One Night in Bangkok, Falls Church - Report

Regional Dining Discussions DC, Mid-Atlantic
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Seven intrepid eaters gathered upstairs at Duangrat’s to try out this restaurant-within-a-restaurant concept of Thai Street food. Many years ago, Duangrat’s was the Queen of Thai eateries drawing diners from around the area, though it never ranked high among Chowhounds.

We ordered eleven dishes, mostly snacks:

Tua Kua, cashews and peanuts with garlic, salt, and chilies.
Beef Jerky
Esan Sausage
Chips and Dip
Pek-mex Duck Roll
Mango Cashew Slaw
Meatballs Ping
Mieng Kham (lettuce wrap with chilis and several crunchy ingredients to serve yourself)
Boat Noodle Soup
Bamee Haeng (Garlic Noodles)
Chinese Beignets

So could Duangrat’s kitchen pull this off? Make you forget it’s history of serving pretty but tame dishes and give you a taste of Thai street food?

Almost everything we had you can find far better versions somewhere else in the area. The Mango Slaw was a bright spot, and the romaine lettuce wrap had plenty of nice crunchy ingredients on offer. Esan sausage was a lot of fattier than the version at Padaek, and it provided a nice change from what I’m used to.

In execution, there is absolutely nothing ‘street’ about this food. The meatballs are not grilled. The fried items were not cooked recently or served hot or crispy enough. Nothing had that pop you get from freshly cooked food. If you want great garlic noodles, go to The Block. If you want a pungent boat noodle soup, the Thai place in Eden Center will make it for you.

This is a far cry from the street food festival at the Thai Wat in Sterling. Sure, it’s only once a year, but worth waiting for. I would’ve taken pictures here, but nothing looked particularly interesting.

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Sorry to hear it was less than stellar. I used to get Nam Khao Tod from the grocery store behind Duangrats. I believe they share the same kitchen, though i am not completely sure of that.
I really liked the Nam Khao Tod at the store! Much like BKK 54, the better food is not in the cafe, it is in the grocery store next door. I also liked the crispy duck w basil there but it was not quite as good. But again, this was take away from the grocery store to the side.

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The market you are thinking of was run by Rabeing, sister restaurant to Duangrat’s but with a different menu and a different kitchen. Although it’s true the name on the market used to be Duangrat’s. Rabeing was a better restaurant. I totally agree that the food at the market was often more interesting.

Rabeing and the market folded, and they’ve been taken over by different folks. I have not been to the new restaurant , but I have been to the market. They offer a lot of very serious and interesting products on the shelves I have not seen elsewhere. The Market is now called Thai Value, and the restaurant is Mum Aroi.

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When I worked at Skyline, we used to go to Rabieng at least once a month and always shopped at the market. I’ll have to try Mum Aroi.

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Thanks for the earworm. :laughing:

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