Sukonta Hot pot/Barbeque

Sukonta, down a driveway off of Huay Kaew road, near Central, is the biggest restaurant I’ve ever seen.  This empty warehouse building, without walls, is filled with unmatched tables and chairs which suggest that it’s been expanded several times.  Late Saturday night when we arrived, a single man played his acoustic guitar on the lighted stage and entertained diners when they looked up from stuffing meat into a boiling hot-pot or, later, into their mouths.

Sukonta is four times bigger than these pictures look:

Also I think you can buy car stereos there:

Each table has an aluminum pan sitting on a dish of smoldering coals in the center.  The pot has a dip around the edge filled with boiling broth, and the middle of the pan is raised and perforated so that you can choose between boiling or grilling your food.  For 139 baht, you (and everyone else in the barn circle) hover around huge tables filled with pounds of raw strips of meat, seafood, raw vegetables, and a huge variety of processed meat and fish balls (crab sticks? sausages shaped like pandas?  both.).  If you’ve got something other than boiled meat in mind, there’s a steam tray full of Chinese filled buns and Thai and Western desserts — and ice cream.  Everyone at our table quickly grabbed a plateful of shrimp and started cooking.

Warming up the hot pot

Piles of food

To be honest, it’s loud and a little gross inside this place.  The meat tasted old by the time we got there (around 9.30) and there were no cakes left.  But it’s worth going just because it’s amazing to see that many people being fed at one time.  With a couple of hours to kill, a few rounds of beer, and a lot of friends with empty stomachs, Sukonta could be a great evening.

These piles of shrimp shells are nothing compared to the piles on other people's tables

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