Nai Ek Roll Noodle is a kuay jab specialist on Yaowarat Soi 9 that has been feeding Chinatown since the 1960s. The founder, Nai Ek, arrived from China in 1960 and sold rolled rice noodles from a pushcart before opening the permanent shop in 1989. The Michelin Guide awarded it Bib Gourmand status in both 2018 and 2019, and the shop has appeared in the guide's Bangkok street-food coverage ever since.
The house dish is kuay jab nam sai, tightly rolled sheets of rice noodle in a clear pork broth heavy with white pepper. What sets Nai Ek apart from the other kuay jab stalls in the area is the crispy pork belly that goes into the bowl alongside minced pork, sliced pork, and offal. It is a Thai-Chinese noodle shop in Yaowarat, Bangkok, and one of the few Chinatown institutions that has kept the same recipe and the same location for over three decades.
You walk in off Yaowarat Soi 9 to a bright, functional dining room with marble-topped tables, fluorescent lighting, and fans running overhead. Staff move quickly, English menus exist, and orders land within a few minutes of sitting down. The kitchen is visible from most seats, so you can watch the cooks ladle broth from a cauldron that has been simmering all day.
Expect a mixed crowd: Thai office workers at lunch, Chinatown residents through the afternoon, and a steady flow of visitors after dark. The shop stays open daily from 8am until midnight, which makes it a reliable post-Yaowarat street-food stop. Payment is cash only, and bowls run under 100 baht. You order at the table, point at what you want if your Thai is rusty, and finish the meal with iced chrysanthemum tea or soy milk from the fridge.
Kuay jab nam sai is the order to get: clear, peppery pork broth with rolled rice noodles that keep their chew, topped with minced pork, sliced pork, and a mix of offal. The version most people come for adds moo krob, the crispy pork belly cut into squares that stay crunchy in the broth long enough to finish the bowl. Beyond soup, the kitchen also serves khao moo krob, a plate of steamed rice with the same crispy pork belly and a side of chili vinegar. Stewed pork ribs over rice is the quieter favorite, slow-cooked until the meat falls off the bone. Regulars usually pair one noodle bowl with one rice plate between two people.
Nai Ek Roll Noodle sits at 442 Yaowarat Soi 9 in Samphanthawong, the heart of Bangkok's Chinatown, a short walk from the Yaowarat Gate and roughly eight minutes on foot from MRT Wat Mangkon (Exit 1). Look for the yellow signage on the corner of the soi; the Thai Taste Hub second outlet at Mahanakhon CUBE is the alternative if you are on the Silom side of the river.
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