The last thing I would call myself is an adventurous eater. In fact, I’m a very careful and particular eater. That being said, I don’t really go out of my way to try new food. I often see a lot of vlogs about the best street food in Bangkok, and admittedly, I have never eaten any of them. Even the mooo ping/skewered pork that I have tried are bought from Terminal 21 or Siam Paragon.
It was my friend who found the Golden Bay Leaf through Google Maps. We were staying in Bang Na and it was about 20 minutes away. We kept holding off going there but eventually did on our last full day.
From what I’ve read, the restaurant is managed by a chef who used to work at a five star hotel. It’s located in a local neighborhood and a bit far from the BTS station. From our place in Bang Na, we took a GrabCar (THB 120) to get there. The driver dropped us off in the middle of the street and it took a while for us to find a place. Apparently, we already saw the place and kept walking past it. We only figured it was the restaurant when we saw some food being cooked and decided that it was probably the place (pictures later confirmed it’s the correct place).
The restaurant is small and open. There’s no AC and there’s a big TV that seemed to play local shows. I would think it’s more a local restaurant that the people around the neighborhood will go to if they’re not feeling like cooking or want to try something different to eat for lunch or on their way home from work.
When we got there at 3:00 in the afternoon, there was not much people. It was just us and another group in. We were given a menu and they have a lot of food available, all of which looks great. We settled on getting three things, all seafood.
I wish I can remember what this was called. It was something like shrimp in red curry. I expected a tom yum kind of taste, rather it had a strong taste of coconut with a kick of spice. The shrimp used was huge as well. This was hands down my favorite.
Fried fish — another good one. The sauce was amazing!
All the food that we tried did not disappoint. Even the rice was good! But I am very partial to Jasmine rice so that might not be fair statement.
The shrimp soup is something I’m still hoping I would be able to taste here in Manila. So far, my search in Thai restaurants here have not showed pleasing results. I’ve not chanced upon this in any of the Thai restaurants near me. This might probably be a special Thai food that I’ll come back to whenever I’m in Bangkok.
The fish by itself was ordinary, it was the sauce that gives it extra. I’m still not sure what kind of sauce it was and how it was made but it was good. Normally I’m not a fan of fried fish but this one was fried well and the presentation was fantastic.
It didn’t take us too much time in the restaurant. There’s probably about a 15 to 20 minute wait for the food to be cooked, and it was all served at the same time. When the food came, we just started eating — mostly in silence except to talk about how good the food was.
Pricewise, it’s definitely not street food level. I don’t recall exactly how much everything was but it ranges from THB 150-400. Do note that all the things we ordered are for sharing.
After leaving the restaurant we burned off immediately what we ate due to the long walk going to BTS Punnawithi. I’m still not sure if it’s closer to BTS Udom Suk or BTS Punnawithi so I would suggest going there via taxi or Grab. The restaurant is very easy to miss but it is beside a shop that sells a variety of furniture and something like a grocery and convenience store.
The restaurant closes late so if you’re near the area, it can be a perfect place to go to if you want to eat something before checking in your hotel or if you’re looking to wind down from a night of drinking.
Golden Bay Leaf
60 Sukhhummvit 101/1 Rd, Kwhaeng Bang Na,
Khet Bang Na, Krup Thep Maha Nakhon
10260, Thailand
Hedda Damasco 