As the weather gets colder, fewer things will bring you comfort more than a piping hot bowl of soup noodles.
Inconspicuously located around the mid-point of Dominion Road is Pan Thai Noodles, which opened about 10 months ago.
It has a simple menu comprising mainly noodles, side dishes, and a few dishes that come with rice.
Mention Thai and noodles, and you’d likely think of Pad Thai - but no, that’s not even on the menu.
Helming the eatery are Poonsup Butipanka and her husband, Supakit Puttamuk, fondly known to their friends and customers as Tai and Bask.
Pan Thai is one of three restaurants the couple operates, the other two being Thai Time on Albert Street and Yaso Eesan Thai Eatery on Anzac Avenue in the central city.
The reason they decided to start Pan Thai was because Thai noodle soup was one of the most significant parts of Thai cuisine, yet you do not find any Thai noodle shops in Auckland, Tai said.
“There are Japanese ramen stores, there are Chinese noodle shops, and even Koreans have them, but there is no Thai,” Tai said.
“In Thailand, you find Thai noodle dishes served all day long everywhere, from the street stalls to markets, restaurants, and even floating markets.”
So last October, they decided to open their eatery, focused on Thai soup noodles.
The most famous of them all is perhaps Guay Tiew Ruea or Boat Noodles. These are served with either pork, beef or mixed with offal such as tripe, liver, and beef balls at Pan Thai.
A key ingredient is the aromatic, thick brown broth, which contains cinnamon, star anise, and a key element is pork blood. It is consumed with bean sprouts and coriander.
In keeping with tradition, the noodles are served in a boat-shaped bowl and come in either a medium or large size.
A signature item on the menu is the Pan Thai Tom Yum Noodles, where noodles are served immersed in an orangy coloured broth with a generous portion of ingredients including minced pork, pork slices, pork intestines, liver, and fish balls.
It is truly a feast for the eyes as much as it is for the appetite, perfect for a chilly day.
The tom yum noodles offer a rich, tangy, and umami flavour, which is complemented by zesty lemongrass and lime leaves.
After finishing your noodles, it is common to see customers ordering a side bowl of steamed jasmine rice to have it with what’s left of the broth and ingredients.
Those who are not into spicy noodles, and maybe the little ones, might want to have the clear soup noodles, or Guay Tiew Nam Sai.
This is noodles in a clear meat broth seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, cilantro and a little sugar, accompanied with bean sprouts.
The most common is a bowl served with steamed chicken and fish balls, but also on the menu are options such as crispy chicken with fish balls, pork patties, minced pork with fish balls, or the combination, which has fish, beef, and pork balls.
Duck is a popular choice of protein in Thailand, and many love the Thai-Chinese duck noodle dish, where the broth is aromatic and uses the Chinese five-spice powder.
Tai said at Pan Thai, their soup is made with coriander root, black pepper, palm sugar, garlic, cinnamon, galangal, and the five-spice powder to give it a depth of flavour.
The dish is served with roast duck and duck blood.
A lesser-known Thai pink noodle soup called Yen Ta Fo is another must-try at Pan Thai.
The seafood option of this dish is served with fish balls, tofu, squid, white fungus and duck blood.
Growing up in Thailand, Tai said one of her favourite noodles are the “Pok Pok Noodles”.
She explained that noodle sellers would knock on wooden blocks to make a “pok pok” sound when they arrived on her street. The expression pok pok is also used today to describe the flavour and experience of traditional Thai street food, which involves the pounding technique of pestle and mortar.
“Thai noodles represent some of the most delicious dishes you find in Thailand, and it goes beyond just what people know, like pad thai and pad si ew,” Tai said.
“There are so many flavours and variations, and we want to be able to let people try them at our restaurant.”
Beyond the noodle dishes, Pan Thai also serves Thai-style Hainanese chicken rice, and rice dishes with BBQ, crispy pork, braised beef and tendon and also roast duck.
***This article is written in partnership with Pan Thai
PAN THAI
428 DOMINION ROAD
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