If you love cats, there is one restaurant in Bangkok where you must eat. It is P Kitchen on Soi 18, which branches off Sukhumvit near the Asok exit from the sky train (BTS).
There is actually a tiny 4 after the P, so I suppose the correct name is P.4 Kitchen, but I never heard anybody call it that.
P.8 might be a better name, because that is how many cats I have counted while eating there. The cats are not in the restaurant, which is open-air (I felt a few sprinkles of rain one night), but next door.
A fence comes right up to the tables, and this is where they assemble. As you eat, they stare at you, and a cat who wants food knows how to exude devasating appeal. If you're heartless, you'll ignore them. If not, you'll toss a few bites over the fence.
The reason they are so determined is that the food at P Kitchen is very good. A small, family-run place, it turns out dishes that would cost a lot more, and perhaps not be as well prepared, at more pretentious places.
Western tourists eat there because they stay in the neighbohood, as I did, but the food has not been altered to please them.
One of the best dishes of my entire trip was P Kitchen's yam pak boong grob, or crispy morning glory with minced pork and shrimp.
Pak boong and morning glory are names for a long-stemmed green that crosses cultures in Asia. In this dish, it is lightly coated with lacy batter, like tempura, and fried until the batter becomes crisp. And it stays crisp, no matter how long it takes you to eat.
The minced pork and a few whole shrimp are in a bowl of spicy sweet sauce for dipping.
With this, I drank the fresh juice from a young coconut, then scraped out the tender flesh for dessert. The price for both was a little over $3.
Another time I had asparagus stir-fried with shrimp. Cut into short lengths, this Thai asparagus was slim and crunchy, nothing like the fatter spears in California markets. I also ordered crispy catfish salad.
Can you imagine such a fresh and interesting seafood dinner for $7? And this included fresh limeade (nam manao) and rice.
I've attempted to copy another P Kitchen dish that I liked very much, pork in lemon (actually lime) sauce with garlic and chile.
The pork was served like a salad over raw cabbage with lettuce underneath. Thais usually add a dash of sugar to such dishes, but this was not sweet, just fragrant with fresh lime juice balanced with fish sauce.
I stir-fried the pork, but I suspect the P Kitchen cook might have boiled it and then added the seasonings. That's what I'll try next time.
P.4 Kitchen, 11/3 Sukhumvit Soi 18, Bangkok, Thailand 10110. Tel: 02-6634950. Open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Closed Sunday.
PORK WITH LIME, GARLIC AND CHILE
Adapted from P.4 Kitchen, Bangkok
1 pound lean pork
1/2 small head cabbage
2 leaves lettuce
5 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon thinly slivered fresh red chile or 1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
White pepper
Mint sprigs
Cut the pork in very thin strips (less than 1/8-inch-thick) that are 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. This is easy to do if the pork is partially frozen. Set aside.
Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise and remove the core. Now cut crosswise in 1/2-inch slices. Separate the cabbage layers. Line a serving plate with the lettuce leaves, then top with the cabbage.
Combine the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Heat a wok over high heat. Add the oil and heat until very hot. Add the garlic, then immediately add the pork and stir-fry until cooked through and no pink color remains, about 5 minutes depending upon the heat and thickness of the meat.
Stir in the red chile, then add the lime juice mixture. Cook and stir about 1 minute, until the meat absorbs the flavors. Taste, check the seasoning and add more lime juice and/or fish sauce if needed. The taste should be bright with lime and not overly salty.
Sprinkle lightly with white pepper and turn out onto the cabbage. Garnish with mint sprigs.
Makes 4 servings.
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