Our Thai host brought us to Khanom Jeen Saphan Hin in Phuket for lunch. Before this, I had no idea at all what is khanom jeen. Turned out that I fell totally in love with this traditional Thai dish and now look out for it whenever I have Thai food. Khanom jeen reminds me of the Tamil putu mayam but eaten with many different types of Thai style curries. When you are in Phuket, you may want to check out Khanom Jeen Saphan Hin.
This restaurant doesn't have any English signboard. So, it is a place locals frequent, not a tourist trap. Bad news is most visitors will miss it unless shown by locals.
If you are coming here, look out for the crab mascot at the entrance.
Saphan Hin was a tin mining town. Saphan Hin town's Tin Mining Monument commemorating the town's first tin dredger which arrived from Scotland in 1907, is just steps away from Khanom Jeen Saphan Hin. Khanom Jeen Saphan Hin is now run by the third generation.
I was so thrilled and excited by the rice noodles and array of colourful curries spread out at the ordering counter. Khanom jeen noodles are made by fermenting rice which are then mashed and pressed through a sieve to extrude as rice noodles or vermicelli.
The staff will slather the customer's choice of curry onto the plate of rice vermicelli. They have English labels for the curries at Khanom Jeen Saphan Hin.
There's shredded fish, fish organ (stomach & liver), crab, prawn, chicken & blood curd, beef, etc., curries. Khanom Jeen is a breakfast staple but now enjoyed throughout the day.
The dining hall is large, bright, clean and airy. It exudes a rustic village, communal feel, welcoming and comfortable.
An eye catching mural of the iconic three eye child in a furry rabbit suit by Alex Face (Patcharapon Tangruen), one of Thailand's top graffiti artists, adorns the main wall of the dining hall.
The rice vermicelli and curries are eaten with a variety of raw vegetables (e.g. bean sprout, long bean, wing bean, cucumber, bitter berry, pineapple, anchovies, etc) as well as side dishes like Thai fish cake, fried chicken wings, hor mok pla (like otak otak), etc.
Rice vermicelli with fish organ curry.
Rice vermicelli with chicken, blood curd, green curry.
All are nice and my personal favourite was the crab curry. The thick curry was sweet with rich coconut milk with a bit of hot, spicy heat and savoury crustacean umami from crab. The little crabs had soft shells which were chewable mouthfuls of crustacean sweetness and umami.
The rice vermicelli were slurpy smooth and soft (like putu mayam). They absorbed and infused the curry flavours very well, and imparted their subtle sweetness to the dish.
After Khanom Jeen Saphan Hin in Phuket, everywhere I go in Thailand, I would look out for khanom jeen. This is the khanom jeen stall in Iconsiam, Bangkok. The large blue pots contain the various curries.
La Vela Khao Lak Resort's Kokulo Beach Club buffet breakfast has a khanom jeen station. I had khanom jeen every morning when I was staying in La Vela Resort 😁
Written by Tony Boey on 30 Apr 2022
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