[Naka_Timo]

Somsong Pochana (ร้านสมทรงโภชนา)

Address: Samsen Road, between Soi 3 and Soi 5, Banglamphu, Bangkok
Open hours: 9 am – 4 pm daily
Prices: Typical street food prices, you’ll pay around 35 – 45 THB per dish. This time eating here I failed to remember how much we paid, but I think it was under 150 THB for everything we ordered.



How to get there: Somsong Pochana (ร้านสมทรงโภชนา) is now located right along Samsen Road, in between Soi 3 and Soi 5. If you’re in the Banglamphu area or at Khao San you can walk there in about 5 minutes.

The food, in particular a hard to find dish called khanom jeen sao nam (ขนมจีนซาวน้ำ), was excellent.

However, as I’m writing this post, I just checked their Facebook page, and as of the beginning of 2016, they’ve moved locations since I’ve eaten here last (see bottom of this blog post for more details, it’s just down the road from the old location).

Location has changed, but you can still try these fantastic dishes.

For my first dish, and one of the dishes that Somsong Pochana (ร้านสมทรงโภชนา) is most well known for, I ordered a bowl of kuay teow Sukhothai (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวสุโขทัย).

This Thai noodle soup, which originates from Sukhothai, is not really a very rare dish to find in Bangkok, but it’s definitely not widely available on every street corner like Thai chicken noodles or tom yum noodles.

I got sen mee, the thin angel hair Thai rice noodles, and it came with the typical slices of pork, minced pork, and long beans.

What’s interesting about Somsong Pochana (ร้านสมทรงโภชนา), is that they pretty much add the seasoning, like chili flakes and vinegar in your bowl for you before it’s served. The soup was sour and sweet, nutty, and with a spicy tinge following behind.

The mix of ingredients tasted fresh and the broth had a similar tom yum soup flavor to it. Overall, my bowl of kuay teow Sukhothai (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวสุโขทัย) was very good, a little on the sweet side for me, but still really delicious.

Again, the noodles were pre-seasoned before being served, with a little bit of chili flakes, ground peanuts, some vinegar and sugar to sweeten it up.

And again, what I did like though were the good ingredients, the sprigs of green cilantro, the crispy fish skin, the bean sprouts and the nuggets of minced pork.

However, for me the noodles were too sweet for my taste, and the portion size was pretty small as well.

Conclusion

Somsong Pochana (ร้านสมทรงโภชนา) is a long standing classic restaurant in Bangkok, known especially for serving Sukhothai style noodles, and a dish of fermented rice noodles and coconut milk called khanom jeen sao nam (ขนมจีนซาวน้ำ).

The khanom jeen sao nam (ขนมจีนซาวน้ำ) in particular, with its contrast of rich coconut milk, pineapple, and ginger, was an incredible dish here.

Since I took these photos, the restaurant has moved locations, about a 5 minute walk from their original location. I haven’t been to the new location yet, but I was just browsing their Facebook page and saw some photos. It looks like it’s been upgraded from its really family home style feel, and there’s even an AC now.

Although some of the old style Bangkok charm may have been lost, I’m pretty sure the food and taste will remain the same.