Four dishes for two at a Sangam Thai restaurant: Drunken Thai

What kind of place is Drunken Thai Sangam Branch?

• 🇹🇭 Name: Drunken Thai Sangam Branch
• 📍 Address: 338 World Cup buk-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1F, Cheongun Shopping Center
• 🕖 Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:00)
• ⛓️💥 Break time: 15:00–17:00
• 🛍️ Takeout available
• 🛵 Delivery available

Sangam has all kinds of great restaurants, but I went to Drunken Thai Sangam Branch, famous as one of the go-to pho and Thai spots in the neighborhood.

The sign is so Thai-style you can't miss it. Cover up the Korean text and you honestly can't tell if you're in Korea or Thailand.

The interior is exotic Thai style too, haha. Photos and knick-knacks with strong Thai vibes are hung all over the place. I even spotted a familiar photo of King Rama X. They're posted everywhere in Thailand too, so it genuinely felt like being back on a Thailand trip.

What two people ordered at Drunken Thai, and the prices

Drunken Thai Sangam Branch takes orders through a kiosk. There were only two of us, but we ordered everything we wanted to try. One dish each was a given, and we added morning glory since it's great to share. Couldn't skip tod mun goong either, so we got a half order just to taste. So here's what we ended up ordering:

• Shrimp pad thai (₩12,000)
• Pad kra pao moo saap (₩11,000)
• Morning glory (₩13,000)
• Tod mun goong, half (₩4,000)

And it's not just takeout — you can even buy this on Market Kurly. First things first, I grabbed the utensils and checked what came with the meal.

Pink pickled radish. And there was a spicy sauce loaded with chili peppers, plus peanut powder and Vietnamese chili — all included!

How each Thai dish tasted

The table filled up with food, and the visuals alone screamed authentic Thailand.

Tod mun goong (shrimp cakes), half order — 4,000 won

First to arrive was tod mun goong — basically shrimp croquettes. Fried up beautifully.

Dipped generously in chili sauce, the plump shrimp meat, crispy savory batter, and sweet chili sauce together were so good. I should've just ordered the full portion instead of the half — I wanted more.

Morning glory stir-fry (pak boong fai daeng) — 13,000 won

Next up, pak boong fai daeng — a.k.a. morning glory. Whenever I'm on a business trip in Thailand, I always order this. The spicy kick balances out the generally sweet flavors of Thai food.

It's the best side dish, keeping everything balanced against the main dishes. Stir-fried fast over high heat, the crunchy texture really shows through, and there's even a hint of wok hei. The fish sauce and garlic flavor soaked into the water spinach beautifully, and chewing it releases more and more umami, cutting through the richness of the mains. You need to eat this in between bites of the pad thai and pad kra pao moo saap.

Shrimp pad thai — 12,000 won

My beloved pad thai. And among all pad thai, I love the shrimp version most.

Bean sprouts, rice noodles, shrimp, and egg — the combination was perfect. Sweet, sour, salty, all balanced nicely. This place's pad thai has its core flavor nailed down. The ratio of noodles to crunchy bean sprouts filling the plate was great too, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice added a bright freshness so I never got tired of it, all the way to the last bite.

Pad kra pao moo saap (basil pork stir-fry) — 11,000 won

And then there was the pad kra pao moo saap Yuri ordered. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with pickled radish (moo saap) — it's actually a minced pork rice bowl scented with Thai basil, unusual but familiar at the same time (that's the explanation, at least). I'd never tried it before, and Yuri, who has eaten it many times, found that surprising.

Oh, this was good. Minced pork stir-fried spicy and savory with Thai basil, mixed into rice — an absolute rice thief. Spiciness perfectly suited to Korean tastes. And popping the yolk of the soft fried egg and mixing it with the pork stir-fry sent the savoriness through the roof. Plus that faint, lingering basil aroma...

Is Drunken Thai Sangam Branch worth a visit?

Every single dish we ordered at Drunken Thai Sangam Branch was a hit. In particular, the sweet-salty charm of the pad thai paired beautifully with the spicy pad kra pao moo saap, and I'm definitely planning to come back soon to work through the rest of the menu. If you want to enjoy proper Thai food in a clean, exotic setting, I highly recommend it!! A great place to come with a partner or friends and order a bit of everything to share.