A feast of Italian/Japanese fusion X'mas Eve dinner in Bacchus.
* pictures on courtesy of Mr. Tony King Our 5-course dinner: 1. Lobster Salad Wasabi Dressing (/Crab Meat Avocado on Endive) 2. Lentil Soup (/Spaghetti with Porcini and Mushrooms) 3. Christmas Roasted Ham (/Grilled Black Cod) * Lemongrass Sorbet 4. Season's Greetings Turkey Cranberry Sauce (/Braised Oxtail in Beer with Dark Soy Sauce) 5. Celebration Cake * Limoncello * Coffee or tea Baht 1,766 ($52) + Red Wine
Imagine how wonderful if there is a restaurant that serves your visual pleasure while having your taste buds a lift; this has to be a view-to-dine-by restaurant. The surroundings elegantly decorated with tranquility ambiance; heavenly view of 360 degree panorama overlooking anywhere in Bangkok above the hustle and bustle of city living rarely found elsewhere.
Vertigo and Moon Bar ****1/2 Banyan Tree Hotel Bangkok 21/100 Sathorn Road Sathorn, Bangkok 10120 Tel.: 02.679.1200 Banyan Tree Bangkok
Open daily : 6:30 pm - 11 pm (weather permitted) Pay (food only for two): expect THB 7,000
My favorite rooftop restaurant in Bangkok simply its food is 'eatable' though not outstanding and the price is affordable, with the enjoyable panorama city view!
Red Sky *** 55th Floor, Centara Grand Hotel at Central World 999/99 Rama 1 Road Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel.: 02.100.1234 Centara - Red Sky
Opening daily for Dinner 17:00 - 01:00 Pay (food only): expect THB 7,000 for two
Today, I went to Bangna district's Soi Udomsuk with a good friend from Hong Kong. Udomsuk area is about 40km southeast of Bangkok city center, a humdrum residential area. We took the BTS skytrain to On Nut terminus, caught a taxi to Soi Udomsuk. Total travel time was an hour from my friend's hotel located on Sukhumvit Soi 8 in the major tourist area. My friend couldn't hold his curiosity to ask, "Do we have to dine this far while our stomach is singer?", and his question had not been entertained. In my mind was 'hey, you will see'!
The Garden is on the rooftop of the Executive Residence Apartment on Udomsuk Soi 18. In order to reach to the rooftop of this 15-year-old poorly maintained apartment we need courage (yes, I am talking about real courage) to pass through a shabby lobby armed with moth-eaten carpet and took the building's only outworn elevator to the top floor (just on 6th). When the lift (door) opened my friend immediately realized the difference between haven and hell. A scenic British garden of lush tropical plants and floras caught our first sight with my friend's generous read out 'Wow'! For the next two hours we were dining in a paradise that transportation can reach. At 4 pm, we started our late lunch with Ox tongue in red wine sauce (THB 250+). The ox tongue was tender and the wine sauce followed exactly the original recipe, as very French. Next dish was Rainbow trout in white cream sauce (THB 350+); trout was truly fresh (from Royal project in Chiangrai) without marinated and extra seasoning thus brought out the natural sweet and goodness of the trout herself. The cream sauce helped to enhance the taste if one found it bland. Another marvelous dish was the Fried rice with salted fish (THB 150+); top grade aromatic slated fish pla kurau (four-finger-threadfin mackerel, or ma yau in Cantonese) was used as the ingredients with chopped kale and BBQ pork cubes. Fried rice was fried dry enough, a well balanced dish with appealing taste and presentation.
The garden has both indoor (air-conditioned) and al fresco dining option. If you choose indoor dining, you will encounter an European mini palace fittings with chandeliers and classic paintings on display, dine with lovely Cupids (sculptures) if not your honey. I always opt for the al fresco option with the surroundings of a botanic exhibition and a 16th Century inspired fountain.
We left the Garden with a promise to return as soon as possible.
The garden, beautiful! The food, delicious! The Garden, marvelous! Seeing is believing, go!
