Most Thais eat one plate meal for lunch. The selection of food for lunch items is so varied these days that we probably forgot that in the olden days we have fairly limited choices. There were the Kwoy Tiew or noodles of various kinds, Kao Mun Gai or poached capons served over rice that has been cooked with herbs and chicken fat, or Kao Na Ped, roast duck over rice to name just a few. But the main lunch item for everyone when I was young was the Kao Gang. A food counter is set up with many curries and stir-ry items for you to choose from. The server would put steaming hot rice on a plate for you and you just select the curries or other dishes to be poured or put on top of your plate of rice.

               You pay a fixed amount of money for each item selected but when I was young it was never more than 10 Bahts! These Kao Gang shop houses were everywhere in Bangkok back then. Now they are harder to find in Bangkok. You will have to go to the traditional Thai market that sells fresh produce and there will be one near there but in the countryside we can still enjoy the Kao Gang easily especially in the south of Thailand. It really makes sense that the Kao Gang, which literally means Rice and Soup or Curry, is the for-runner of modern day fast food. The new generation doesn’t like it too much because it is not chic.

               Today I will take you to have lunch on Sukhumvit 63 or Akamai. The lunch that they serve at this place is fairy unusual. I first tasted their roast chicken over rice in Surat Thani four or five years ago and the place are still going strong. It had always been my wish that they would open up in Bangkok so I would not have to travel south to savor their wonderful food there. In the beginning they were serving the same stuff over rice as everyone else. Such dishes as roast duck over rice, crispy pork over rice or the BBQ pork over rice are stilled served at Liang Fah Mai restaurant but when roast chicken over rice came it was an instant success and sales of chicken surpassed other dishes.

               The chicken is marinated with Ar Tue’s (Chef owner) secret herbs and spices which I imagine had garlic and black pepper in it. Then the chickens are roasted until done and taken out of the over immediately. In this way the chickens are not over cooked and not at all dry like many other roasted chicken that are served in many restaurant. He hangs the chickens in front of the shop in a booth so familiar to all of us to like to eat roast duck or pork over rice. What is remarkable about the roast chicken at this restaurant, which has no air-conditioning, is that not only are they moist but what he does with the drippings from the roast.

               He makes wonderful gravy out of it. Not the kind of western gravy which is rather thick and very rich but somehow he managed to make his sauce or what Americans would call Au Jus, light, flavorful and not to greasy. It goes well with the rice and give your rice flavor and a wonderful aroma. I am such a gourmand that I would order one whole plate of just the chicken with lots of sauce poured over it and then order my rice in a separate plate.

               There is a dipping sauce which is spicy hot, sweet and sour to go with it but I prefer just chopped chili peppers and Nam Pla or fish sauce. By ordering this way I can also enjoy other roast items on their menu. I eat then all duck pork and crispy pork as well as their much southern style Kao Gang dishes. Yes, I managed to go back to Kao Gang. At Liang Fah Mai they also serve the traditional Southern style Kao Gang.

               Southern Kao Gang differs from other parts of the country in that it usually very hot and they serve lots of vegetable with you plate of Kao Gang. The use of turmeric is also a southern signature. They would have sour curry, which is very spicy, and hot, the color would be yellow from the turmeric. I again don’t eat Kao Gang like other people because I would ask them to put the many select dishes in a small bowl for me to eat with my roast chicken, ducks etc. I would recommend this restaurant to those of you who would like to experience the way we use to live and eat 50 years ago. It requires that you will have to be prepared to rough it a little because there is no air-conditioning nor mosquito nets. The whole place is open to the fumes of the cars that go by and yes their will be flies trying to share your food but the restaurant itself is clean and the food is very good and the company is sincere. I love it because it is like being back when I was a child when everything is natural and more down to earth.