This iconic street food stall in Yaowarat is already famous, but it faithfully holds true to its roots. It’s a family run shop that feeds the locals and foreigners a variety of curries in the afternoon to the late evening. It is a Khao Gaeng stall – literally meaning rice and curry.
The food at Jek Pui is always dynamite and cheap, running a you just a few bucks for a combo plate. You choose between rice or Khanom Jin (rice noodles) as the base to your plastic, pink plate. Go early in the afternoon (3-4pm) and you’ll have all the curries available to select from. Go later in the day, and the popular ones will be sold out. Usually, they’ll have a panang curry, a yellow curry, and always a selection of green curries with fish balls, pork, or crunchy coconut shoots. Add a boiled egg or sliced, sweet Chinese sausage for a few baht extra. Green curry (gaeng khiow waan) is sold in many places and doesn’t normally catch your attention, but you don’t want to skip the one at Jek Pui.
This spot is packed and can feel unapologetic. This is how you know the food is good. Grab your food, handover your baht and get moving.
The signature of this shop is that there are no tables. Everything is set up outdoors (the curries are cooked in advance and brought over) but for the most part, you’ll be jockeying for position on the sidewalk.
When you get your plate, grab a red stool and take a seat. There are no forks either, just large soup spoons to catch all the runny curry. As you take your first bites, strangers rushing away might accidentally brush up against you, or you may get splashed with puddle water as motorcycles skirt by, or you might even see the well-fed plump rats looking for leftovers across the street.
My advice: soak it all in. This is the real Bangkok street food experience. A little bit of tolerance will introduce you to one of the best curry shops you’ll eat during your time in Bangkok. Of course you can always order to take it home, but where’s the fun in that?
As of 2019, the new MRT train stop was completed and so you can take the MRT to the Wat Mangkon Station for easy access to curry heaven.