The Garden **** 6th Floor, the Executuve Residence Apartment Soi Udomsuk 18 off Sukhumvit 103 (Udomsuk) Bangna, Bangkok Tel.: 02.361.7881
Open daily : 11 am - 11 pm Pay (food only for two): around THB 800
This luxury Hokkaido style tappanyaki joint is little-known outside of the Japanese community. The cuisine, of course authentic, is strictly followed on traditional recipes with modern preparation and stylist presentation.
Serina has divided into three sections, main dining room does teppanyaki, upstairs for a-la-carte menu, while another dining room in the annex building does shabu-shabu at Baht 650 per person.
My recent visit with two friends dug us around Baht 7,000 ($205) for an a-la-carte teppanyaki dining with basic seafood and steak (no lobster and wagyu steak) order, and my stomach was not even fed to half-full. Alternatively the chef can prepare a tasting-set for you based on your budget (minimum Baht 1,500++), and teppanyaki lunch set from Baht 350++ is relatively a bargain.
The pros - smokeless teppanyaki table left no uninvited smell on shirt and chef has decent culinary skill the Japanese kind
The cons - uneasy for my wallet (well I did mentioned it is a luxury eatery didn't I) and our chef was lack of smile
The bottom line - lots of true Japanese and seasonal ingredients that other teppanyaki joints don't offer, chef with good skill in mastering the cooking and teppanyaki show in balance without acting like a monkey, and all dishes came out simply taste good
Serina Teppanyaki Restaurant*** 9/26 Soi Jim Thompson Surawong Road Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Tel.: 02.235.8382
Open daily: Lunch 11:30-14:00; Dinner 17:30-22:30 Pay (food only for two): around THB 3,000 (lunch set available at THB 450)
Two places I don’t like to go are discos and BBQ restaurants esp. bulgogi (Korean barbecue) and yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) that cook in front of us with open fire, because of the smoke.
I always praise on BBQ restaurants with the installation of smokeless barbecue table, but unfortunately too hard to locate one in Bangkok, even not in a famous 4-star hotel’s Korean restaurant. Until recently I bumped into the AKA accidentally, a Japanese restaurant with specialty of yakiniku and shabu-shabu in the CentralWorldPlaza, I had a yakiniku meal without the smoke in my head and clothing as unwanted souvenir.
AKA is another brand developed by the long established local standard ZEN Japanese Restaurants without my attention as a favorite Japanese restaurant to entertain my friends, or even just by myself.
On our lunch table there were choices of seafood, beef, pork, and chicken to fulfill our yakiniku meal.Raw meat for an authentic yakiniku serves without the meat being marinated; we grill them fresh and dip the meat when it was done before eating.In AKA, house sauce was put on the raw meat, so I had to get rid of the sauce before putting them over the charcoal griller.The meat was good enough for the price although it is lack of outstanding, perhaps better score to them if unwelcome sauce wasn’t put on the raw meat.However, I will not refrain from return for more yakiniku due to its smokeless facility and the convenience location.
AKA also serves shabu-shabu, and traditional dishes such as sushi (raw fish fillet on a bed of rice cube), tempura (deep-fried breaded prawn), tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork cutlet) and more.
Our Ratings (1 to 5 the higher the better): AKA has [ 3.0 ] (Ratings are based on Food, Service and Ambiance, with Price taken into account in relation to Quality)Food =3, Service=3, Ambiance=3, Money Worth=3
Price range for two without drinks (incl. local water) in Thai Baht = BBB (B=below 200, BB=201-500, BBB=501-1,000, BBBB=1,001-2,000, BBBBB=over 2,000)
Best dishes: combination seafood set (for yakiniku) Wine list: limited sake and wine on the drinks list Best table: table by the window Details: Open daily – 11:30am - 10pm AKA Yakiniku Restaurant, Level 7 Beacon Zone, CentralWorldPlaza, Bangkok; Tel.: 02-6461364; and other major shopping centers in Thailand
Consume of shark fin soup used to be the privilege of a Chinese Emperor for a century, later spread to banquet tables in weddings and all exquisite dining parties for the Chinese communities in modern days.Shark fin soup is made with fins obtained from a shark.Frankly, shark fins are the pectoral and dorsal fins of shark species, with flexible soft tissue known as cartilage which contains nutrition and even medical goodness.Shark fin has almost no flavor of its own but has an amazing ability to absorb and enhance the flavor of other ingredients cooked with it, such as hen, pork ribs, dried black mushroom, Yunnan ham, and even expensive dried abalone, simmered for enough hours in preparing of the hearty superior broth for the shark fin soup.Best serve with aged Chinese black vinegar or even a drop of brandy to add the zest in eating pleasure. By now you can figure out why shark fin soup cost so much money for a little serving.
