Though Samlor opened its doors at the start of the pandemic, it only blossomed into what it is meant to be at the near end of it.
"What you got from us before was something that came out of the lockdowns and there was a lot of confusion. Now, we are going back to our origins and making it clear what Samlor should be. It is a modern take on Thai drinking food. We are elevating it and making it better. Each one of us at Samlor have our own Thai drinking food favourites. This is what we are bringing to the table at Samlor," says chef-patron Napol "Joe" Jantraget.
At 1076 Charoen Krung Road, expect a compilation of everyone's kab klaem or drinking food favourites. "When we used to hang out in our youth, we used to hang out at a restaurant and order a few dishes and some beer. There is good music playing and this is what I want to bring to Samlor," says the chef. Samlor puts their own spin on the drinking food of yesteryears and is "unpretentious", as chef Joe emphasises.
Though each month the menu, which is on Post-It notes stuck to the side of a fridge in the dining hall, changes, it is possible to order your favourites in advance. The Samlor pate (B320) is made with chicken liver and is inspired by the grilled chicken liver skewers sold on the streets. Instead of the sticky rice that is sold with the skewers, at Samlor you get a rice crisp for texture. The Spicy Thai Wagyu tartare with Thai spirit (B150) is served in the traditional Northern-style. In case you're not a raw meat person, liquid courage comes in the form of a shot of lao khao, which is bottomed-up before digging into the beef from Nong Khai.
One of my favourite Thai dishes is kung chae nam pla and at Samlor, it is renamed as Thai-style prawn ceviche (B380). Served with bitter melon, cured with salt and sugar, the prawn is marinated with a housemade fish sauce, shallot, garlic and chillies. The Raw fish of the day (B420) is served with a nam jim or Thai seafood sauce. The giant gourami is processed using the Japanese tradition of ikejime.
The Pork palo with bao (B380) uses the pork shoulder braised in Chinese five spices, served with pickled onions and a vinegar-based sauce. The bao, made in-house, is steamed, fried and goes well with the khao ka moo sauce. Fried chicken wings are always a good drinking snack and are found on menus everywhere. Here the Fried chicken with cashewnut glaze (B380) is tender and juicy and the crushed cashewnuts that garnish the dish adds texture to it.
A dish that is as pretty to look at as it is enjoyable to eat is the Samlor Thai omelette (B220), which made using two eggs but is far from the traditional Thai omelette. "I combined a French omelette souffle with Japanese tamagoyaki to create the dish," beams chef Joe. Is there anything more comforting than Thai omelette on rice with a bit of housemade hot sauce? Yes! It's the Spicy pork soup (B320) or tom sap. Made with pork terrine, it is deliciously spicy and tangy, perfect for those rainy evenings. Another must order is the Kaprao with slow-cooked beef (B480), which has all the makings of a spanking kaprao.
Desserts haven't been forgotten as they are the domain of chef Joe's wife and business partner, pastry chef Saki Hoshino, whose modern interpretation of Thai desserts are always a delight. These keep changing daily so ask what's available. If you have no room for dessert, there is always Yora ice cream or the ice cream sandwiches.
It is important to note that Samlor embodies its name, meaning the three-wheeled vehicle has three concepts at the same premises, the first week of the month is dedicated to Coalescence, which is a fine dining, tasting menu from chef Joe. The second week is Sri, which is also a tasting menu but is a collaboration of all the Samlor chefs and the rest of the month is the drinking food called Samlor. Open from 6-11pm and closed on Tuesday. Call 064-210-1520.
