Thai curry restaurant in Seongsu: crispy pork jowl at Thanon55

I went to Thanon55, the Seongsu hotspot. I kept hearing it was seriously delicious, so today's food road trip was the pinnacle of Thai food, Thanon55.

Where is Thanon55 in Seongsu, and what does it look like from outside?

Thanon55 is a Thai curry and pho restaurant on the 1st floor of 16 Ttukseom-ro 9-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul.

This is what the exterior looks like. Thai Curry & Rice Noodles. Pho is really a two-way race between Vietnam and Thailand, but it lived up to being from a country famous for food. My expectations were high. You can spot Thanon55 from a distance too — it's got that country's vibe running through it.

Inside Thanon55: the dining room and the self-bar

Thanon55's interior uses distinctive tiles and elephant figurines for a Thai atmosphere, and the self-bar has pickled radish and a radish salad-like banchan (side dish).

This is the interior — those distinctive tiles felt familiar somehow. The tablet looks wireless. There's also a water cup and an elephant figurine, that country's symbol. Anyway, it's got things grabbing your eye everywhere.

This is the self-bar — pickled radish and something like radish salad? banchan of that sort was set up. The plates were small and cute, nicely designed too.

Thanon55 menu and prices

Thanon55's pho is ₩12,000, the Piset (Special) pho is ₩16,000, and beef pho is ₩12,000. I took a look at the menu's signature dishes.

The pho made with gamjatang (pork bone stew) was surprisingly novel. The price was reasonable too, ₩14,000. There's also a curry version — tripe with curry added comes to ₩19,000.

There's also a spicy seafood version. The tom yum and seafood noodles were a total must-try, priced a bit higher at ₩19,000. Spending nineteen thousand won on one bowl isn't an easy call, but it felt like a dish that's luxurious enough, and proves itself completely in a single bowl, somehow.

The mixed noodles have the curious name kuay teow haeng, priced at ₩16,000. The set menus here are amazing. Thai pho with shrimp fried rice is ₩15,000, and gamjatang pho with shrimp fried rice is ₩15,000. This really feels like an incredible deal.

This is the mu thod curry, one of the dishes I was most looking forward to. It's actually the most popular bestseller too. It comes in S and L sizes, priced at ₩16,000 and ₩30,000 respectively.

Here's another set combo — shrimp curry with gamjatang soup and morning glory comes to ₩21,000, and mu thod curry with gamjatang soup and morning glory is also ₩21,000. Pad kra pao moo sap means Thai basil stir-fried pork, another dish I absolutely love, priced at ₩16,000.

How is the pad thai at Thanon55? Fresh, plump shrimp

Thanon55's pad thai comes with bean sprouts, chives, crushed peanuts, chili flakes, and a lemon wedge. The flavor balance was golden and the shrimp were incredibly fresh.

I ordered the pad thai — first off, bean sprouts and chives come along with it. Then crushed peanuts and chili flakes too, and a lemon wedge as well. It seems designed to let you enjoy it in different ways. The balance is golden. The flavor balance was so good, seasoned just right — not too much, not too little — with that distinctive aroma seeping through properly. And crucially, the shrimp felt incredibly fresh. The pad thai was a very satisfying taste.

Mu thod curry at Thanon55: creamy curry with fried pork jowl

Thanon55's mu thod curry is a combo of silky, smooth curry and crispy pork jowl fritters. The curry is nutty and rice-devouring good, and the pork jowl fritters are amazing paired with sweet chili sauce or the curry.

Next up is the mu thod curry. This one's a real gem too.

First, this silky, smooth curry is the kicker. Smooth and nutty, it's total rice-devouring material.

And these pork jowl fritters hold a deep, rich flavor — nutty even on their own, but paired with sweet chili sauce or the curry, it's out-of-this-world delicious.

Look at how plump and fresh the pad thai shrimp are, seriously.

Eating it with bean sprouts gives you a crunchy texture, and with chives, the chive's distinctive aroma blends in for an even deeper flavor. Here's a video.

This combo is honestly commendable. Such a delicious golden-balance combination.

How can anyone resist this. Look at that pale white cross-section of the pork jowl fritter. Crispy outside, juicy inside, plus the silky, nutty curry and white rice. This is just impossible to resist~