There's nothing pretentious at Hom Dee Mee, a noodle house down Mittraphan Road just a short walk north of Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown. This isn't a place that's inventive in its dishes, nor somewhere to linger over a lengthy lunch. Thais don't have the same regimented meal times as foreigners, preferring to dive in for a pitstop to fuel up whenever they fancy. This is such a place.
Ba mee noodles are the name of the game here, made in house and usually tossed in a little crunchy pork belly, some red-tinged barbecue pork slices and a few poached wontons filled with sweet and well seasoned shrimp meat. A little garlic oil to stop the noodles sticking and some chilli flakes and you're good to go.
The narrow shophouse is a little cramped and no one's touched the decor in decades, but is similar to many in the area with an open-air kitchen area marking the entrance. While it doesn't offer much respite from Bangkok's humidity, it's not overly hot either. Service is quick and unless you visit during the busy lunch service you'll almost always get a table.
Uninspiring vegetable noodles start at 30 THB (US $0.95), better more interesting combinations of shrimp wonton and barbecue pork are 50 THB (US $1.60).