The building blocks of khao man gai, a descendant of Hainanese chicken rice, may sound simple: chicken, rice, soup. But at this modest eatery, the street-food staple is a portal to Bangkok for homesick expats.

The traditional version is the best way to appreciate the delicate balance of tender skin-on poached chicken, fragrant rice, sweet-sour chilli sauce and salty broth, but off-piste pals include a rendition with peanut sauce, another headlined by fried chicken, a tofu version, and a skinless option named The Melburnian.

When ordering, take cues from the service and the space and play it straight. A tight line-up of snacks, soups and curries might tempt, but stay the path: the namesake is the way to go.