ร้านบ้านเนื้อปู (Bannuepoo) บางกร่าง

Let’s start with the not too bad. We had the hoi-chor (kinda like a spring roll made of tofu skin with pork and crab meat stuffing). And then there was the stir-fried crab meat in chili. I have to say the hoi-chor is generous, extravagantly big, but good food is not about just size and the visual appeal. And oh man, that stir-fried crab meat set fire to my mouth. It was excitingly spicy. Actually, all I could taste was chili and I can’t judge too much on this for this is the taste that some seek. Another plus point was the crab meat here did not have that too heavy a hint of formaldehyde so widely used to preserve the freshness of seafood in Thailand. And in addition, the prices of all dishes are very reasonable. Deep Fried Sand Whiting in Garlic. Sand Whiting, a moderately bony fish, sweet white meat. We had good ones in other restaurants, a dish cooked out like the one served here. They were skillfully deep fried till the point that all the tiny bones were crispy and posed no danger to lodging in your throat. They were coated with a very tasty thin coating of flour which complemented the sweetness of the white meat. Here, nothing flavorful, and the fish were dangerously not crispy. I experimented to break the tiny bones, they won’t. Definitely, this not something you will want to order for your children here. It was so annoying to eat that I simply did not want to finish it. The fried rice with crab meat looked really good in picture within the menu. But looks were all there is to it. There was no wok hei, not in smell nor in taste. Ok, maybe this is no Hong Kong restaurant, but if you live long enough in Thailand, you will come to experience the other kind of wok hei. The Thai wok hei does not have the distinct Chinese umami of the wok, but it is there when you come to encounter it. The fried rice had an under-wash rawness of starch, and it was blend. Again, not something you want to order here. What makes good food? The ingredient and the method. Ingredient. Are they fresh, generous, a correct mix that goes well with each other? Is it worth what we fork out of our wallet? Well, yes to all those points I mentioned in this restaurant. Method. How hot the oil is, when were the ingredients thrown into the hot wok, how good the toss? It manifests itself as the colors of flavors on our palate. A measure to the skills of the cook behind the scenes. Good food is not just about the ingredients, it is the method that seals the outcome of how good a dish is. Sadly, about the outcome, this place barley makes it. Maybe, this is after all a common roadside restaurant.