Thip Samai - Pad Thai

A couple of doors down from Jay Fai is a very famous restaurant which only serves Pad Thai. It's open from 5pm to 2am and is incredibly busy throughout. I've been there as it opens and as it closes, both times were busier than most restaurants would be at their peak (the photo is from 9pm). They have a factory-like system where between 5 and 10 cooks are each responsible for one thing. I saw one guy just breaking eggs in to a bucket without stopping, like a machine. He is the egg man.

It's basically the polar opposite of Jay Fai. Where she does absolutely everything herself and the priority is quality (at a price), Thip Samai are all about getting as many Pad Thais on plates (and just as many in take-away containers) as quickly as possible. It definitely wasn't the best Pad Thai I've ever had, but then again I've had a *lot*, so I wasn't expecting it to be. Still, it was delicious and definitely worth the £1.50!

They're also well known for freshly-squeezed orange juice, which did live up to the hype. Yum!