Raan Jay Fai, Phra Nakon, Bangkok – beer, friendships & The crab omelette

What a Christmas eve this has been! Today we witnessed the Legendary Jay Fai in all her element and this woman is a ……

If you do not know who she is and you have Netflix, where have you been? Ok, fair enough if food isn’t your thing you could get a pass but still… she all but put Bangkok street food on the Michelin guide map and the rest of the world. She is one of the reasons we are here in Bangkok. The Journey to her restaurant took 12 months to this day plus an extra 10 hours to sample her cuisine. Yep, you read right, 10 hours but it was 10 hours well worth it.

When we initially tried to make a reservation at the restaurant and we couldn’t. The next available date was February 2020?! So, we decided whilst out exploring yesterday to locate the restaurant and make a reservation if there were any cancellations. Errrrm, we totally missed that it was Monday and the restaurant would be closed, talk about

So in true Ndidi and Neal fashion, we turned up here at 10 am (early right) and the restaurant was closed. However, there was a list for which to put your name down as a walk-in. As at 10am, we were number 42, yep, FORTY-TWO on the list! Plus, the restaurant does not open till 1 pm and 3 hours before service 42 people planned to walk-in and have a meal of a life time, sheesh!!! We decided to wait in the cafe / pub next door to the restaurant serving cold beverages and food, best place to be to be honest considering the heat.

This place turned out to be the best spot ever! whilst we were chilling at the bar, sipping on coconut smoothie (me) and coffee(Neal), we got to see Jay Fai and her restaurant come to life like literally. At 11 am, she stepped out in her signature red lipstick, goggles perched on her head and got to work – prepping food, organising her staff and receiving deliveries. It was surreal seeing her in these moments right before the chaos and magic occurred.

Since service was not starting till 1 pm, we had time to kill. We decided to go check out the Golden Mount Temple which is nearby. Being a sacred place, you are expected to have your legs covered, thank heavens I had my sarong! I particularly liked the ringing of the bells as you walked up the 344 stairs to the temple to experience the views.

After having our fill of the temple, we made our way back to Raan Jay Fai and she was already cooking. There were more people around now, die-hard fans / tourists from far and wide who all wanted to taste her cooking, but more importantly catch a glimpse her working her magic. We were excited at the prospect of tasting the culinary delights and naturally assumed our number would be called soon. Ha, little did we know it was going to be a while yet, like a really long while. You are probably thinking how long is a while? and why does it have to take so long? … there is a simple explanation; all the food is made by Jay Fai.

Yep, she cooks all the dishes so you you get the full Jay Fai experience literally. Being the only chef is no small feat. Her signature dish, a omelette made with 1 kg of crab meat takes about 4 mins to prepare and this is not the only item on the menu. She cooks about say 10 – 12 hours a day making hundreds of plates of food! like I said BOSS!

Now waiting your turn to taste the culinary delights of Jay Fai’s cooking doesn’t have to be painful and can be massive fun as we discovered. There other food vendors along this street, each serving delicious and native Thai food and snacks. I had the most amazing spicy curry pastry muffin bun thingy ever, filled with egg, chicken, spice and herbs, it was scrumptious 😋!

I promise you the cafe / pub right next to Jay Fai, is just god-send and a welcome relief from the heat. We spent all of our waiting time here and it was such a vibe, chatting with people from all over the world who were either leaving Bangkok, just arriving (yep fam, some people came straight from the airport to sample Jay Fai cuisine!) We spent most of our time chatting with Matt and Sarah from Australia. They rocked up at the restaurant at 8am to get their names on the list. Even with getting here early, their number was 20 on the list, told you, the ish is real for Jay Fai! We shared travel and food adventure stories over several bottles of beer and smoothies, it was soo fun and time really flew by or maybe we were too tipsy to notice 😆.

Then we had an Eureka moment! And came up with a plan for a doggy bag since they were going to get into the restaurant before us. Listen, I wanted to taste this food soo bad, I mean this was one of the reasons for the trip people! Besides, everyone before us all said the same thing “It is worth the wait”, “the food is world class”, talk about being jealous and the pressure ohhh the pressure 🤦‍♂️ lol. We were uncertain if our plan would work because, well, Jay Fai had to be cool with making extra dishes for take-away especially as she is the only one cooking. This woman is 79 years young! Needless to say, as the boss lady and the most gracious one too, she obliged and I had my first taste of the crab omelette. It is the world’s best omelette – PERIODT! If anything, it only made us want to taste everything else that was on the menu today! Every time someone had their number called, the excitement mounted especially when you realise you are moving up on the list! There was such an energy filled with pure love and admiration for this woman! It was a whole mood!

Fast forward a few more hours, slightly tipsy because, well we had been drinking since what midday?.. Our number is called .. HOORAY!!!! I had started waiting at the entrance of the restaurant when the roll call was at number 38! Don’t be side-eyeing me, I was that eager lol. It was there Frank and I struck up a conversation. He wanted to know if he could get a reservation for later tonight (the restaurant closes at midnight). I broke the news to him saying the next reservation slots was February 2020! However, I did the next best thing and offered to get him a doggy bag if possible, paying it forward you know! Our way of doing

We finally got seated and I loved how unpretentious the inside of the restaurant was. It was plastic table and chairs with pictures of Jay Fai from paper articles. It was kind of open plan so you could see her cooking on the side of the restaurant next to her big pots of oil and woks and of course the ever blowing fan!

You know we not only ordered the crab omelette, but also tried 2 extra dishes – the drunken noodles and curry and boi! It was WORTH THE WAIT.  Despite the way it looked being cooked, deep fried in oil, this omelette was not greasy. Instead it was perfectly cooked, filled with delicious fresh crab no matter which part of it you tucked into. It was just delicious!

The drunken noodle and the crab yellow curry? J E S U S! bursting with flavour. I loved how both dishes were a good sized portion and packed with the main ingredient. So the crab yellow curry had chunky pieces if crab whilst the drunken noodle had large prawns in them. The dishes were so colourful you literally could not wait to tuck into your meal!

Despite this day being a very looonng one, it is an experience that we will not be forgetting too soon. In 14 hours, we experienced this city from the Golden Mount Temple, to the savoury snacks, made new friends and had the best omelette on the planet!

Raan Jay Fai, you are indeed who they say you are and more! Thank you.

Chiyo

Ndidi & Neal

p.s. I did get Frank a doggy bag and as a token of his appreciation from him and his Mrs, they got us snacks for pudding.

Merry Christmas eve folks!