Sometimes rendered Schezwan cooking in English, the flavour that defines the bold and complex eating culture native to Chongqing and sister-province Sichuan is mala – the combination of chili pepper spice and the numbing effect of Sichuan peppercorns. Arguably no other form of Chinese cooking has made such inroads in Thailand over the past few years with native ‘mala’ restaurants appearing across all major towns and cities.
Sichuan cuisine is well represented in Huai Kwang. Next to Xin Xin Lanzhou Hand Pulled-Noodles, Chongqing Mianzhuang vends bowls of mouth-numbing soup noodles and on Ratchadaphisek Road, Er Xiao Ye is a two-storey, upscale hot pot specialist.
Located on Pracha Uthit Road, a short walk from the Pracharat Bamphen Road, the bamboo decor and panda logo of Tongwei Noodle Restaurant might be designed to evoke rural Sichuan but the restaurant’s open-plan is more akin to a typical Southeast Asian eatery than anything you might find in China.
Spicy snacks as well as some standard noodle dishes are available from the menu, which has Thai and Burmese translations and pictures, but no English. But primarily, it’s all about malatang – a Sichuanese-style street-food where customers select skewered meats and vegetables from the fridge that are then cooked in a spicy broth in the middle of the table.
Time Out Tip: Tongwei Noodle Restaurant is open 24-hours a day, and is popular with late-night diners.
Chinese Name: 北味春成都小吃 Beiweichun Chengdu Xiaochi