One of the key aspects of Thai cuisine that has made it popular around the world is the plethora of Thai herbs used in everything from four-course meals to the 30-baht lunch. These often include those perennial favorites, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, but have you ever tried reo, aka bustard cardamom?

A member of the ginger family, in Thailand reo is most popular in Chanthaburi province and is rarely used in preparing dishes in Phuket, except at Kuayteaw Moo Liang (cardamom pork noodle) restaurant on Thepkrasattri Rd.

Restaurateur Naphaporn “Nui” Panbanpaew, 44, hails from Pattani, but got the recipe for her signature noodles from a friend from Chanthaburi more than 14 years ago. She said the original recipe was very sweet, so she adapted it for southern palates by making it more spicy.

Liang, as in the restaurant name, is a Thai soup made from a variety of herbs mashed together and boiled into soup, with a key ingredient being bustard cardamom root. Cardamom looks similar to galangal but has a distinctive sweet taste and smell.

but the special recipe used by Naphaporn ‘Nui’ Panbanpaew gives it a unique, slightly sweet flavor.

As with most local herbs, reo can be used also as a remedy. The special ingredient, while tasty in itself, is also reputed to ease a queasy stomach and soothe indigestion.

The soups at K. Nui’s restaurant include a wide range of noodles, including yentafo. However, K. Nui’s yentafo recipe is also a variant from the yentafo served at most small eateries in Phuket, which generally use red beans to give the noodles their pink allure.

K. Nui, however, uses tomato juice, which adds a twist to her yentafo’s flavor.

And just in case her southern adaptations prove too spicy, there are also Thai sweets and fresh coconut-milk ice cream to cool down with after the meal.

Kuayteaw Moo Liang is on Thepkrasattri Rd, opposite the Esso gas station. Open 10:30 am to 4 pm, closed Sundays.