Many people believe shark fins have the benefits of retarding aging, improving sex life (for men), and even curing cancer?On the other hand, academic report of shark fins probably contains high levels of mercury maybe harmful to consumers’ health!
I was told that consume of shark fin soup was cruel and it was against the animal rights.Then some people raise another question about eating foie gras if it is relatively cruel as method of raising goose for the foie gras is more controversial than catching shark.Personally I neither eat shark’s fin as a habit nor particularly enjoy this expensive food (yes it is expensive if you get the real fins and it is even very very expensive if you get the top grade fins); but, some customers and friends from Japan and Greater China region (China, HK and Taiwan) are fans of this delicacy popular in China since the Ming Dynasty.Like it or not, my duty to show them where to eat delicious and real (yes there are many fake fins out there in Yaowaraj and other parts of the country) shark fin soup in Bangkok.
If you are a bit hesitated to eat shark fin soup because of its controversial fining method, but eventually might enjoy a bowl of shark fin soup due to the hearty broth, then rescue came to your palate enjoyment.You may get your bowl (of shark fin soup) in Yaowaraj, Bangrak, Klong Tan or any roadside shark’s fins hawkers, browse the giant tin pot they do the broth, if you find pork ribs and chicken bone in the giant pot, then your bowl of shark fin soup probably is well prepared.How about the killing shark part?Don’t worry, for Baht 300 you don’t get real fins; they are vegetarian fins a.k.a. artificial fins.
Below are my picks for the best shark fin soup in town, either the fins were superior (under the Baht 1,000-2,000 mark), the soup prepared the superb way, or it was environmental friendly vegetarian fins.Please bear in mind in Thailand chefs are better off to prepare Thai-Chinese style braised shark fin in brown soup, not the Cantonese or contemporary Tiew-chew one people eat in Hong Kong and in the US Chinatown.In Greater China region people more opt for the consommé one that require a full day to prepare the broth simmered with pork ribs and chicken (hen) together with expensive ingredients such as Chinese Yunnan ham and even dried abalone without a drop of MSG, rather than the Thai-Chinese style of so-called brown soup based on heavy use of oyster sauce, soy sauce and MSG.
My cherry picks (4 categories):
Category I - Shark fin specialty, the winner is,
Bangkok Shark Fin(曼谷魚翅)
Why? Here they have better broth though oyster sauce and seasonings are not avoidable in all shark fin soup specialties across the nation to prepare the famous (or infamous!) Thai-Chinese style ‘brown’ soup.Taste good with better value than the rest in Thailand!
Food: The braised shark fin soup, Thai-Chinese style ‘brown’ soup base, flavorsome chicken and pork broth, soup not too thick has a nice balance in texture and taste even with the presence of oyster sauce and slightly salty; braised fins so tender!(Besides braised shark fin soup, the restaurant also offers stir-fried shark fins, braised fish maw soup, stir-fried sea cucumber, vegetables, fried noodles to even steam fish.)
Service: Friendly and helpful
Ambiance: Minimal decoration with a nice fish tank for our appreciation during wait for the soup to be arrived, air-con a bit too cold.
Shark fins: Real fins.
Value: From Baht 800 per clay pot; the Baht 1,000 one fins were plentiful in portion; arguably Bangkok best Thai-Chinese style ‘brown’ broth fins soup in term of both quality and quantity.
Address: 218/3-4 Siam Square Soi 1, Rama I Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330; Tel.: 02-2510987; open daily 12pm – 12am.
Runner-up: 1) Hock Shark-fins (福魚翅) on 167/2 Surawong Road, Bangkok; Tel.: 02-2335939 2) Nam Sing (南星)* on 231/19 Pattaya 2nd Road, Pattaya, Chon-buri; Tel.: 038-711221 * not Yaowaraj branch
Category II – Shark fin soup hawker, the winner is,
Tai Tong Bangrak(大中魚翅)
Why? Tai Tong Bangrak was chosen because it is safer to sit on the pedestrian footpath in a less traffic lane and probably with less pollution.
