[Bangkok, Thailand] SabX2 Wanton Mee needs little introduction. The humble noodle eatery located at Soi Petchuri 19 (a side street across Platinum Fashion Mall) is like a wanton mee mecca of sorts for visitors to Bangkok.
Some say it serves the best wanton mee in Bangkok. Some even say it's better than the best in Singapore!
Really? True or not? Is it really that delicious?
Being PinkyPiggu, it's imperative that I dragged my friends along to check it out, but we only managed to get a taste of its reputed yumminess during our 3rd visit. The 1st time we went at around 4pm but they had already closed for the day (at 3pm). On our 2nd try, we chose a bad time to go: It was during lunch hour and I don't think any of us like to sweat under the scorching sun of Bangkok for an hour or so.
So for the 3rd visit, we reached at 8.40am thinking that we'd be early enough for their 9am opening. Wrong. The uncle who stood at number one in line started queuing at 8am! Fortunately for us, we were among the first batch of customers to fill up the fairly clean, air-conditioned shop.
It would not be too far off to say many customers are drawn to SabX2 initially because of its fame. Rather easy to spot these comrades too, we saw them armed with cameras and selfie sticks. Some left their bowls untouched until all their orders arrived in order to take an overhead shot. I can totally understand this lol!
The chefs (check out that hair!) were also unfazed at cameras aiming at them as they go about doing their work. I guess they are already used to it.
Ordering is pretty straightfoward, just let the servers know if you prefer your Wanton Mee in Regular (60 baht) or Special (100 baht) with crab meat, Soup or Dry. They speak a smattering of Mandarin so communicating is not an issue.
Even though the shop was packed, it did not take too long for our bowls of regular dry wanton mee to arrive. My friend went, "huh? which part of my stomach do you expect me to place these? I need another bowl". After his first bite, he declared "make it two more bowls!"
Yes, each portion was very small (about a third of what we usually get in Singapore), and made us needing more of it. Not to fill up the tummy, but because the taste was so gratifying.
The noodles itself may not look like much, but a bite into its springy QQ texture blew us away. Though void of any sauce, its flavor was intensely umami with pork lard and subtle fragrance of shallot oil. We could detect notes of Thai fish sauce and chye poh (preserved radish) in the seasoning too. I added chilli flakes and a sprinkle of sugar to lift up the taste even further.
Bits of pork lard croutons imparted an enjoyable crunch to the entire bowl. Even with all the pork lard, there was no greasy surfeit afterfeel.
Dumplings were decently plump and savory, the thin slices of char siew (roasted pork) was nothing to shout about, but they all came together beautifully. There is a sense of simple bliss in every mouthful.
The Crab Meat Noodle was comparatively lighter on the palate, and found a fan among us. She actually prefer this to the wanton mee and keep her focus unwavered when we went back again (yes, we made a 4th visit lol).
SabX2 is also famous for their Braised Pig Trotters Rice, and you will see almost every table tucking into a platter of Braised Pig Trotters with Pig Intestines, Eggs & Salted Vegetables while waiting for their noodles.
Braised in a lip-smacking sauce to wonderful tenderness, the trotter's meat yielded effortlessly to the gentle push of our chopsticks, and its skin was literally a sensation of melt-in-the mouth smoothness. The pig intestines were well-cleaned, had an appealing bouncy bite and soaked up the braising gravy superbly well. So so so good!
Ever since my visit to Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee in Ang Mo Kio last year, I've been wanting to savor the original Thai-style wanton noodles in Bangkok and it finally materialized. You can imagine how happy I was when I took my first bite and even happier to find that SabX2 was as good as I hope it will be.
The wanton mee at SabX2 is certainly one of my personal best. I don't think any future visits to Bangkok would ever be complete without it again.
SabX2 Wanton Mee
Address: 4/32-33 Soi Petchburi 19, Pratunam, Bangkok, Thailand
Contact: +66 2653 9618
Opening Hours: Daily 9am-3pm
Hi Pinky,
ReplyDeleteMay be next time you can also try another wonton noodles shop which is just few more steps from Saeb x 2? The name is called Gokfayuen and they serve HK version of wonton noodles, the taste is pretty authentic.