Guay Tiew Ruer Nuer Puir, Beef Soup with flat noodles, from King’s Thai #1.
What’s the best thing you have ever eaten? To me it would be this Guay Tiew Ruer Nuer Puir—#3 Thai soup with beef stew—at King’s Thai #1 on Clement St. I have a list of must-eats whenever I return to San Francisco, and this bowl of wonder has risen to the top. I now make a beeline for the 38 Geary (actually the 1 California this time, which was closer to my hotel) as soon as I get into town.
I always order it with flat noodles, which provide the maximum surface area to absorb the magnificent broth which is funky with long-simmered beef parts and aromatics, and I request the birds eye chili sauce (the little dish at the top of the photo) which is too spicy to leave on the table because it could easily ruin a meal. I have a few sips of soup to calibrate my taste buds, then pour in the little dish of sauce and stir thoroughly so I don’t get too much at one time, which causes coughing fits. Then I dig in. There’s bean sprouts, a wilted green vegetable (usually spinach), and copious amounts of beef offal (usually intestines, sometimes tendon as well) and the beef stew made with stringy long-muscle pieces that get caught in your teeth so you will continue to experience the meal long after you finish it. It takes me a good half hour to get to the bottom of the bowl, savoring every bite.
During the darkest days of the pandemic, King’s Thai #1 was closed to inside diners and you would order at a makeshift plywood table that blocked the entrance. You’d get the broth in a big plastic container along with the meat, the noodles and vegetables in a separate Chinese takeout box, and the hot sauce carefully wrapped in its own little dish. It’s every bit as good (and consistent) reheated in your hotel room or eaten in your own bowl from the top of a car.
At one time, I would have said Snow’s brisket was the best thing I had ever eaten. But that’s a virtuoso solo, while King’s Thai’s Guay Tiew Ruer Nuer Puir is a symphony. If you find yourself in the Bay Area, do not fail to get some.
Do you have the recipe for this dish? I want to make this myself. I enjoy these rich soups. I like to use ox tails for my beef soups. The flavor of the ox bones makes everything special. I think I will try making this myself. I enjoy cooking dishes that need to simmer for hours at a time. Thank you for the inspiration.
No idea. Rich is definitely the word. A strong pho broth would taste like water in comparison. Use the name and search online and let me know if you find something.
Bring some back to 12866 for me next time you go.
Not a bad idea. wonder if they could duplicate it with a sample at one of the Thai places on Phila?