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Sawang Noodles in 264 Si Phraya Road, close to MRT Sam Yan, separates itself from most others when it comes to egg noodles (bamee). They dish up a fantastic bowl of egg noodles with pork and a crab claw. I suggest you go haeng (dry) style, with the broth on the side.

For some reason, a lot of people believe that the former Sawang Noodles in the Hua Lamphong area moved to Petchaburi road. That is as wrong as it can be. The former Hua Lamphong establishment moved to 264 Si Phraya Road, in other words not too far from it’s former address, a five minutes walk from the MRT Sam Yan station. The Phetcaburi vendor is related to the more famous Sawang Noodles now situated in Si Phraya Road, but that is as family. The owner of the original Sawang Noodles is the uncle to the woman running the Petchaburi establishment.

The two families does things differently, partly because the noodles in Si Phraya road is hand pulled, while the noodles in Phetchaburi Road is machine made. It makes a big difference when it comes to texture, where it’s all about the perfect proportion of water, flour and kneading. Hand pulled noodles are more chewy and have a better bite than machine made noodles, but they also have a rougher surface that sucks up the broth in a better way. And as we all know, texture matters for how you experience taste. Secondly it is about the crab claw, that is absolutely perfectly done at Sawang Noodles in Si Phraya Road. Thirdly the bowl in Phetchaburi is slightly too oily for me while the original Sawang Noodles hits the nail on the head. I will gladly eat at the Phetchaburi branch again, and I do it if in the area as they have a good bowl. But it can only be one number 1.

If you order a bowl at Sawang Noodles that includes crab, I suggest you order it haeng style (dry) and ask to have the broth on the side. Crab meat is very sensitive to heat and it will easily gets dry if you ask for the nam verison (with broth). Also because the haeng version keeps the noodles slightly oily. All the ingredients are of good quality, including the pieces of roasted pork and the wontons. With a decent crab claw you reach 400 bath. In other words, the crab claws are rather expensive, but they’re also absolutely delicious. You have plenty of cheaper options on the minuend a bowl with pork and some small pieces of crab meat is 60 bath. In general you can choose between pork, wonton and crab meat or the combinations you prefer.

The interior of Sawang Noodles isn’t to much to speak about, but you’re not ment to spend an evening here. You walk in, you eat and you leave.

The legendary Sawang Noodles in Si Phraya Road have the original Shell Shuan Shim award. Those who knows about the reward will notice that they have the award with the symbol of the oil company and not the newer green bowl. There is not many spots in Bangkok left with the original award from the time when the oil company was a sponsor. By the way, it seams that the Shell Company will give attention to the award once again, with a focus on food sold at gass stations. A couple of other joint in Bangkok with the original award is Jakke close to Victory Monument and Look Chin Sri Yan in the Sri Yan area. They are also both very good.

Name: Sawang Noodles

Food: Egg noodles (bamee) and wontons with different toppings, like barbecue pork, crispy pork, crab meat etc.

Price: Standard bowl without crab is 60 Bath. With a crab claw the price depends on the size of the claw and runs from 150 B to 400 B for the biggest one.

Open: 5 pm – 11 pm

Phone: +66 81 618 1884

Address: 264 Si Phraya Road, Bang Rak

How to get there:  Take the MRT to Sam Yan. Take exit #1 and take to the left. You pass a lot of stalls, just pass them and walk on and you are in Si Phraya Road. It is about 6-7 minutes walk from the MRT station, on the right side of the road.