Where to eat Portuguese food in Bangkok

Bangkok’s Kudi Chin neighborhood, in Thonburi on the western bank of the Chao Praya river, is a sleepy one; a jumble of narrow alleys and old houses, some on stilts. It is sometimes called Little Portugal, as it is home to a number of Thais descended from the Portuguese, who had settled here in the late 18th century.

Portuguese influence on Thailand’s cuisine

The Portuguese were the first Western nation to contact the ancient Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1511. They soon became a prominent trading partner, and introduced a number of fruits and vegetables, which are now staples in Thai cuisine. As Edward Van Roy writes in Siamese Melting Pot, tomatoes, chillies, peanuts, potatoes, and maize came to Thailand via Portugal. Some of the Thai names for vegetables reflect their imported origin; for example, potatoes are called man farang, or Western tubers, while the Thai name for papaya, malakor, is derived from Malacca, the Portuguese trading outpost from where they first traveled to Thai shores.

The Portuguese also introduced new cooking techniques. “They taught Thais their sauces and stews,” says Navinee Pongthai, who runs Bangkok’s Baan Kudichin Museum about Thailand’s Portuguese history. “Meat stew, chicken stew, these are dishes that came from the Portuguese. The Portuguese-inspired Thai stews often have more sauce and stew compared to the Chinese style stews.” Baking, deep-frying, roasting, and stuffing were also introduced, all of which are now part of Thai cooking.

Thai dessert-making was also transformed by the Portuguese. At the time, Thai desserts were mainly made of rice flour, palm sugar, and grated coconut, perfumed with jasmine blossoms or pandan leaves. Eggs were introduced in desserts by the Portuguese, as was the use of coconut cream to substitute for dairy, as cows were considered sacred.

(Related: Meet the Thai women reviving ancient recipes for food-lovers in Bangkok)

Thai desserts

The most famous Portuguese personality in Thai cuisine is Maria Guyomar de Pinha, often known as Thao Thong Kip Ma, a royal title bestowed by King Narai, who ruled Thailand in the 17th century. Guyomar is credited with popularizing egg-based sweets in Thai cuisine, and the creation of a number of popular Thai desserts.

Guyomar was part-Portuguese, part-Japanese, notes Stefan Halikowski Smith in his book Creolization and Diaspora in the Portuguese Indies. She was raised in wealthy environs in Ayutthaya’s Portuguese settlement, and married Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek adventurer who ended up becoming a powerful advisor to King Narai. The couple maintained a Western-style household, bringing cooking utensils and ingredients from Europe. They hosted lavish dinners, serving dishes based on recipes handed down by Guyomar’s mother and grandmother, alongside imported wines, meats, and cheeses.

“Her culinary prowess was eventually so evident,” says Thai food writer Chawadee Nualkhair, “that even when King Narai was deposed, the usurper king Phetracha essentially enslaved Maria to work in his kitchens, even though she was a foreigner. This is, in its own terrible way, a great compliment to her cooking. Legend has it that she eventually worked her way up to head the royal kitchens.”

Guyomar was known for her desserts, which she created using egg yolks and sugar, eschewing European baking staples of butter and milk. She created foi thong (golden threads), a cascade of golden strands of egg yolk cooked in hot sugar syrup, that derived from the Portuguese fios de ovos, along with thong yod (golden drops) inspired by ovos moles from Aveiro, and thong yip. These became part of the thong (golden) family of nine auspicious Thai desserts, which are popular as gifts, especially during special occasions like engagements and weddings.

“She made the desserts beautiful and tasty for Thai people,” says Pongthai. “Foi thong is compactly folded in threads, while the Portuguese version is more spread out. Thong yip is shaped like a flower.”

The Portuguese are also credited with creating khanom mo kaeng, a coconut custard flan reminiscent of tigelada, and luk chup, derived from the marzipan-like massapão. The dishes were localized, with luk chup using mung beans in the absence of almonds in Thailand, and mo kaeng using coconut milk instead of dairy.

(Related: Bangkok rediscovers the magic of its legendary river)

Little Portugal in Bangkok—the Kudi Chin neighborhood

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, when Bangkok was created, the Kudi Chin neighborhood was given to the Portuguese by King Taksin. The neighborhood is known for small restaurants that are run by Thai descendants of the Portuguese. These restaurants serve Portuguese-inspired dishes, alongside bakeries making khanom farang kudi chin, a Portuguese-Thai sponge cake.

“We are one of only three families left who make the khanom farang kudi chin,” says Teepakorn Sudjidjuye, owner of Thanusingha Bakery House. “My great-great-grandmother was half Thai, half Portuguese. She learned the recipe from her mother, and made the cakes as gifts for her neighbors.” The cakes are generously sprinkled with sugar and have a slightly crumbly texture, since they don’t use butter, milk, or yeast, which were not available in Ayutthaya.

Another dish with a mixed Portuguese-Burmese ancestry is kanom jeen gang gai kua. “It’s a mild curry with minced chicken, which is slathered over Mon-style fermented rice noodles, and I haven’t seen it anywhere else,” says Nualkhair. It can be found at Baan Sakulthong, which serves recipes by the owner’s grandmother-in-law.

Where to try Portuguese-inspired food in Bangkok

Kaopeenong: 1-2 Kamphaeng Phet Road, Or Tor Kor Market, Bangkok 10900

Foi thong, thong yip and thong yod can be found in many markets, but the best-known place to try them is Kaopeenong, translating to “nine siblings,” situated next to the bustling Chatuchak market. Along with the auspicious desserts, you can also find other popular Thai sweets like luk chup and khanom tan (toddy palm cake).

Saneh Jaan: 130 – 132 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Bangkok 10330

Named after one of the nine auspicious desserts, Saneh Jaan is a Michelin-starred restaurant that serves a number of dishes from the royal kitchen. Its dessert menu has an assortment of the desserts.

Thanusingha Bakery House: 237 7 Soi Kudeejeen, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600

The 150-year-old home-based Portuguese bakery is one of three (Pa Lek and Lan Mea Pao are the other two) that makes just khanom farang kudi chin. Sudjidjuye uses the same recipe as his ancestors, with three ingredients – duck eggs, sugar, and wheat flour.

Baan Sakulthong: 219 Thetsaban Soi 1 Road, Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600

Owner Kanittha Sakulthong’s relatives were chefs in royal kitchens, and her husband has Portuguese ancestry. The restaurant serves a number of Portuguese-inspired dishes, like kanom jeen gang gai kua, roast pork and potatoes, and chicken stew.