Bangkok: Hoi Tod Chaw Lae – Pad Thai and Oyster Pancake

Hoi Tod Chaw Lae is a street kitchen/restaurant close to Thong Lo BTS Station known for pad thai and hoi tod. Most of you are probably familiar with pad thai, but for some reason hoi tod has never gained the same widespread popularity internationally even though it’s a really popular street food in Thailand.

Apparently, the pad thai at Hoi Tod Chaw Lae is supposed to be among the very best, but nowadays, I think most people visit the restaurant for the hoi tod. I had both, and both were very good and reason enough to go, each on their own.

Hoi tod combines fresh seafood, usually oysters or mussels, with a crispy, savory batter. It’s commonly referred to as oyster omelet, though it’s more accurate to describe it as a pancake or fritter. The dish starts with a mixture of starchy batter (typically made with rice flour) and eggs, which is poured onto a hot griddle or wok. The batter is fried until crispy on the edges while remaining tender in the center. Fresh oysters or mussels are added either directly to the batter or cooked separately and placed on top. It’s typically garnished with bean sprouts, and green onions, and served with a chili dipping sauce.

At Hoi Tod Chaw Lae you can choose between two styles of hoi tod; crispy hoi tod or soft hoi tod. I had the soft hoi tod with barely cooked eggs and semi-raw oysters, and it was really tasty. Though if you’re worried about undercooked seafood and eggs, you’re probably better off with the crispy version. In the video below you can see the crispy hoi tod version.

The pad thai I had at Hoi Tod Chaw Lae had a thin, crispy shell of fried egg. It wasn’t as oily as some pad thais can be, and the noodles were bouncy and delicious. Though, I overdid the garnish a bit, so I had to dig through a big pile of bean sprouts to get to it, but there’s no doubt this was one of the better pad thais, I’ve had.

If you’re not an oyster person, the restaurant also offers hoy tod versions with other kinds of seafood.

Looking for dessert after your oyster pancake/pad thai meal? Head over to nearby Mae Varee for some of the best mango sticky rice in the city.

My blog post about Mae Varee >>

Hoi Tod Chaw Lae, 25/5 Thong Lo, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand