BackEat & Drink » Food Culture » A Street Food Stall in Bangkok Was Recently Awarded a Michelin Star

A Street Food Stall in Bangkok Was Recently Awarded a Michelin Star

Bangkok chef Jay Fai has become Thailand's first street food vendor to earn a prestigious Michelin star.

Jay Fai, or Auntie Fai as she is affectionately known, is famous for her crab omelette and drunken noodles with prawns. CNN reports that she accepted the Michelin award at a ceremony in Bangkok last week.

Stuff, a New Zealand-based news site, describes Fai’s traditional omelet as “crispy on the outside, and filled with sweet crab meat, served with a side of sriracha and a sprig of parsley” while the drunken noodles are "chewy with a delicate smokey flavor and a spicy kick, and served with crispy vegetables and large prawns.”

Fai cooks all the dishes herself in woks over two charcoal fires while wearing giant goggles to protect her eyes from the boiling cooking oil. The 70-year-old woman has been perfecting her technique for decades.

Chawadee Nualkhair, a Bangkok-based street food blogger, explains: “Jay Fai is like the queen of Thai street food. She could have done anything with her fame: chain restaurants, street food branches, a fancy secondary location, but she didn’t. She stayed at her open-air shophouse with her two woks. I’m glad she’s finally getting some recognition.”

Auntie Fai's Michelin-starred seafood dish. Photo via Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Fai’s humble, unnamed restaurant features a typical open kitchen, collection of plastic chairs and street noise. It is located several hundred meters from Bangkok’s infamous backpacker street, Khao San, and close to other famous eateries in Banglamphu District.

While its appearance resembles the countless street-side restaurants in the city, the prices do not. A food blog observes that meals range from around THB480 to THB800 (US$15-26 depending on the daily price of crab. That puts dishes at three times the average Thai daily wage. Customers can expect to wait from one to three hours for food.

The stall is one of 17 eateries to be awarded a star in the first Michelin guide to Bangkok, which was released this month. The guide profiles numerous restaurants, three of which (a French, an Indian and a European restaurant) won two stars. No restaurant received three stars. The Thai capital joins Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Osaka, Macau and Shanghai as the only Asian locations “deemed worthy of Michelin’s famed red guide, first released for motorists in 1900”, according to The Guardian.

Of the 28 profiled street vendors in the Bangkok guide, Fei was the only to receive a star. She becomes only the third vendor to achieve this honor after Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle were recognized in the guide's Singapore edition released last year.

When asked to comment on the honor, Fai admitted: “Before, I knew the Michelin name but I did not know it had to do with cooking.” She expressed pride in receiving the award before adding that she needed to be back in the kitchen on Friday.

[Photo via VICE]


Related Articles:

Mainland China’s First Michelin Guide Debuts in Shanghai to Mixed Reviews

Singapore's Michelin-Starred Chicken Rice to Become a Global Franchise

Singapore Hawker Stalls Become First Street Food Restaurants to Earn Michelin Star


Related Articles

in Food Culture

'Trendy' Elephant Poop Coffee Taking off in Vietnam

Vietnam is known for its cafe chồn, coffee beans that are ingested, pooped out by weasels and sold at prices far higher than the normal variety. Now, a Vietnamese breeder is adopting a similar techniq...

in Food Culture

2 Vietnamese Restaurants in Saigon, Hanoi Named Among Asia's 100 Best

Vietnam’s culinary prowess is no secret, with its traditional dishes helping to draw tourists from all over the globe. 

in Food Culture

20 Vietnamese Foods You Need to Try Now

Uyen Luu, author of My Vietnamese Kitchen and contributor to Jamie Oliver’s FoodTube, shares her favorite Vietnamese dishes and how to cook them.

in Food Culture

30% of Coffee in Vietnam Has No Caffeine: Survey

If you've been seeking out cà phê sữa đá from street carts for a super-caffeinated start to your workday, you might want to look elsewhere, as there’s a chance you've been drinking coffee-flavore...

in Food Culture

5 Eateries Doing Takeaway to Try Today, as Recommended by Saigoneer Staff

Starting from this week, Saigon officially enters another two weeks of social distancing orders. While staying at home, what do you miss?

in Food Culture

5 Of Saigon’s Best Markets

When people think of Saigon, the iconic Bến Thành Market usually comes to mind. But while it’s rich in history, for locals, it’s little more than a tourist attraction. Vietnam Coracle recently took to...

Partner Content