ไฟเขียวเยาวราช Fikeaw Yaowarat — Restaurant in Chakkrawat Subdistrict

Updated review:

Fake fish, tourist trap – avoid!

I’ve been coming to this shop for years as a great alternative to the two famous seafood spots nearby. Unfortunately, this visit was a huge disappointment, and I feel the need to update my review.

First, there was a big rat running around between customers’ legs—not exactly what you want to see while eating. But hey, it’s Bangkok, and it’s street food, so I let it slide.

We ordered fried rice, stir-fried morning glory, shrimp in yellow curry powder, and red snapper in sweet and sour sauce. Everything tasted as good as usual—except for the “red snapper.”

From the first bite, I knew something was off. It had that strong, muddy flavor typical of freshwater fish, which I really dislike. I asked if it was actually red snapper, and they insisted it was. But I couldn’t even finish it—it was that bad.

So I took photos of the fish on display and did some research. I remembered that real red snapper usually has small teeth, but the fish they served didn’t. Then I translated the Chinese name from their menu, and guess what? It clearly said tilapia—a cheap, low-quality farmed fish often raised in polluted conditions. I guess they assume Chinese customers will recognize it, while foreigners won’t question it.

The funniest part? I found an old menu from four years ago where they actually called it red tilapia. When I confronted the owner with my findings, he just pointed at the fish and refused to acknowledge it. A little more research confirmed that tilapia is commonly used to fake red snapper—because real red snapper sells for about three times the price.

Another major red flag? No Thai people eat here. That’s usually a bad sign, and now I know why.

Dishonest business, poor hygiene, and overpriced fake fish. Definitely my last visit.

Old 5 star review:

Great affordable seafood off the main road in Chinatown. The two other famous seafood places in Chinatown became too expensive and started to lack quality after appearing in every guide book. Few years ago I discovered this gem and tend to return every time I am in Bangkok. Have tried lots of different dishes. I can definitely recommend their deep fried whole fish (sea bass), the yellow shrimp/crab curry, fried rice with crab and the mantis shrimps (which are unfortunately not always available). When receiving the bill I am usually positively surprised. In the Caribbean you might pay several times the amount for the same food. I have read some negative reviews, but you don’t go there for the hygiene, right? During normal dinner times this place started to get super crowded over the last years. Expect to...

This was easily the best seafood I've ever eaten.

The chef is also one of the most impressive in his craft that I've ever seen. Having worked as a cook in the past, I must say that the art that is this man's cooking puts most others to shame.

There seemed to be 4 or 5 servers and 4 or 5 cooks working prep and plating but only the one chef, cooking all of the food in 4 woks simultaneously. This caused there to be a bit of a wait both times I ate here. First a 30-45 minute wait to be seated and then another 30-45 minute wait for the food, once we ordered. I would have waited 10 times as long for this food.

On both visits, we had the 'Deep-Fried Fish with garlic and pepper sauce'; it was perhaps the most delicious fish I've ever tried. Despite spending quite a while being deep-fried, this fish was tender and moist on the inside and cooked absolutely perfectly. This dish has no equal.

The 'Deep-Fried Shrimp in sweet and tamarind sauce' was almost as good as the fish, but because you only get 5 shrimps, I suppose it has to take second place.

We also tried one of the crab dishes, a chicken dish, and some veggie dishes, all of which were spectacular.

Almost as good as the food are the prices. For both meals, we ordered 5-7 dishes and the total price, per meal, was approx. $50 Canadian dollars. They could easily...

Stumbled across this streetside open air restaurant one night on side street off Yarowat rd. Big Red Arch is start of street.

Appears to be a family operation and the fresh seafood options are all on ice, so you can see what you are ordering and paying for.

Big long bbq section out front and then old man chef working 3 woks and steamers. He is a magician to watch him work from your seating.

Plastic chairs and tables, nothing fancy, but we went for the food.

Had kilo of bbq river prawns and spicy seafood stirfry one night and another night we had tempura squid, deep fried whole red curry paste fish and seafood fried rice. AMAZING.

Honest, simple fresh great Chinese food that tastes amazing.

Be prepared to wait for a table at busy times and each dish is cooked by the old chef, so you can wait sometimes 20 plus minutes for your order, but watching this family pump out food is entertaining and the taste...