On Friday, Brian and Geng invited us for a delayed Chinese New Year dinner at Jae Ngan, a nicer Chinese seafood restaurant deep down Sukhumvit Soi 20. Since it was the start of a long weekend (the Buddhist holiday Wan Macha Bucha, celebrating the Buddha’s first sermon, is Monday) the restaurant had only a few customers, resulting in a super-attentive staff.
Above, Geng, Brian, Tawn and me sitting in this funny hexagonal private room with a huge table – could have sat a dozen, easily.
We had a really fantastic meal with lots of tasty seafood. Here’s a run-down of the dishes. Sorry for the poor quality; lighting was not geared towards picture taking so I had to use a flash.
Tom Yum Goong – Spicy Thai-style prawn soup with curry and coconut milk.
Stir-fried morning glory (not the same as the morning glory flower in the west) with lots of garlic. At this restaurant, they only use the stems, peeling off the leaves. Very tender and very labor-intensive to make.
Black pepper crab with lots of fried garlic and shallots. Tasty!
Cellophane noodles fried with prawns, which are hidden in the “nest” of noodles.
Sea bass steamed with soy sauce and spring onions. Not a very pretty picture but the fish was gorgeous.
Their famous “with everything” fried rice, probably the best fried rice I’ve eaten in Thailand.
For dessert, sticky rice with mango, artfully arranged.
So nice to have a pleasant dinner with friends.
christao408 
The food looks spicy & delicious! I’m feeling hungry right now!
Oh wow – that black pepper crab dish and the fried rice look amazing. Mmmm…. *drool*
The sticky rice with mango has my salivary glands working overtime. It all looks good. Even the sea bass (I’m not fond of food that seems to stare at me lol).
Wonderful presentation of my favorite sticky rice and mango.
I am drooling on my key board as I type this……….oh that was the ultimate food porn. I would love to find the recipe for these wonderful dishes.
All of the dishes look amazing. I would love those cellophane noodles!
Oooh, I’m loving the rice and mango.What does the morning glory taste like?
The hotpot and the third dish look mad spicyMAD
I’m just so excited to eat REAL FOOD again..O_O;It all looks so beautiful.I worked on Chinese New Year – while all my friends got red pockets and deep fried goodies.Hope you had a good time!
@Wangium – Actually, the soup wasn’t very spicy at all and the third dish was just peppery and garlicky, no chilis, though. Are you not a fan of spciy foods?
@XXKimPossibleXX – Here’s the sticky rice and mango: http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Mango_on_Sticky_Rice.htm
@moptoplop – Slightly crispy like very thin celery, but with more of a spinach flavor. Not quite so earthy, though. Then of course very heavy on the garlic as that’s the key component to the sauce. It is a lovely veggie and I wish it was more available in the US.
@jandsschultz – Interestingly, the restaurant buys the sticky rice from the same vendor on Thong Lor road near our house that we like. They cut the mango themselves but know that they can’t make the rice any better.
@icapillas – @ElusiveWords – @murisopsis – food porn strikes again!
@TheCheshireGrins – They’re really good. Although I discovered that the really large prawns were just on top and the smaller shrimps were underneath. Bait and switch, so to speak.
The food shots makes me slurp!
the food looks yummy…too bad i can’t really eat spicy food
For the first time I am familiar with all the dishes.
“Cellophane noodles fried with prawns, which are hidden in the “nest” of noodles.”
Hahaha. i read it as “cellphone noodles fried … “
wow yummy Thai/Chinese dinner just want to have a bowel of the spicy Tom Yum Goong
@iso_whiteSnow – LOL!
@agmhkg – Hopefully you only want a “bowl” of tom yum goong and not a “bowel” of it! =)
@Jamorn – Real food = Thai food, right?
@icebladz – Actually, it wasn’t really spicy. Most Thai dishes can be made with any degree of spiciness, from none to “run for the fire hose”. It is at Thai restaurants in the US that I’ve had the biggest problem with overzealous use of chilies.
@choyshinglin – That’s funny. I guess I don’t eat at that many Chinese restaurants…
@Dezinerdreams – mission accomplished, then.
Looking as yummy as ever!I’m curious though, is a shrimp dish a common part of Thai meals? Wit certainly enjoys it a lot but I still prefer chicken and fish mostly.
@christao408 – of course!
@marc11864 – Shrimp is very common in the central and coastal regions of Thailand. The Kingdom is one of the largest shrimp exporters in the world, in fact.
oh my. that is one delicious Chinese New Year Dinner. that curry soup looks so HOT yet yummy
I miss that mango and sticky rice…that was a nice Chinese banquet style dinner!