The Best Of The Boat Noodles near Victory Monument (Thailand, Bangkok)

We made a special trip down to Victory Monument not because we wanted to take a look at this military monument. Instead, it was because we wanted to try the famous Bangkok Boat Noodles (Kuay Tiau Rua).
Its called Boat Noodles because the noodles were originally served from vendors on boats floating in Bangkok’s network of canals. Over the years, the boat vendors shifted and located eateries on land instead of on boats. Most of the vendors continued the practice of serving the noodles in small portions as this was done in the past to prevent the noodles from spilling out of the bowls in choppy waters. 

Canal

There were several boat noodles eateries located along the same stretch, next to this small, dirty canal near the Victory Monument. The different eateries could be easily differentiated by the colour of the shirt the staff were wearing. There were so many different colours; orange, pink, blue and purple.

I would highly recommend that you use the map at the end of this post to locate the eateries. There are few information online on how to locate the eateries. In addition, we spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get here. We asked many people including the policemen and were given the wrong directions despite us having the address and map.

We visited the eatery called "The Best Of The Boat Noodle". The staff there wore orange shirts. The reason why we visited this eatery was because we noticed that there were more people eating there compared to other eateries. 

This eatery essentially had two 'kitchens' at the front of the eatery for cooking. I noticed that they were so busy that they were practically cooking non-stop. 

There were indoor dining and alfresco (outdoor dining). Most customers chose to have their meals indoors as it was air-conditioned. The indoor area was packed, full of people as it was lunch time. There were more locals in this eatery compared to tourists. 

Menu

The menu was in both Thai and English languages. There were three types of boat noodles in the menu. We ordered all three types. We were lucky as there was one staff who could understand basic English. The rest of the staff did not understand English. 

This boat noodle eatery had a unique concept. Customers who ordered 20 bowls of noodles were entitled to a free bottle of Pepsi. As there was five of us and we knew that the portion was going to be small, we ordered 20 bowls straight away.  

Streaky Pork With Crispy Crackling 10 Baht (S$0.42)

In addition, we ordered a bowl of Streaky Pork With Crispy Crackling 10 Baht (S$0.42). This was fried pork skin (pork rind). 

Fried Dumplings 10 Baht (S$0.42)

We also ordered a bowl of Fried Dumplings 10 Baht (S$0.42). Both the Fried Dumplings and Pork Rind were mediocre.

Our 20 bowls of boat noodles were served within seconds of each other. Before we could start eating, the table was full. The workers continued and stacked the bowls on top of each other; two tiers.

They even stacked it up to the third tier. -_-" But well, it was our own fault for ordering so many bowls immediately. Lesson learnt: to order a few bowls at a time. This would ensure that the food would still be warm.

Noodles Thicken Soup with Beef 10 Baht (S$0.42)

Noodles Thicken Soup with Beef 10 Baht (S$0.42).

Noodles Thicken Soup with Pork 10 Baht (S$0.42)

Noodles Thicken Soup with Pork 10 Baht (S$0.42)

Both the Noodles Thicken Soup with Beef and Noodles Thicken Soup with Pork were named in such a way because they were thicken with pig's blood (which is a norm. Don't worry, the blood were fully cooked due to the temperate of the broth. Also, the taste of the blood was not distinctive.). Priced at 10 Baht, they were served in bite-sized portion with thin rice noodles, kang kong, meat and meat ball.

Both of these were essentially the same except for the fact that one was served with beef while the other was served with pork meat. Both the meat were still tender; not over cooked. The sweet and spicy dark brownish broth was rich and intense in flavour.

Noodles Sour Soup with Pork 10 Baht (S$0.42)

The Noodles Sour Soup with Pork 10 Baht (S$0.42) was executed differently. It was still served with thin rice noodles and pork (meat). However, other than that, the rest of the ingredients were different. It was served with beansprouts, fish cake, char siew, peanuts in a sweet, sour and spicy broth that was similar to tom yum soup.

Initially, when we ate our first bowl of boat noodles, the first thought was that it was so-so. But by the time we got to our 2nd or 3rd bowls, we began to like it more and more. It was a case of the more you dig into the bowls of boat noodles, the more you would love it! The three different types of boat noodles were delicious! So flavourful and so addictive that they were bounded to tantalise your taste buds.

These were so good that we ate a total of 38 bowls! Which was equivalent to around 7.5 bowls per person [cost per person: 76 Baht (S$3.15)]. How many bowls can you eat?

I do not know if this eatery; The Best Of The Boat Noodles is the best place for boat noodles as this was the first time I ate boat noodles. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that this is a must try! The boat noodles served here were so cheap and delicious! 

This marks the end of my bangkok series! Here's some information on taking the cab / taxi in Bangkok.

There are many different colours of taxis in Bangkok, ranging from pink, blue, yellow, green and orange. The colours represent the different taxi companies. The taxi industry in Bangkok is regulated by Land Transport Department, Transport Ministry and it is an offense not to turn on the meter. Despite this, enforcement is difficult. Hence, most taxi drivers are unwilling to on their meters and would quote you a flat rate. As there is an abundant supply of taxis, you can just move on and try the next one. 

Pink Taxi

Tip:  The pink taxis are generally more likely to on the meters. The other taxis would always quote a flat rate which could be 2 to 3 times more than the normal taxi fare. The orange taxis always charge a flat rate. Even if they on the meter, they would ask for a certain amount of tip at the end of the journey. The yellow taxi was the worst. We were charged a flat rate and had to endure the whole journey listening to the driver who tried to hard sell his services which included driving us to the floating market or railway market (despite us telling him we have been there.). It was dangerous as he was pulling out maps and photos while driving, showing us where he could bring us to. After that, we learnt our lesson and stuck to taking the pink taxi whenever possible.

The Best Of The Boat Noodles near Victory Monument (Thailand, Bangkok)

Sutyot Kuetiau Lua Payak Phaya Thai

Bangkok 10400, Thailand

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