Sunday, July 05, 2009

Food For Thought: Sorroongroj Duck Noodle

The shopfront - you can't miss it.
55 years ago, Khun Sia Pairat began operating a duck noodle business in its current shop premises at Nang Loeng Market, after his original Chinatown outlet was razed by fire. 55 years later, the shop still stands albeit with some modern trappings like the addition of air conditioning, and expansion to 2 more shop spaces, one next door and one directly opposite.

Although, in recent years, there have been new players that have set up similar business within the vicinity, Sorroongroj Duck Noodle still held the trump card by being faithful to the old-school family recipe which is a well-kept secret.

The founder concocted the dish himself and all that could be revealed was that as many as 19 different herbs and spices and duck carcasses are used in the preparation of the stock. After 2 gruelling hours of brewing over slow fire, whole ducks are then introduced to the stock for a further hour of braising. This way, the duck gets infused with the aromatic flavour of the herbs and spices. No wonder, the duck was so tasty and succulent.

Braised duck noodle - cooked according to family recipe

M & M - Montkon and Michael

Today, the business is run by the founder's son, Montkon. In an effort to attract more people to declining Nang Loeng market, he has added other popular Thai standards on the menu.  Two of these are the crispy crab rolls and wonton with crabmeat soup.

Crispy crab roll
Wonton soup with crabmeat
Happy with the food.

The crab roll is deep fried until the bean curd crust is crispy. The inside, however, remains crunchy and moist and you actually get to taste pieces of crab meat. Darling wife voted this the best crab roll she has eaten.

Darling wife's soup consists of a generous helping of freshly picked crab meat, plump dumplings filled with prawns and marinated minced pork, and fresh green chye sim. A sprinkling of golden fried shallots and a drizzle of garlic oil was added to enhance the flavour of the soup.

All three dishes including the lemongrass tea that we had were excellent and we were extremely pleased with our meal at Sorroongroj.



Sorroongroj Duck Noodle
Nang Loeng Market
Thanon Nakhorn Sawan
Rattanakosin Island

Ambiance: 8
Service: 8.5
Food: 9.5

Pricing:$
Recommended Dishes: Noodle with duck braised in herbs and spices; wonton and crabmeat soup; crispy crab roll; iced lemongrass tea

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