Gedhawa

There is always a restaurant that you drive by all the time and always say to yourself; 'I must try that restaurant'. Gedhawa is one of those places. It is situated deep inside soi 35, which is not used by many people, so not so many people know about the place. But for the people who know about Gedhawa; it is considered one of the BEST Thai restaurants in town. It is actually Lanna style/ influenced food, which is the Northern part of Thailand (Chiang Mai area).


The restaurant gets your attention because of the bright & beautiful Lanna style decorations you can see from the street. Due to the decor inside; you actually feel you are in Chiang Mai.


We started with the typical Lanna style appetizer platter which consisted of sai ooua (this is the Chiang Mai sausage basically made from pork and spices, always roasted over an open fire), naem (it’s a well known northern pickled pork sausage zipped up with pieces of green chilly pepper), moo yor (steamed pork sausage, is ground pork, flour, and seasonings, it is squeezed then wrapped in banana leaves with tantalizing aroma and flavor), kaeb moo (crispy pork rind, deep fried with salt, clove, garlic, and crushed whole coriander stalks) with naam prik noom (chilly paste, made from young, long, light green chilies is thick, wet and fibrous, as a result of pounding together a mixture of roasted chilies, shallots, garlic, tomatoes, and other ingredients. It’s hot, salty, and sweet due to its ingredients), fresh vegetables & herbs, naam prik ong (it’s made with ground pork, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, garlic and shrimp, all is meticulously blended together, then cooked). Please allow me to say; everything was a wow, amazing, fantastic, delicious! That's all I wanted to say.


The second appetizer we had was deep fried pumpkin. Deep fried to a golden yellow; crispy outside but very soft & moist inside. So much better than french fries just because there was a sweet taste to it. No need for any sauce.


We ordered another dish of sai ooua because they were so delicious. Very spicy, full of meaty textures and the flavours were so complex. We could have ordered another one after this but we contained ourselves.


The next dish was deep fried Thai fish with herbs. The Thais really know how to deep fry their fish. No matter from the north, middle or southern Thailand; it always turns out fantastic. The frish is a golden brown, perfectly crispy outside but the fish stays soft & moist inside. The mixture of herbes from ginger, lemon grass, etc. adds amazing flavours to the fish.


The next dish was larb. Actually this dish is from the northeast and easy to eat with sticky rice and fresh vegetables. The larb was made from ground meat e.g. beef, liver pork or duck then mixed with spices and fresh mint leaves. Such complex flavours from a simple looking dish.


The next dish was the most interesting dishes of the night. A northern vegetable, fish & ant egg soup. Yes, you read right...ant eggs. And why not? The northern vegetable reminded me of spinache but had a smoother texture but had a sweeter flavour. The ant eggs were pearly white and had the texture of barley. The soup was very flavourful. A nice soup full of different tastes and textures. A soup you can tell friends about.


The next dish was northern style yellow curry with cococut heart, pop in your mouth mushrooms and duck. Another great dish. The fresh & crunchy coconut heart was tasty, the duck tender but the mushrooms were the star of the curry. A small type of mushroom that soaks up a little curry in its head. When you bite into the mushroom, it pops. Very unique.


The next dish was hung lay curry. A Burmese dish not made with chilly peppers and really easy to eat. The base curry is made with pork pieces and tamarind resulting in a sweet and sour flavor. The pork was so tender and flavourful.


The entrance from the street. You are greated with a small Lanna style garden. Very charming.


Here is the restaurant sign and garden that stands out in a quiet and dark soi. No wonder, it gets everyones attention when they drive by.

Overall, a very cosy, comfortable & charming place to have amazingly delicious northen style Thai food. I have not met one person who has eaten here and has had a bad thing to say about it. The service is very good, the owner is very nice, she let us stay after closing to finish our wines, and the prices are so reasonable. A wonderful place to eat and get your money's worth.

The only problem with Gedhawa is that parking is non-existant because the soi is so narrow and residential. You can park further down the soi and walk. But the best way to get to Gedhawa is take a taxi or take the Phrom-Phong BTS and walk about 10 minutes. But's its worth it.

24 Sukhumvit soi 35
02 662 0501
gedhawa@yahoo.com