste and feel the freshness of the pork belly from its tender bite and subtle porcine sweetness underlying the mild savouriness.
I had a big bowl of kway chap with everything in. The soup was watery tea colour and tasted savoury peppery sweet but not as spicy as Kuey Chap Aun Pochana. So, if you like less spicy, then Nai Ek is right for you.
All the meat, offal (liver, kidney, stomach, intestine), tongue, pork blood curd etc were very fresh (probably never chilled) and well cleaned. They tasted great with the mild savoury spicy sweet soup. But, there was no pig skin 🤔
Singaporeans note - pork blood curd 😄
The thin Thai style kway (rice roll) were rolled in a tight coil and cooked to slippery smooth, soft texture. They go perfectly with the pork offal, meat etc in the soupy bowl.
Buddy was feeling a bit under the weather so he got this kway chap with tau kwa (fried tofu).
You can get nice stewed pork trotter to go with your kway chap or rice at Nai Ek. You can't go wrong with ubiquitous stewed pork trotter in Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand. I haven't come across a bad one.
Nai Ek offers an assortment of steamed soups. We had a nice rendition of piping hot bitter gourd and pork rib soup.
Recommended for you 👍 For the uninitiated, Nai Ek is a good place to try this traditional Teochew dish from our lean and frugal past. The pork offal etc are fresh and very well cleaned. You will taste only natural porcine sweetness (without the slightest hint of off tastes). The soup tasted mild and well balanced savoury peppery sweet. It is clean tasting and easy to like. For Malaysian / Singaporean kway chap fans, here's a good place to try the Thai version.
The
Restaurant name: Nai Ek Roll Noodles 陳億粿條
Address: 442 Yaowarat Road (Yaowarat Soi 9), Bangkok, Thailand
GPS: 13°44'24.9"N 100°30'35.9"E 🌐 13.740258, 100.509982
Tel: +66 2 226 4651
Hours: 9:00am - 12:00 midnight
Date visited: 20 Aug 2014, 20 Oct 2019 | Updated 5 Aug 2021
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