Thai street food – The best noodles in Bangkok, Thailand!

This place is called “Victory Monument”. a central place for public transportation such as the van, bus, or BTS sky train in Bangkok, which many Thai people come here to use public transportation to go to all areas in Thailand. Here is one of the places which have a history of “Kuey-Teow-Rei ” or “Boat noodles” where the noodle soup is made by “blood!!”

Today, I will come here to introduce “Boat noodles” to you, review boat noodle restaurants here and tell you a little about its history and why this dish is popular around this area.

you can see there are many “boat noodles” around Victory Monument and there are crowded restaurants on one side of the monument which are all located near the Samsen canal. So, I will go to 4 restaurants around there, The first one is the most popular and it shows up in first place when you search the words “boat noodles” on google maps, it is “Pa Yak Boat Noodle shop”. and then I will go to the left side to visit “Baan Kuay Tiew Ruathong”, “Anong Noodle Boat restaurant”, and “Pranakorn Noodle Restaurant” as well. To compare which one do I like the most!!

How to order

The meat inside is usually pork (Moo) or beef (Neua). If you want to order “Sticky rice Noodles” and “pork”. you have to say to the staff “Sen-Lek-Moo” and if you want “blood soup” you just add the word “Nam-Tok” behind, and that’s it!!

Boat noodle’s history

Boat Noodle or Namtok Noodle is one of the Thai style noodles. It is a spicy and full-flavored soup. “Namtok” noodle is the boat noodle that adds cow’s or pig’s blood mixed with salt for cooking the noodle soup. “Noodles” are assumed to have existed in Thailand since the reign of King Narai the Great when the Ayutthaya Kingdom contacted many foreigners in 1656. The Chinese came to trade with us and brought the noodles as a meal to eat. Thai people started to learn how to make noodles or adjusted to the new dish at that time. In 1942, during the era of the prime minister, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, there was a policy that encouraged people to eat noodles. because it was cheaper than rice and he thought it could fix the national economy at that time. It made noodle restaurants occur in every province in the country. The famous places for boat noodles in Bangkok are Rangsit, Pathum Thani, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and Victory Monument. Boat Noodle is a noodle that is associated with the Thai lifestyle. In the past, it was sold in boats along the canals. The bowl was small and the soup was a lot less compared to the noodles because it protected the hot soup from burning the customer or the seller while being served from the boat. Slowly, sellers opened shops on land instead. But still leave a boat symbol in front of the shop and serve the same style of the dish. A small bowl with thick soup!!

Why did “Victory Monument” become a famous place for “boat noodles”?

Because 50 years ago, the Samsen Canal area beside the Victory Monument was the place where at least 20 boat noodle shops and vendors brought their boats, sat and sold hot boat noodles with rich flavor. It was only 3 baht per bowl at that time. Even today, many shops that used to sell along the canal will move to settle on the land. It is still in everyone’s memory and makes the famous “Boat Noodles Monument” still popular until the present

It is common to eat with pork crackling or basil to deodorize the blood smell. The taste in each restaurant will be different, followed by the seasoning the restaurant’s chef cooks for us.

There are now many boat noodle restaurants in all areas around Thailand. Now the dish has developed into a big bowl of noodles and is more expensive. So, you might still find your favorite one that is not located in the Victory Monument area.