There are hundreds or even thousands here whose idea of an occasional weekend escape in Bangkok is to slither around the sois(lanes) at Siam Square and Maboonkrong. And like me, and I am quite certain, we very often all end up at the tier one tourist traps for a snack and a bite. They head for that fine food hall in the swanky Siam Paragon, and admittedly it is really pretty (puts some of our versions at home to shame) and get entranced by that fluffy, crispy Khaw Gai Jiaw (fried egg on rice) at the food court. The really lost and unenlightened, and I’ve seen them- head for familiarity, to the Hard Rock Café in Siam Square. Nice, but hellooo…put on your dancing shoes next time and hear the Thailand makan ditty going on there.

And thank goodness for Singaporean friends based there, and I perform my dutiful friend role whenever I visit- buy them Indonesian sambal, a pot of fresh made Chin Mee Chin kaya and I am rewarded with smiles and a treat to some hidden makan gems in Bangkok. Such simple and pleasureful trade offs. Like last week, I could not resist the invitation to go makan at “Liverpool”- one kilometre walking distance (to a select adventurous minority) away from Pathumwan Princess Hotel, next to Maboonkrong (another Singaporean hideout). It’s the umpteenth time a buddy there, Cheng Meng has dragged me for some super fine Thai Teochew kopitiam cze cha. And I never could resist. It was nice stroll down Chula 12, right beside the hotel, and along the way, chat mindlessly about how General Motors could go kaput when it was them that invented the most logical car in the world, their all electric and powerful EV-1 (btw, they shelved it after it was well received, and then came up the its nemesis, the ultimate gas guzzler, Hummer)…blablablah. About 700 metres later, you hit soi 5 (a huge Pirelli tyre sign shines at you) and turn left. And at a nameless shop number 60, an old lady with just one wok at the walkway hidden under a stainless steel contraption that looks like a iron giraffe (which doubles as a cooking hood) is furiously stir frying away surrounded by pots of condiments and a huge ice bed of meats and seafood. That’s Madam Je Ngo, who’s been stirring up hundreds of plated pleasures each evening. She’s the 60 year old boss and only cook there who whip up one dish at a time.

The walls in their little eatery is plastered full of Liverpool memorabilia (post 1988 era), but the customers don’t care.

Then you are confronted by a sliding door with a sign that says “you will never walk alone”, the Liverpool football club tagline. It was more like “you’ll never eat alone’ as the small air conditioned place is jammed each night with friendly Thai feeders that know the owners by name. The whole place is filled with Liverpool memorabilia, thanks to her son Yu Hua, an ardent fan and follower since 1988( hence the Dalglish and Rush posters, but no Keegan). The shop is nameless.

Yu Hua controls the work flow as his mother fries at lightning speed, one dish at a time under their custom made stove and hood.

Literally every plate that flies of Madam Je Ngo’s wok is a signature. Top on my list is her stir fried salted mustard with pig stomach and chilli(krapao moo kiam chai), so crunchy with a correct sense of saltiness and tang, and balanced with soft stomach slices sharpened with some cut chillies. We usually over order (no need to ask why), and her glass noodle seafood with eggs (voon sen pad kai) was heaven matched with steamed rice. She carefully and expertly burned the eggs just for a hint of roastiness before she flipped the prawns, sotong and glass noodles with onions over (ai yiii,..a round of applause please!). Then she tried to kill us with the crispy roasted then fried, three layered pork slices (kor moo krob, I think that’s how the term “pleasure in pain” came about). Much everyone ordered just about the same dishes there and many tore into her fried sea bass belly with chilli and coriander in garlic sauce (pla pad kuan chai). She deep fried them then tossed it in the condiments. It was gratefully soft and juicy inside. Even her simple plate of beer food – crab meat tossed in Thai garlic with skin on(poo pad gatiah), was so decadently homely- like mummy yelling for you as a kid, to come makan as she has a special dish just for you. We washed them all down sensibly with a salted pork ribs soup with bitter gourd (kradukmoo yodmara), to awaken the senses for that little walk back to the hotel at Siam Square, happy with the thought that the 8 dish feeding frenzy, set us back by a ridiculous 900 baht ( S$36).

From the crab meat in garlic to the salted vegetables with pig stomach, every dish was a pleasure to devour. Cheap too!

Oh, and by the way, if you ever dare go in a group wearing Manchester United jerseys, “be careful what I’ll put in your food” warns Yu Hua.