There are still a few aging Thai restaurants stashed away in the quieter side-streets of odd-numbered Sukhumvit that still make food like our grandparents enjoyed. Gedhawa is one of these, although it’s more ageless than aging with its Lanna-style darkwood furniture, hanging fabrics, hanging lanterns and intricate textiles meeting display cases painstakingly filled with several decades’ worth of mini-bottles of booze lifted from minibars and other dubious collectibles. At first glance it resembles a furniture shop—this could be a disaster in the hands of less-skilled decorators—but the owners tastefully pull it off. With only 10 or so tables, plus a couple more outside for smokers and kids who can’t sit still, dining at Gedhawa is a very warm and homey experience. Completing the picture is a kind-hearted aunt-like woman who runs the dining room, and a shy waitress in her student uniform. The menu is an elegant cloth-wrapped book that unfolds, accordian-like, to reveal over 100 dishes handwritten in neat script accompanied by photos glued to the pages. The specialty is Northern food, scrumptious dishes like khao soi and nam prik. We like to begin with one of the round wooden trays filled with traditional appetizers; one with both nam prik ong and nam prik noom is served with pork four ways—dat dieo (dried and fried), nam (fermented sausage), moo yaw (white pork sausage) and Chiang Mai sausage—and an artful arrangement of vegetables (B220). The Northern version of yum som-o is bolder than the more common central version with the addition of crab “juice” and bitter green eggplants (B95). Gedhawa also serves excellent Northern-style laab (B100); one made with fish is especially delicious thanks to the quality of the fish and generous use of herbs and chili-heat. We also give high marks to a curry made with hed top (round brown mushrooms  hat “pop” when you eat them), chunks of coconut and pork (B120). Don’t worry if you’re not a big fan of Northern food. They also know how to cook a few southern dishes that have perhaps a bit less fire than what is served in Hat Yai but have the right taste, including shrimp pan-fried with sataw beans (B120).