Food: Nothing good, just the vegetarian fins may be good for animal rights supporters.The broth had one taste, as, extremely salty.You will love the soup if you are fans of MSG and oyster sauce.
Service: Prompt and friendly
Ambiance: Set inside a lane off the main road better than sitting on the Yaowaraj roadside, still it is roadside ambiance, don’t expect comfort and hygiene.
Shark fins: Vegetarian fins
Value: From Baht 400 per clay pot; my Baht 500 one was overpriced for such quality of broth with vegetarian fins.
Address: Charoen Krung Soi 46, Charoen Krung (New) Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500; Tel.: not available; Open daily 5pm – 12am
Runner-up: 1) Sing Shark Fin Hawker, roadside Yaowaraj Road, China Town, Bangkok 2) Klong Tan shark fin soup hawkers, Klong Tan, Bangkok
Category III - Chinese restaurant, the winner is,
Lieo Lieng Seng (廖兩成酒家)
Why? Broth was authentic following Hong Kong’s Tiew-chew recipe, fins are tender and the portion was a steal for Baht 400 a pot.
Food: The braised shark fin soup, broth is rather quite Hong Kong Tiew-chew than local Thai-Chinese one although oyster sauce was on the call.The broth had an obvious taste of dried seafood, pork bone and chicken, not artificial seasonings.Fins were tender. No more extra seasonings to go with the soup, just some Chinese vinegar will enhance the taste and made the fins easier to be digested in our stomach.(The restaurant has a selective Chinese cuisine menu, food quite good!)
Service: Average service with prompt response, friendly recommendation on order.
Ambiance: Minimal decor and small dining hall poses a warm atmosphere for diners. It is bright and clean.
Shark fins: Real fins
Value: From Baht 500 per clay pot; our Baht 1,500 large pot was generous in portion (good for six servings) with relatively good quality of broth.It was a steal of the day.Excellent value!
Address: 802-804 Rama IV Road (behind Montien Hotel), Bangrak, Bangkok 10500; Tel.: 02-2345791; Open daily - 11am-10pm
Runner-up: 1) Tang Jai You (陳再裕酒家) 85-87 Soi Yaowa-Phanich, Yaowaraj; Tel.: 02.224.2167 2) Crystal Jade Golden Palace Restaurant (翡翠金閣酒家) at Siam Paragon Mall; Tel.: 02.129.4343
Category IV - Hotel outlet, the winner is,
China House(中茗閣) @ the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Why? Soup was hearty, fins were tender, the whole thing was heavenly delicious, and it is the Oriental!
Food: Their braised shark fin soup, broth took a day of work to simmer with expensive ingredients such as Yunnan ham, dried seafood, pork ribs, hen (not any chicken) and Chinese mushroom.The broth didn’t need any more artificial seasonings as the Yunnan ham did the job.Fins in decent portion were tender.Broth was aromatic with the goodness of full-day simmered pork and hen soup, good in nutrition though.I put some aged Chinese malt vinegar to go with the fin soup.(The restaurant offers a full menu for Chinese cuisine.)
Service: The Oriental Hotel kind of attentive service.
Ambiance: Sip your tea and enjoy your bowl of fin soup in an opulent ambiance.
Shark fins: Real fins
Value: Expensive in terms of the Baht, but well worth the bill if no compromise of quality and service is your main concern.
Reopened before Christmas 2006 after months of renovation, I couldn't waste a minute to see her face-lift with a friend, also a food critic, to eat there right after New Year’s holidays.I was so exciting at the beginning until I realized my only reward was a big shock against the totally revamped outline.What I saw was the then elegant century-old colonial house (I miss that house now!) in cream paint had gone completely, in exchange was the murky old building (newly revamped into a old-looking building) painted gray on concrete wall with red light emitting from all windows available on the edge of the hotel property having my imagination linked to a graveyard.And in harmony, the restaurant sign set at the entrance happened to have a great look of gravestone, coincidentally.If it was my first time to this restaurant, I would think this is the first Disney theme park incorporated with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a Haunted Mansion!And I am talking about the Mandarin Oriental Hotel's China House, arguably the most prominent Chinese restaurant in Bangkok.
