Michelin recognised crispy pork Bangkok
Kuay Jub Mr. Joe’s crispy pork is so delicious and coveted that the restaurant landed a Michelin recognition in 2020. Served on its own, or atop an aromatic bowl of rolled noodle soup, the pork is full of flavour and different textures.
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- This restaurant gives ฿700 to those who conquer their XXL noodle challenge
- Khun Lek Khao Mok Kai has been selling Halal Thai biryani for 100+ years
Freshly prepared crispy pork
The name of the restaurant translates to ‘Rolled Noodle Soup By Mr. Joe’. While Mr. Joe’s kuay jub was certainly the best bowl of rolled noodle soup I’ve ever tasted, the establishment’s crispy pork is also worthy of recognition.
The skin was extra crispy, but also light – it was easy to bite into and had no excess oil; patrons can order a plate of crispy pork for ฿75 (~USD2.50) or a kilogram of the delicious meat for ฿750 (~USD25).
The meat itself was very rich with umami flavours, but not overpowered by the fat – Mr. Pong, the restaurant owner, informed us that the pork is marinated overnight and fried fresh all day long starting at 4 AM.
Kuay Jub Mr. Joe even has its own crispy pork team to ensure the utmost quality. The team members are trained for months in order to perfect their technique – within one hour, they’re able to produce 20 large pieces of crispy pork.
Rolled noodles with peppery soup
Noodle soup stalls are ubiquitous in Thailand – it seems that there are three on every corner. While different vendors offer different types of soup bases and protein options – chicken, pork, beef or fish – most of them have the same set of noodles: flat, wide, vermicelli, egg, mama and glass.
What aren’t very common are rolled noodle soup restaurants – famous for their unique type of noodle, these vendors also offer different types of meat. Typically pork based, rolled noodle restaurants offer a variety of pork parts: liver, heart, tongue, intestines and curdled blood.
These innards are also available at other noodle stalls. Honestly, however, Kuay Jub Mr. Joe is the first place where I wasn’t hesitant to dig into a bowl full of innards: the peppery soup and meticulous preparation left no smell or iron-y taste to the meat. A bowl of steaming fully flavoured soup is ฿75 (~USD2.50).
An intergenerational restaurant
With recognition from Michelin and up to 500 orders a day, it’s hard to imagine that this eatery started out as a cart.
The current owner, Mr. Pong remarked that he remembers his grandfather making kuay jub since he was little; after encouragement from his peers, his grandfather thus started selling rolled noodles in a cart throughout Chinatown.
Mr. Pong’s father continued that legacy when he opened Kuay Jub Mr. Joe. When asked if this expansive restaurant is where his father started his business; Mr. Pong chuckled and mentioned that the original restaurant was but a small rental building.
Mr. Pong also noted that he is the first generation to start making thick soup kuay jub – his father and grandfather pioneered the perfect clear soup base for kuay jub, which is used to create the renowned broth.
Rolled to perfection
Upon visiting Kuay Jub Mr. Joe, we could immediately see why there is usually a 30 minute queue out the door – the restaurant’s continued attention to detail and commitment to improvement has the holy grail for rolled noodle soup and crispy pork.
Kuay Jub Mr. Joe
Address: 313, 7 Thanon Chan, Wat Phraya Krai, Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok 10120
Operating Hours: 8AM – 4.30PM Daily
Telephone: +66 2 213 3007
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