Thamnanthai

The facial grooming problems continue. I am advised by another inmate of long-standing at The Atlanta that I need to head off to Soi 3 on the north side of Sukhumvit in the area known as Little Arabia. Rather counter-intuitively, he told me to look for a foot massage place which, also provides high-quality hair care. Well, I paced the pavement, fending off offers of a very different type of massage, for twenty minutes and I could not find this place. Finally, to get out if the heat, I ended up walking into a barbers and taking a seat in the waiting area. As I cooled down, I noticed that every sign in the shop was in Arabic, the 1970's photos of available hair-styles looked like a Mossad 'most-wanted' list, the icy glare from the staff fell a little short of welcoming and that the background music was a bit more Koranic than I am used too. I decided to leave. 

Back in Soi Nana, I decided it was time for an early lunch and made off at speed to find a restaurant called Tamnanthai which I remembered from years ago.  I remembered the place occupying a quiet corner of a cobbled piazza. With the passage of time, this, the quieter end of Sukhumvit, has become 'developer central' and all such piazza-like spaces have been filled in with hotels or apartment blocks. Often the sub-soi's which connect one lane with another also fall victim to this process. I found the restaurant wedged between the service-entrance side of the new Maison Hotel and a stairway leading to Golden Hands Massage. The ground floor pillared dining room is glass-walled with simple tables for two or four or six diners.  I remembered, too, the elderly maitre d' whose initially rather dismissive manner hides a considerate or helpful soul.  

To the menu!

Eschewing the products of the modern craze for 'craft beers', I went for the traditionally brewed ginger beer from a local kombucha maker. And very refreshing it was..... and gassy. I struggled to stifle the Herculean belch resulting in a sound like someone dragging a heavy wardrobe across a rough floor. The local diners seemed unperturbed and I thought I had got away with it until I felt the pitying gaze of the maitre d' alight upon me. His expression made clear that, in my case, he knew he had a bit of a 'problem diner' on his hands. Still, I managed to regain some credibility with some deft and lavish ordering.... with the help of the helpful waitress. The deep-fried, panko-coated shrimp cakes with honey and chilli sauce were just as good as I remembered them; the pork siu-mai style dumplings were elevated by a wonderfully fragrant spicy sauce. The North Eastern style food of Isaan was well represented. The ground pork Larb Moo was robust and heady with spices, coriander and chilli. I also could not resist the fried chicken with sticky rice and Somtum style mango salad. The waitress had inquired upon ordering whether I wanted the chilli content of the dish to be pitched at 'tourist' (virtually undetectable), Lao (local heat; to be avoided if you're a novice) or Ambulance (for those who either harbour suicidal tendencies or have burnt away the relevant taste receptors from the surface of their tongue and are happy with 'out of body' experiences). If I had had the room, I would certainly have gone for the mango or the durian with sticky rice cooked in coconut milk with either salted coconut sauce or coconut custard, respectively. That must wait for next time. Tamnanthai is definitely worth a visit. Its no-frills yet comfortable setting helps visitors concentrate on the generous menu and extract maximum satisfaction from these carefully prepared dishes. I should add that, considering the quality of the dishes, the pricing is particularly reasonable.

(Tamnanthai Restaurant

18 Sukhumvit 4 Alley, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110)