Nutch Noodles Bang Ko Bua Pier - ร้านพี่นุชท่าน้ำบางกอบัว
In the late 70s was the green island opposite the large Klong Toey Port approved by the government to be conserved as public parks. An urban oasis in the middle of the city and a place for the local Bangkokians to enjoy their weekends.
The small wooden noodle shop includes a small pier and is almost completely camouflaged by the surrounding mangroves while overlooking the hectic port area where containerships from all over the world is being loaded. Something that could easily take weeks back in the days which would give the sailors time to venture out in the streets of Bangkok, but things has changed. The whole process has now been streamlined and the need for take away food has arrived.
It was originally a public pier for crossing the Chao Phraya, but the owner passed away and Nutch has now been running the shop for the last 30 years along with her mother (Tad) and brother (Sam). They have specialized in servicing the cargo ships that is docking overnight with mainly noodles and alcohol. Sam is in charge of the floating deliveries for a 40 baht fee while Tad is taking care of the homemade fermented plum wine and the karaoke system. There is a handful of similar shops on different piers, but each with its own territorie.
The shop is also home to a number of animals including the parrot Kaew which is short for Nok-Kaew meaning parrot in Thai. It flew into the shop one day and wouldn’t leave so Nutch decided to keep it. Two cats named Aew who is very anti-social and mainly wants to dwell on how to get into the parrot cage. And Miss M who is disabled and was found in a trash can near the local temple. And the dog Siew which was rescued from the river after it fell overboard form one of the cargo ships. The episode has tricked a mild PTSD and now the dog stays at a good distance to the water.
A million baht view with a 50 baht beer, a slogan Nutch invented with pride. The family is enjoying the slow pace in their Baan Rim Naam meaning a house by the water. A sharp contrast to the modern city life on the other side.
