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EATS PAYAO SERVES NORTHERN FOOD IN THE CITY’S CENTRE

We reviewed Eats Payao many moons ago when it was located on Chan Road (see what we just did there?). Now that it has been relocated to a more central location on Nang Linchi Road and added some new items onto its menu, we decided to pay a second visit.

You may be surprised to l earn that Thai fashion designer Khae and Singaporean graphic designer Gavin, the couple/ co-owners of Eats Payao Bistro & Bar, have no formal training in culinary art. They built their menu upon Khae’s grandma recipes and not only do they seem to do the recipes justice, but they have also some new flavours of their own too.

There are several variations of khao soi on offer, ranging from the traditional, with chicken, to the hi-so version, with seafood. We opted for Khao soi beef (B120) and we weren’t disappointed. The beef shanks were thinly sliced but still at the right thickness, giving both lean meat and sliver of fat. The egg noodles from Chiang Rai was chewier than your run-of-the-mill bamee and the slender threads swam in aromatic curry that we wish there could have been more of.

Tom zap hed thob (B180) is basically a light, spicy and sour soup with a generous amount of the northern mushroom. As a tom zap soup, it gave that savoury surge of heat and spiciness as you sipped it, as it should have, of course. Although hed thob or

hed poh is seasonal, Eats Payao offers this dish all year round. The mushrooms offered a really interesting sensation. Their outer shells are audibly crunchy when you sink your teeth into them while the sponge-like insides burst with the spicy soup they have absorbed. Our lips got swollen a bit but we kept going back for more.

The biggest surprise was Payao sausage burger (B180) and we would like to think of it as a Northern Thai rendition of the double cheese burger. The two patties made of northern sausage sai au were already a complicated yet delicious concoction of minced pork, herbs, spices and soft bone. And, when paired with smoked cheddar cheese, it sounds over the top but let us tell you that this culinary combo really works.

Last but not least, we tried Gaeng hang lay (B150) which may have contained the amount of calories your personal trainer would disapprove of. But we say the juicy pork belly soaked in the aromatic and spicy curry is worth an hour on the treadmill. #YOLO

By the time this review comes out, Eats Payao will already have a selection of craft beverages that we can’t speak of. They have been hand-picked to be paired with the northern food. Their asking price is justified by the quality. But their shophouse setting only makes for casual dining.

Eats Payao is located on Nang Linchi Road between soi 3 and 5. For more info, go to fb.com/eatspayao. You can also order from Eats Payao via UberEATS.