Shock of Jok in Bangkok

We’ve all heard stories about the hole-in-the-wall joint that turns out to be a diamond in the rough. Well, Bangkok has its Jok’s Kitchen, a tiny, back-street restaurant deep in the Chinatown section of the city.  Indeed, you have to walk through the crowded alleyways of a vegetable market to reach the small house restaurant. You would not recognize it as a fine dining establishment from the outside unless someone told you. But fine dining it is, its many fans proclaim.

It is known locally as the One-Table restaurant, even though today it has grown to five tables. But it still feels like you are in someone’s home. There is little in the way of decoration, but as you will see, none is needed. The food here speaks for itself. Indeed, you will need at least a two-month lead time. Yes, reservations are made on a two-month, maybe even three month, basis for dinner; and a mere two to three weeks for lunch.

This unpretentious restaurant, according to one reviewer, “exemplifies the very best in Chinese cooking, with a wide range of classic Chinese delights…”

Primarily known for its seafood, you can expect dishes such as Surat-thani sea crab, shelled; spicy lemongrass salad with prawns; vegetables in oyster sauce with canned abalone; and taro mousse with ginkgo nuts on the bed of sweet sticky rice for dessert.

If you are a foodie, or even if you’re not, you will not want to miss out on an opportunity to experience this culinary and cultural adventure. Plan ahead if you want to visit Jok’s Kitchen on any of our Thailand journeys such as our Thailand – A Natural Adventure.