The relatively modern glass portico at the entrance is an addition adhered to the building in a result of the definitely damage to the original look of the traditional house.Step inside.Don't expect there a big well-lit dining hall with round tables outfitting like any other prominent Chinese restaurant across Asia.Thanks to Neri and Hu Design hands on destroying the century-old antique house, brought China House in a dark and mysterious tone.Walls painted in black and ceilings in red, designers were intended to deliver a feeling of dining in an ambiance of the 1930's Shanghai.Small booth and isolated tables divided by the center bar into left and right zone, giving patrons maximum of privacy.Having us feel like being in an opium den in the 1930's Shanghai perhaps!While restaurants in China and Hong Kong always moving forward, seems the China House enjoys a backward in time.I believe it is neither traditional Chinese nor contemporary setting, but a mess-up to the Chinese culture.I am not being snobbish here, if China House is a fusion or Asian specialty restaurant but not focus on authentic Cantonese cuisine with a bit of provincial dishes then I would not feel the eyes sore.
No matter how much I don't approve the revamped China House in terms of interior, the food always brings me back.
On my revisit to the China House with a friend from Hong Kong tonight, we were warmly welcomed and ushered to a booth with good privacy, seats upholstered with horsehair and cowhide were not only comfortable but also opulent.A sip on refreshing chrysanthemum tea started the dinner.
Kicked off with the Stir-fried Shark fin with Eggs Baht 800, consisting of small fin, bean sprout and eggs stir-fried with a hint of Yunnan ham yield an aromatic taste to rescue the naturally tasteless shark fin. Unlike mistakes some Thai-Chinese restaurants repeat, oily and juicy with excessive of sauce; chefs here implement the quick wok-fried technique having (only necessary) sauce absorbed into ingredients to give proper moisture and flavor to the shark fin.The stir-fried shark fin with Eggs was good, but their Vegetables You-mak Sauce Baht 200 was the star of the show.This is a common Northern provincial appetizer in China.The China House version (, instead of having sesame sauce pour onto a bed of greens,) having celery and veggies folded inside a crispy cucumber wrapper, one piece one bite, with the sesame peanut sauce ties it all together.It really gave my taste bud a lift.Now we believe simple is best!
Followed was soup for us.I had the Fish Maw Soup with Shark Cartilage Baht 450 while my friend took the Seafood Soup in Whole Pumpkin Baht 380.Both were seafood soup, both with prawn, and both boiled with Yunnan ham to enhance the taste.Using fruits and sweet vegetables as ingredients are pretty challenging in a kitchen, it is not easy to balance the sweet tastiness of the fruits/sweet veggie with spices and seasonings without the overpowering in one side.At China House, chefs did the balance well.Freshness and naturally sweet of seafood with a hint of sweet from the pumpkin went well under the help of some Yunnan ham to substitute seasonings and MSG, the soup tasted heavenly refreshing.Look simple but eventually lots of work, bravo China House!
To go with fragrant jasmine rice (served warm but not hot, China House shall look at details too!), we had the Pan-fried Xin-jin Style Lamb Chop in Cumin Baht 500, I like cumin a lot since it has a strong scent yield a magical therapy to my appetite.The lamb chop was tendered with the aroma of strong herbs made the dish another star of the night. The Deep-fried Bamboo Fish in Sweet and Sour Sauce Baht 900, the fish was moist but its skin too, we wish the skin could be a bit crispy and the fish bathed longer in the fry oil, with well balanced sweet and sour in good command of julep and wine seasoning earned the mark.The Amaranth with Minced Pork and Dried Fish Flake in Broth Bath 280, broth was good thus helping to lift the appreciation on amaranth a bit but dried fish flake certainly lacked some wok-burnt aroma.So-so!In between main dishes and desserts, we opted for an order of Yi-fu Noodles in Abalone Sauce Baht 280.E-fu (as yi-fu in China House) noodles are also a popular rice/noodle dish in Hong Kong, it should be wok-fried to a dry texture but at China House it was pretty moist. The noodles didn't live up to my expectations.
