It's a world first! A street food stall received a Michelin star when the inaugural Bangkok 2018 Michelin Guide was launched. Its name? Jay Fai. We're telling you the incredible story of this street restaurant and its chef, both recognized by the famous red guide…

A Thai street stall in the Michelin Guide

Located near the Golden Mountain (Wat Saket temple) in old Bangkok, it's a street food stand that earned one of the 17 stars awarded by the prestigious Michelin Guide. This humble restaurant takes its name from its owner and namesake chef, 74-year-old Supinya Junsuta.

As early as 1999, people were already talking about her exquisite cuisine! In a Bangkok Post food review, Ung-aang Talay (Bob Halliday) even described the place as "one of those increasingly rare Mozarts who transform hugely popular street dishes into masterpieces of local cuisine"! Today more than ever, Jay Fai's cooking is in the spotlight thanks to its star—a world first in the street food realm. A first too for Thailand's capital, which now joins Hong Kong, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai, and Seoul on the list of Asia's great culinary capitals recognized by the famous red guide!

The Lucky Winner: A Septuagenarian with an Eccentric Look

With a few plastic chairs and tables, the décor at Jay Fai's restaurant is rather bare-bones. If this street stall won its star, it's above all for its cooking. Nicknamed "the queen of the crab omelette," the septuagenarian prepares delicious stir-fried noodles with seafood, her specialty. For more than thirty years, the chef has cooked mainly using two charcoal braziers. She sources her ingredients from local suppliers, always prioritizing quality. This comes at a cost, of course, and her prices are noticeably higher than those of other street food stalls.

Beyond her culinary talents, this former seamstress is also renowned for her eccentric style and her most amusing personality. To protect herself from the hot oil spray from the woks she handles with vigor, you'll always see her wearing a beanie and ski goggles! No doubt about it, she's quite a character.

A Cuisine Victim of Its Own Success…

While the chef is proud of her award, she admits she's struggling to keep pace. Her sudden international fame has brought such considerable crowds that she's had to reorganize her operations. Open six days a week, she implemented a reservation system, something she had always resisted. Whereas she once worked as the restaurant's sole chef, she has since asked her two daughters to leave their jobs and join her in the kitchen to give her a hand.

While her clientele has multiplied, her earnings haven't grown. In her desire to remain authentic, she doesn't want to change anything, let alone raise her prices. Such pressures reportedly leave her considering whether to give back her star…