Heard of the famous-long waiting-Netflix star-Bangkok-Michelin star-street food : JayFai?!
Yup, as long as its name can be, it has taken us a looong 6 hours of waiting – from reserving our table to being served.
After googling around, JayFai literally translated as ‘Aunty (respectful) with a Mole’. Based on some reading and understanding, the chef is a septuagenarian lady, who has been cooking street food since her early years. Now continuing her mother’s business.
Well known by her yummy delicious delicacy, JayFai have faith that by using premium ingredients in her cooking, customers are able to appreciate her handful cooking skills. But all that come with a price.
Here, I’m going to share you our JayFai experience when we travel to Bangkok back in September 2019.
The Waiting…
Many has questioned is the food worth the waiting? Is it worth the value? Are they really that good?
Well, the waiting part is somewhat painful. While you were waiting, you could see a lot other people were in the queue with you. Some just left disappointed after giving up waiting. Some were starving, taking pictures of the chef, trying to entertain themselves.
But everyone had the one mission – to try the famous Michelin hawker food !!
As we stayed around Ratchathewi BTS station, we are lucky as there is a boat port near us. For your information, there is no BTS near JayFai. The options you can take are either by walking or taking a grab.
As we learned that the boat ride from Ratchathewi can bring us nearer to JayFai, and a 15 minutes walk after that, we hopped on it!
We got off at Phanfa Bridge port, it cost only 9 baht and save you from all the hectic road traffic, which is a brilliant idea. You might even cut some queue number there.
We reached JayFai restaurant slightly earlier then 2pm, but from a distance, people had crowded the place to put in their name into the walk-in list.
By the time we were there, we are at queue number 45!!!
Tip #1:
JayFai only starts it’s kitchen at 2.30pm.
Tip #2:
They serve about 10 tables of 4 people at a time.
So we did some smart calculations and waged on our estimation. We wrote our names down and went back to hotel for a nap. Hahhaa..
When we came back 4 hours later, it was 6pm. Guess what?! We were 4 numbers ahead of the queue, at no. 41!!! Woohoo!! But still it was a loooong-two-hours wait for 4 numbers as some customers just decide to chit chat after finishing their food.
We did what the other people do while waiting – chit chatting, taking pictures, observing the chef lady cooking..bla bla bla…
Number 45!!! A lady shouted.
We raised our hands so high up in the sky and teared in joy like we have won a battle or in a championship of waiting!!
However, the nightmare did not stop. We waited for another 45 minutes for Aunty JayFai to cook our orders in that fiery charcoal flame.
Finally, our dinner is served!!!
Here comes our first dish – the Crab Omelette!!! 🦀
Look at that and you might think it is a normal fried fish cake. You might also be triggered when you got to know that this piece of delicacy cost 1,000 Thai Baht!! (~ USD35)
But the minute you slice that baby and take a look inside of it..OMAGOSH….
Chunks and chunks and chunks of crab meat, so abundance, fully holding inside of the omelette. You can tell from the cooking, the hard work, the skill of wrapping them into just two eggs, and the effort taken to peel those crabshells.
It was just unbelievable!!
The first bite of it has sent me to heaven and back on earth twice!! It is not oily at all, the crab meat was so fresh and chunky! It made me feels like I’m chewing boneless chicken-thigh meat!
I have never eat something like that in my whole life!! You have got to try it at least!
Second dish – Tom Yum Gung
Before coming back to earth as I was still wandering in heaven, the waitress came and tap on my shoulder.
Here she brought the second OMAGOSH Tom Yum Gung!
This Tom Yum Gung is no doubt the-best I have ever tried. Given the ingredients inside the soup, three-big-prawns that were so chrunchy, chunky and juicy!!
I have tried a few Tom Yum soup in Bangkok, this one the soup is much more flavourful, tangy, and rich. Here, a pork-bone soup base is used to prepare the Tom Yum Gung!
Just so good!!
Another round to heaven!
Third Dish – Drunken Noodle
The third dish here is called the ‘Drunken Noodle’, basically is premium stir-fried seafood flat-rice-noodle. Or we generally see them as ‘Pad-thai’.
Again JayFai has made their noodle a legend though it might be a simple dish, the generosity and size of prawns and squid is unbelievable!! Look at that!!
Drunken noodle specialty is the Asian-basil-leafy-fragrant and the wok smell. Their special made flat-rice-noodles is just so awesome!! I would totally recommend this one – this is the King of all Pad Thais!!
Last Dish – Yellow Curry Crab
Yellow curry crab may sound and look familiar. You might imagine a few crabs sitting inside a big bowl of curry in yellow right?
But in JayFai, one thing I appreciate their effort which eventually help them when cleaning the table was, there were no crab shells!!
Yup. They do the hard work peeling and removing all the shells, and you just enjoy the meaty, freshly cooked crabs!!
Just look at the snow-white crab meat, stir-fried in yellow curry, chilli and onion. They are so flavourful, with the topping of well-cooked crab roe…just OMAGOSH!!
Unbelievable!!!
The total bill for 6 of us came to about 4,400 Thai Baht (~U$150) inclusive of 2 bottles of beer and a chrysanthemum tea.
Overall experience in JayFai? Fantastically unbelievable. It just open my mind and soul to another level!!
If you have the chance to try it, you are a fan of seafood and unimaginable cooking skill, I urge you to try it. You will definitely get your mind blown !!
Hahaha..do leave me any comments, questions or even share your JayFai experience with me!!
Be sure to check my other eatery and travel posts as well. Until then, see ya!!