Din Pao Cuisine is a much talked about Vietnamese restaurant located within the Chatuchak Market.
It is located within the market rather than being more visible when walking on the perimeter of the market.
If you use Google maps, you should find it pretty easily, however if you look for the “Nana” sign/store, just go into the opening back as far as you can and it should be easily located from there.
You will see a small dining room with several tables under the sign.
There is a grill located in this dining room, with the rest of the “kitchen” located behind that.
I ordered a Café Su Da (Iced Coffee), which was strong, and not too sweet. Drinks are provided by a different vendor, so you will need to pay them separately and they only take cash.
The Spring Rolls come three to an order. Each one is cut in half then placed into its own serving dish. The wrappers are nice and chewy, the lettuce and carrots fresh and crunchy. The herbs are also fresh. The shrimp are on the smaller side.
The Sugar Cane Shrimp was actually shrimp paste formed around sugar cane stalks then deep fried. The shrimp paste was tender, but not too fishy. It was cooked to a nice golden brown, and was crisp on the outside. It was served with a small side dish of noodles topped with fried shallots, a sweet peanut sauce, and a slightly spicy fish sauce.
The Barbecue Pork was a decent sized portion served with rice noodles and deep fried shallots. It was served with a some cucumbers, garlic and Thai chilis. The pork was tender and flavorful, while the cucumber acted as a cooling agent for the chilis.
The food at Din Pao Cuisine is pretty solid, however I don’t understand all of the glowing reviews on Trip Advisor. Many tout this as the best, or one of the best Vietnamese restaurants they have ever been to, but I am not in this camp. Although good, I don’t think it is worth the effort to make a special trip to eat here. As many people come to Chatuchak Market as part of their itinerary on a trip to Bangkok Din Pao would be a good option.
