When the chef Rose Chalalai Singh first opened her restaurant Ya Lamai in the 11th arrondissement in 2009, it was supposed to be a grocery store with takeout. But nobody ever wanted to leave. Singh’s natural conviviality and excellent cooking is evident today at her Rose Kitchen, a stylish cafe located on the edge of the bustling Le Marché des Enfants Rouges, the city’s oldest covered market. Singh seems to know everyone in the worlds of food, fashion, design and art. Spending an afternoon at her tiny Rose Kitchen, feels like being at the hippest dinner party in town. It is here where Singh feeds her friends— artists, designers and chefs from Paris and beyond— dishes like massaman beef curry and a salad of citrus and shrimp—homemade cooking she learned from cooking with her grandmother back home. Although Singh has made her life in Paris for some time, when she visits her hometown, she instinctively knows the latest hot spots where young chefs are reinventing the local cuisine as well as the hole-in-the-wall family-style restaurants that serve dishes passed down through generations.
100 Mahaseth
For Singh, 100 Mahaseth represents “new Bangkok cuisine” where the kitchen reworks “primitive recipes” into a new version of Thai cuisine. Located in an old teak house in the city’s Bang Rak district, this is a true nose-to-tail operation, with plenty of tripe, intestines and pig’s heart for adventurous eaters— there’s even an aging meat locker on display. The kitchen works with ingredients, indigenous to the land and traditional to the people of Isan, from the Northeastern region of the country. Singh recommends dishes like aged beef tongue with black pepper, pickled radish and chamuang leaves, fried sausage and a larb that she notes is served on the bone rather than chopped up. “It’s a place to visit at least once while you are here,” says Singh.
Baannual
Located in a ramshackle house, this family-style restaurant can only accommodate a few diners— “maybe six people maximum,” says Sing— among the rattan bird cages and the antique kitchen cabinets. “There’s the longest waitlist, no air conditioning and you have to pay in cash,” says Singh. But it’s worth it. The menu features dishes like moo pad kapi, stir-fried pork neck with shrimp paste from Chumphon, and yum dokkajorn, a Thai-style cowslip salad with minced pork and shrimp that’s made with boiled coconut cream. “It's something I would eat at my grandmother's house,” she says. There’s no alcohol so diners can bring their own or the friendly staff will grab something for guests at the nearby convenience store.
DTF
“I can eat this twice a week. It’s like Chinese cuisine,” says Singh of this restaurant located in a charming shop house in the city’s Chinatown. “The decoration is like you went back 50 years ago. I really love the way they do it,” she says. The menu offers a few classic dishes from Southeast Asia like fried duck salad, wood ear mushroom and pig ears marinated with spicy dashi dressing, and duck with a Chinese liquor marinade. “It's quite rough, like St. John in London. No compromise but it’s very playful,” she says. For those who might not be as adventurous, Singh suggests the fried chicken or the buns.
Charmgang
Before opening this spot, chefs Aruss “Jai” Lerlerstkull, Atcharaporn “Aew” Kiatthanawat and Geravich “Mew” Mesaengnilverakul worked at Nahm, the much acclaimed restaurant when Australian-born star chef David Thompson was at the helm. “They have probably 20 chefs working for one dish or something,” says Singh. The menu, which changes monthly, pays homage to Thai comfort food like crab and lamb curries, as well as a fish salad with a sour marmalade and scallops with roti underneath. “This one I would go to 3 times a week if I lived here,” says Singh.
Zao
Zao restaurant specializes in Isan cuisine, which is, according to Singh, “more spicy and very primitive.” The sleek spot, decked in concrete with a floor-to-ceiling window and an outdoor space, has a casual, hip vibe (the owner is a former fashion designer). The food, however, is very authentic and can be very spicy. “The chef is probably 80 years-old. It’s like grandma cooking,” says Singh. There’s grilled Kobe beef with chili paste and tamarind sauce, local freshwater fish with garlic, deep fried pork skins with vegetables and papaya salad which Singh says is the best out there. For something refreshing there’s also the watermelon with fermented fish sauce.
FV
The name of this small cafe is derived from food and vegetables and is known for its traditional Thai desserts as well as fresh juices. The owner, who also runs an advertising agency (and is a friend of Singhs) learned how to make the traditional desserts from one of the city’s masters, Sri Samorn, who just passed away at 88 years old. (Singh also took a course with her.) Here diners can try ancient recipes for traditional Thai desserts like mango sticky rice and Thai rolled crepes as well as special teas made from plants like sleeping grass, which helps promote restful sleep.
Chandrphen
This sprawling Thai and Chinese restaurant has been open for almost 70 years and is beloved by Singh and her family. “This is my father’s favorite restaurant because there used to be the Lumpini Boxing Stadium next door so he would go every weekend after watching the match,” she recalls. It also used to be located next to the former Malaysia Hotel, where American soldiers were stationed during the Vietnam War. “They came here a lot. The design of the place is like a postcard of Thailand in the seventies,” Singh says. There are private rooms with lazy susans at the table so Singh suggests going with a bunch of people. “The food is cheap but it’s authentic and delicious. Singh recommends that you order at least ten dishes, including fried rice with crab, plum soup with rice (her son’s favorite) and glass noodle salad. “I went once with my father and we ate one baby pig, one duck, and a whole big turbo fish,” she says.
