Thai restaurant Zaab E Lee lives up to its name with authentic spread

[AMBASSADOR’S TABLE - RESTAURANT REVIEW]

Thai restaurants are no longer hard to find in Korea, with the cuisine now almost as ubiquitous as Chinese food.

What remains rare, however, is a place that truly delivers the authentic flavors of home. Many Thai eateries in Korea adjust their dishes to suit local palates, so when you actually visit Thailand, everything — aside from familiar staples like pad thai — tastes surprisingly new.

Zaab E Lee, a Thai restaurant in Mapo District, western Seoul, is different. A spot where many Thai locals gather, it has become the go-to place for those seeking authenticity and for anyone hoping to explore new Thai dishes.

The eatery has a menu of over 50 dishes, including the cuisine of Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand known for its bold, fiery flavors rarely found at Thai eateries in Korea. The recipes are handed down from restaurant owner Lee Hyeon-joo’s Thai mother, who was born and raised there.

One of the available Isan dishes is kor moo yang (grilled pork), priced at only 15,000 won ($10). The meat is tender, marinated over time with herbs, coriander root, soy sauce and fish sauce, which give it a mildly salty flavor. It’s paired with nam jim jaew, a classic Isan dipping sauce that’s both spicy and savory, cutting through the pork’s slight fattiness when dipped. “On the weekends, Thai workers off duty come particularly for our Isan dishes,” said Lee.

The chase for authenticity continues even on weekdays, with more than half the tables filled by Thais and foreigners during a recent visit. “Many Thai students studying nearby come here often, even bringing their friends,” said Lee. Run by Thai chefs recruited from Thailand and staffed entirely by Thai servers, the eatery has become especially popular among customers from the country, who account for 60 to 70 percent of its guests.

While the menu offers more variety than typical Thai restaurants, the most popular dishes remain the familiar staples: tom yum goong, pad thai and Phu Phat Phong curry. Like the restaurant’s name — Zaab E Lee, meaning "delicious" in Thai — all three lived up to the name, each first bite drawing out a heartfelt "yum" from deep within.

The pad thai leans sweet and savory, with raw green onion and bean sprouts adding a refreshing crunch to the soft noodles and scrambled eggs. The eggs are abundant to the point where you taste more eggs than noodles, but that's part of the charm. Squeezing lime over the dish gives it a lighter, fresher finish, though skip it if you prefer a deeper-seasoned bite.

The shrimp used at the restaurant are impressively plump, both in the pad thai and in the tom yum goong. The soup also includes spices and big pieces of galangal, lemongrass and Thai lime leaves that add the citrusy base essential to the soup's flavor, leaving a pleasant tingling sensation on the lips. Unlike many places that add a lot of coconut milk to ease the tangy flavor, here you can taste the original flavors built from the spices. Diners can, however, request more milk depending on preference.

The place is also known for leng saeb (spicy pork backbone soup). The dish was added to the menu after entertainer Jun Hyun-moo was seen making it on a TV variety show "I Live Alone" (2013-), and customers kept asking for it. “It even gained fame in Thailand thanks to him,” Lee added.

Many of the ingredients that go into these dishes come straight from the family's own farm, which also operates a factory to distribute them. "We grow vegetables like papayas, Thai peppers and asparagus beans ourselves," Lee said.

Located at 25 World Cup Buk-ro 2-gil in western Seoul’s Mapo District, Zaab E Lee opens from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a break from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is closed Mondays.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]