The 140-Year Old Thai Restaurant, and the Dishes They Served a King

Of all the historic restaurants in Bangkok, one must be the oldest. We set out to try to establish which place in the city has the longest history, and to our surprise, it's somewhere that we've been on the channel before; a restaurant along a canal near the Talad Phlu market that we visited while filming our second video ever.

So we went back to the restaurant to tell their story and record the history of the oldest restaurant in Bangkok, and to try the five dishes they've served continuously since the days before the roads were built and the city began to modernize. This is Tek Heng Jeen Lee, the home of crispy fried noodles (Mee Krob) favored by the legendary King Rama V, and a place with a wild history befitting the oldest restaurant in Bangkok… OTR Food & History

Moonstar 88 - Migraine

The Science Behind ‘The Breath of a Wok,’ an Essential Ingredient in the Perfect Bowl of Fried Rice

Chef Kwok Keung Tung tosses the wok with one hand, using the other to stir with a metal spatula.

Both hands occupied, he uses his knee to nudge the gas stove’s lever up and down to control the fire fan, sporadically engulfing a third of the wok in flames.

It takes only three minutes for the lump of white rice to transform into the bowl of golden fried rice he places on the serving counter.

“This is what you’re looking for – wok hei (the breath of wok),” Danny Yip, co-founder of Hong Kong restaurant The Chairman, tells CNN Travel.

“Wok is the essence of Chinese cooking in South China. And Cantonese chefs are the master of fire and wok.”… CNN Travel

If you’ve been forwarded this post and find it interesting, consider subscribing to the newsletter here.

We welcome any questions and suggestions. Just reply to this email or send a note to [email protected]