Burapa, a train-themed restaurant serving Isaan dishes with an inventive twist

Among the nightclubs, busy bars and roadside stalls on Soi Sukhumvit 11 lies a calm and cozy restaurant specializing in an under-the-radar, regional cuisine of Thailand.

The second edition of Sri Trat, a restaurant on Soi Sukhumvit 33 that pays tribute to the province of Trat, Burapa was born just a couple of months ago with the aim to reinterpret the traditional dishes of northeastern Thailand through the view of a local from Trat (in the eastern part of the country). 

Coconuts Bangkok met with Burapa co-owner Wongwich Sripinyo, who was born and raised in Trat. Wongwich told us that he always wondered why Thai cuisine typically represents dishes from the south, north and northeastern parts of Thailand, and not any from his province or region. 

Feeling noi jai (“slighted” in Thai), two years ago he opened his own restaurant Sri Trat, serving traditional…