From Seattle To Thailand, To Malaysia, And Back To Thailand, A Photo Journey Part 5

Jok Prince, I have known about this place from my research and reading before arriving Thailand, and I wonder, how is a shop selling one of the most humble dishes in the world, the lowly porridge or congee, can be so well known, I mean like internationally well known. So I must try them, and they are not too far from the hotel, so in just a couple minute of walk, I was there, to find out what this porridge is all about.

Jok Prince is in the Silom area, the older part of the city, the old Bangkok if you will.  They are a very simple, small, open space restaurant, one of those traditional shophouses.  They serve only one, and only one dish,  the pork porridge, or congee.

Jok is Thai for porridge, just like how the Cantonese for Porridge sounded, they have got to be one of the same, my own opinion only of course, don’t feel like diving deep into some educated research now. 

So Jok is porridge, where is the prince come from?  Why Prince?  Apparently, the restaurant is an entranceway to Prince Cinema, one of the oldest cinema in Bangkok, built in 1908, supposedly by royals, hence the name Prince.  The cinema has since closed.

Royal or not, Jok Prince is an old and trusted brand today, it means good porridge for the locals and tourist alike, they are the prince of porridge, pun intended.

Jok Prince serves only one dish, the pork porridge, and this is the lady who prepares the porridge for the whole store, day after day, every day.  I have no idea how long she has been doing this.  Some people can do the same thing over and over again for a long time without calling it quit, not me, I can’t do that, I need different scenery for inspiration and motivation.

The porridge was not cooked in the shop, I mean the base of the porridge, it was cook elsewhere and brought into the store. I saw it brought in, two big pots of it. The final product, the porridge for the customer, was prepared at the store, add in the pork slices and other meat parts, add in the egg if you order the egg, a perfect bowl of porridge in no time.

Jok Prince menu is simple, they only got like 5 varieties, the porridge are all the same, just different mix, different meat parts, egg or no egg, that’s it. They also got an English menu, but in this case, pointing at the picture on the big menu on the wall will do just fine.

You can’t eat porridge without these, the Chinese donut, they complete what’s already a traditional meal, it makes traditional more traditional, plus they taste super good when soak and soften in the hot porridge.

Heres the famous bowl of porridge, it was already halfway eaten, I got too excited with eating and forgot to take photos.  It was delicious, smooth and silky, totally deserving it’s reputation.  And the pork slices are tender and melts in your mouth, it was so good.

There’s one weird thing though, taste-wise, the porridge actually tasted burned, you know, the bitter taste you got when you burn your soup in the bottom. This burned taste, it’s not heavy by any means, just a hint of it, and strangely, it actually balance perfectly well with the entire flavor of the porridge, striking a unique taste that is awesomely delicious.  We might as well say it is by design, I think they call it smoky, the sort of old Hong Kong porridge memory. I had burned porridge before, and it doesn’t taste good at all, but these burned taste here just make it a signature of Jok Prince.

Other than the very common and traditional pork slices, I also have some very special add-on to my porridge, the chitlins, or pig intestines. It completes the porridge, this is how a good bowl of pork congee should be. The chitlins are clean and soft, very well cooked. I can eat this nonstop whole day.  In fact, both time I was there I ordered two bowls each time.  I would have ordered more, but I really have to save some tummy space for other food.

Jok Prince is always busy, forming a line very early on. Lot’s of people came here for easy takeout as well. They are famous and popular not only for the locals, they have also made a name for themselves internationally, so you can imagine how crowded they can be.

I have been there twice, and I was lucky I was early both times, the food came pretty fast, although, I do have to wait for a good 40 minutes for my second bowl one time simply because they sold out their batch of porridge and have to wait for the new batch to arrive.

As you can see, the shop is small, and it is one of those old and historical shophouses, you do business downstairs and live upstairs, maximum efficiency in running a business. Work-life balance, however, is a whole different story I supposed.

There are two to three other restaurants right beside Jok Prince, this is a very common look in the older part of Bangkok, but Jok Prince got a street facing lot so they can sell directly to the busy street traffic, which the rest of the businesses on the same alley can’t. Jok Prince got the premium lot, don’t they?

Shophouse Restaurants like these are everywhere throughout the older parts of Bangkok, and there’s no way you can try them all, that would be a lifetime quest, but every single one of them I have been to, without fail, the food is always awesome and fantastic. I guessed it is hard to find bad cooking in Bangkok.

I was roaming and about after two bowls, hey, I have to move my body to induced digestion right? Well, this yellow oldy scooter caught my eye, it was parked right outside of Jok Prince on the side of the alleyway. It’s too bad I did not find the owner around or I will be asking him/her to lend me the scooter for a spin.

Well, if you are ever in Bang Rak district, be sure to try them out, if you are one of those who grew up having porridge for comfort and warmth, then you can’t miss this place, you will have to go.

-Lumaca

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