By now we were pretty full, but without some desserts wouldn't make our China House experience complete.My friend chose the Chilled Pomelo and Sago in Mango Cream Baht 220, and I took the Baked Rice Dumplings with Sesame Fillings Baht 200.The chilled pomelo and sago in mango cream is a popular dessert in Hong Kong, first introduced (if not invented) in the late 80's by Chef Wong of Lei Garden Restaurant (利苑酒家), soon spread to every eateries from prominent hotel restaurants to roadside tea stands, so you feel the allure of this dessert by now.At China House, the mango cream was a bit (too) sweet due to the natural sweetness of Thai mango but the little sour of pomelo solve the gap, and it could be better served chilled than just cold.For my baked rice dumplings with sesame fillings, a kind of dessert like heaven on earth, get my meaning?
The Cantonese feast with a bit of provincial gourmet added at China House was quite enjoyable thanks to the appointment of celebrity Chef Jereme Leung of the Whampoa Club as the China House consultant chef, who in turn brought in one of his brightest protégés Chef Kong Khai Meng to lead the restaurant culinary team.
After dinner there were options to immerse yourself through out the night at the restaurant's two-storey bar decorated in Macassar ebony with blinking lighting system for the bronze, or step into the Tea Apothecary for some Mariage Freres teas.Giving us more time to figure out what part of Shanghai in 1930's Neri and Hu Design would like to interpret!
Our Ratings (1 to 5 the higher the better): China House has [4.0] (Ratings are based on Food, Service and Ambiance, with Price taken into account in relation to Quality) Food =4, Service=4.5, Ambiance=3.5, Money Worth=4
Price range for two without drinks (incl. local water) in Thai Baht = BBBBB (B=below 200, BB=201-500, BBB=501-1,000, BBBB=1,001-2,000, BBBBB=over 2,000)
Best dishes: braised shark's fin soup, Bi-fong-tong style stir-fried crab (/mantis prawn) with spiced garlic and shallots, deep-fried bamboo fish in sweet and sour sauce, Yangzhou fried rice, bake rice dumplings Wine list: extensive selection of wine Best table: window side booth Details: Open daily - Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm, Dinner 7-10:30pm China House, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 48 Oriental Avenue (Charoenkrung Road Soi 40), Bangrak, Bangkok 10500; Tel.: 02-659 9000 http://www.mandarin-oriental.com/bangkok/dining/Restaurants/China_House/default.aspx
Sometimes I crave for roasted suckling pig (real week-old baby pig but not those small pigs presented in most Thai-Chinese eateries) and rare seafood, eating them may simply make my day.Good seafood restaurants accommodate chefs with decent culinary skill aren't being seen everywhere though Bangkok is the center of seafood trading in Thailand.Frustrated isn't it?
Nesting in the humdrum Bangkapi residential community, Ho Kitchen Meng-jai branch came to my rescue.
Occupying two rais of land with spacious parking, this two-storey club-house-look seafood restaurant with the Cantonese accent is easy to be mistaken as a fancy seafood joint without true enthusiasm in the feast if we neither try once nor hear of the restaurant's what-about.Behind Ho Kitchen is a celebrity chef Mr. Ho once mastered the China House @ the Oriental Hotel Bangkok and the same man who made the ShangPalace @ the Shangri-la Hotel Bangkok shone in the 90's before he ventures into his own restaurant business in the entrance to the 21st Century.In Bangkok, Chef Ho believes a feast after authentic and quality Cantonese dining shouldn't be the privilege of those rich tourists and the few well-off Bangkok elites.Thus in contrast to many celebrity chefs tend to open fancy and high-end individual restaurants, Chef Ho aims to the plebeian.With highest quality on an easy pricing in mind Chef Ho opened his first wallet-friendly Ho Kitchen around 10 years ago on Rama 3 Road, soon a second branch opened in Bangkok seaside Bang-khun-thian, and the latest Meng-jai branch is the sign showing to Thais how much he is devoting to the country's restaurant business he found in love with.
