restaurant review: tong tem toh in lat krabang

The Food.

If you ever find yourself staying near Bangkok International Airport (BKK) - perhaps due to an early or late flight - and night market food has lost its luster, I recommend a visit to the Paseo Mall in Lat Krabang, which is the neighborhood where BKK is located.

Yes, it's a mall, but the food there is not your typical American food court selection. Sure, there is a McDonald's and a Starbucks that cater to the expat community, but there are also other local restaurants that provide tasty, non-Western fare.

Tong Tem Toh is one of those local restaurants in the Paseo Mall.


The Scene 

I thought the restaurant had a nice pleasing neutral wood decor. I must warn you that they did play muzak. Otherwise, I found the place clean and pretty in a minimalist kind of way.

Tong Tem Toh.

The Service 

The hosts and servers seemed friendly and nice. They did speak English, the menus had pictures and we ordered by marking what we wanted on a piece of paper. It all worked well.

The Menu.

The Order Sheet.

The Food 

• Burmese Style Pork Curry - Mr. Sazry Rock and I ordered this dish perhaps it was because I had just visited Myanmar and fell in love with the pork curry. But, alas, while this version was good, it was not as rich and creamy as the ones I tried in Myanmar. 

Burmese Style Pork Curry.

• Roasted Chili Dip (Nam Prik Noom) - Mr. SR fell in love with this dish, which was fiery and smoky. Interestingly, the vegetables were simply boiled, which made the dip stand out even more. 

Roasted Chili Dip.

• Northern Thai Sausage - This dish had lots of lemongrass but I found it a bit dry.

Thai Sausages.

• Chicken Wings - We actually also ordered chicken wings (but I lost the picture ... whoops!). They were tiny but they were crunchy and served piping hot.

The Price 

For a light-ish lunch, our meal set us back around 450 Baht or about $12.50. Not bad for a nice sit down meal.


The Verdict

Tong Tem Toh was perfectly serviceable. The Chili Dip even wowed. I must admit though that I would not make a special trip to the restaurant if I was staying in Bangkok proper.


What restaurants near airports have you enjoyed?