Polo Fried Chicken (Gai Tod Jay Kee)

Gai Tod Jay Kee, better known as Polo Fried Chicken, sits on Soi Polo just off Witthayu Road beside Lumphini Park. The chicken is marinated and fried whole without batter, then chopped and piled with golden fried garlic, and eaten with sticky rice and Isaan dipping sauces.

The family started out selling larb and som tam before the chicken took over, and the business is now in its third generation. It held a Michelin Bib Gourmand from 2019 to at least 2024. There are two dining rooms a few doors apart on the same lane: an open-air original and a newer air-conditioned room.

What to order

• Fried chicken with fried garlic: order a half or whole bird to share
• Sticky rice: the essential partner for the chicken and sauces
• Som tam Thai: papaya salad with dried shrimp, sweet, sour and spicy
• Grilled pork neck (kor moo yang): smoky and fatty, good with nam jim jaew
• Larb moo: minced pork salad with toasted rice and herbs

Good to know

• Lunch is busiest with office workers; arrive before noon or come in the evening.
• Bring cash; there is a convenience store with an ATM near the corner.
• From MRT Lumphini, walk north along Witthayu Road and turn into Soi Sanam Khli.