Jarern Street Food

Jarern is a Thai word meaning prosper or grow, and this tiny place has one huge menu. The home of authentic Bangkok-inspired street food, Jarern’s dishes are cooked from scratch to time-honoured recipes by Thai chefs who are passionate about their national specialities.

Harking back to their favourite five street food places in Thailand – Yaowarat (Chinatown), Rachawat Market (Sriyan Market), Charoen Krung (Bangkok), Talat Phlu (Talat Phlu Market) and Rangnam (Soi Rangnam) – to get a feel for all the different dishes, the Jarern team recommends ordering numerous starters tapas or dim sum style, ranging from steamed pork and prawn dumplings to hot and sour tom yum soup. The mixed starter for two is great value and covers all bases: chicken satay, Thai fish cakes, salt and pepper squid, spring rolls, prawn tempura, corn fritters and more. Mains wise, there are favourites such as Massaman curry from southern Thailand, deep-fried crispy sea bass with various sauces to choose from including sweet and sour, mood-restoring tangy pad Thai and drunken noodles, traditionally eaten at the end of a night out to ward off hangovers. The selection of chef’s specials include mussels in coconut soup flavoured with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal, while Jarern fried rice has eggs, tomatoes and spring onions plus “your choice of protein”: tofu, chicken, prawns or beef.

Alternatively, try the spicy green papaya salad – add salted crabs and gourami fish for extra authenticity – and round things off with sweet pandan leaf-infused sticky rice and fresh ripe mango slices.

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