Legendary 50-Year-Old Beef Soup
by Wattana Panich, Bangkok, Thailand
A simple family-run restaurant deep in Bangkok, Thailand's Ekkamai Road has been serving up the same legendary bowl of soup for over half a century. The restaurant's claim to fame is its huge cauldron of slow-simmered beef soup that has been kept at a low boil for nearly 50 years.
Each day, the family adds fresh ingredients, new cuts of beef, and aromatic herbs to the pot, so that it is never fully emptied. Instead, it’s constantly replenished, creating a rich, intensely layered flavor built from decades of careful tending. Since the soup is kept at a constant boil, it's perfectly safe to eat. In fact, this practice, known as "perpetual stew" or "hunter's stew" dates back hundreds and hundreds of years as an early way of preserving food. At Wattana Panich, it's also a way to create a perfect soup that grows more and more flavorful by the year.
 |
| Wattana Panich, home to Bangkok's legendary 50-year-old beef soup |
There is no recipe, the owner Nattapong Kaweenuntawong claims. Instead, he continuously tastes the soup, balancing its flavors with a secret blend of Chinese herbs to preserve the exact taste profile that his father created when he started the soup half a century ago.
 |
| a bowl of famous beef noodle soup at Wattana Panich, Bangkok, Thailand |
I arrived around 11am and was able to get a seat in the already crowded restaurant without any wait. I ordered a bowl of the famous beef soup, which was delivered immediately to my table, piping hot and ready to eat.
Served over chewy noodles, the broth was rich, smooth, and packed with strong beefy flavor. It was served with melt-in-your-mouth beef tendons, slices of velvety beef, and springy beef balls and topped with fresh cilantro to add a brightness to the dish.
The soup was incredible, and I don't think I've ever had a broth packed with so much flavor.
 |
| 50-year-old "perpetual" beef soup in Bangkok, Thailand |
Menu
A bowl of beef noodle soup costs just 100 baht. Wattana Panich is also famous for their goat soup, but I haven't tried it yet. If it's anything as good as the beef noodles, it's definitely worth trying as well. I'll have to come back sometime soon.
 |
| Wattana Panich menu in English |
Location
Wattana Panaich is located at 336 338 Ekkamai Rd, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110. The restaurant is walkable from Ekkamai Station, but it's fairly deep down Ekkamai Road, and the walk takes about 20 minutes. Alternately, take a taxi for just a few minutes from the station.
 |
| Wattana Panich in Bangkok, Thailand (Ekkamai) |
Comments
Post a Comment