In Ho Kitchen Meng-jai branch, a chilled-water fish tank system is being introduced to the country.Imported live seafood enjoy the nursing in some very cold (some even icy) water fish tanks with adjusted temperature for those seafood came from the cooler water region, such as lobster, abalone and barramundi cod (pla-karang-naa-ngon) from Australia, geoduck clam from Canada, and king crab from Alaska.They swim in a similar environment (in term of water temperature) therefore result in the seafood live happier and the meat stay fresher with a firmer texture and a (naturally) sweeter taste.The handling costs increase, but the price doesn't.Instead it is slightly cheaper than those prominent seafood joints even without having such chilled-water fish tank system installed to keep seafood live longer and stronger.
Knowing to keep live seafood happier is one point but having patrons eating happier is even more important, now the responsibility of those Chef Ho trained chefs.To kick off the dinner we had Live Geoduck Clam (Baht 3,100) prepared in sashimi with a hot pot on the side.Need not to describe the geoduck clam was ultra fresh with a hints of crunchy texture thanks to the icy-water tank, the taste was so naturally sweet yield a full flavor of the clam without any help of seasoning.Bravo!The best live geoduck clam I have sampled in Thailand.I remember once I paid for a dish of overpriced stiff and frozen-tasted stir-fried geoduck clam in a Rajprasong area five-star hotel's outlet; therefore, some of those so called 5-star-hotel Chinese executive chefs may have better knowledge in golfing (if not mahjong playing) than cooking!
Our second dish, my favorite, the Roasted Suckling Pig Hong Kong style.Two dishes namely roasted suckling pig HK style and pigeon HK style are among my most wanted list on the dinner table.However, in Bangkok having a good HK style pigeon (you get one in Roselamoon) and roasted HK suckling pig are as difficult as you want some traditional pasta prepared with Abla white truffle flake!Lucky, suckling pig in Ho Kitchen was marinated and roasted the Hong Kong way without any mistake, crispy on skin with thin layer of aromatic meat attached.Critical notice - only her Meng-jai branch has good suckling pig, not the branch in Rama III Road (that one sucks as they deep-fried it).Why one restaurant group has two standards?Maybe Chef Ho has learned from China one country two standards, ooops, it is one country two systems indeed.
Followed was soup to do the cleansing. I had Bird Nest Soup with Minced Chicken (Baht 550) while my friends took the Braised Shark Fin Soup in Supreme Brown Broth (Baht 800) and Monk-Jump-Over-the-Wall (Baht 1,200). Except the monk-jump-over-the-wall, my bird nest soup and the braised fin soup were pleasant.
To go with some rice we ordered the Roasted Pigeon, Stir-fried US Scallop, Yum Sea Conch (boiled sea conch in Thai style spicy salad), and Stir-fried Pak-waan Vegetable (local watercress).They were acceptable though not outstanding.
For a Cantonese dinner we never missed out the fish.Although Ho Kitchen has a wide range of fish to offer from the five continents, but we still stuck to our favorite Steamed Coral Trout in Warm Soy Sauce (Baht 1,600).The fish was steamed to perfection, 90% done with the center of the fish (attached to the bone) left sightly in pink-red.Don't be scare!This is the way a well prepared steamed fish supposed to be.
Although we have heard that the Snowy Taro (puak hima) and Ginkgo Nuts in Roasted Coconut are outstanding desserts in Ho Kitchen but we had to save them for next visit as we were very full by now.
Authentic Cantonese cuisine tends to be on the bland side in tern of seasoning.Real gourmet relies on the freshness and the natural taste of the ingredients instead of the seasonings.Since Ho Kitchen tends to taking care mostly local customers with stronger palate, some Cantonese-cum-Thai dishes were added to the menu.For most dishes original taste couldn't be adjusted due to authentication, house-recipe dipping sauce on the helping hand. Chef Ho trained a team of hotsy-totsy chefs benefited from the state-of-the-art fish tank system, best to keep all seafood live healthier, did prepare us a feast of freshest tasting and quite delicious seafood dinner at Ho Kitchen Meng-jai branch.
If we want good food, then we always have to explore for it and for more. Like I went to a private kitchen hiding in a dilapidated wet market alley found out to be a stunning Thai-Chinese seafood specialty in China Town, the Jok Kitchen. Like I went to a superb Euro-Thai garden eatery in an old apartment where I need to overcome a fear factor to enter the rundown building and took the shabby lift before I found the paradise for both my soul and my palate, the Garden.
Today I have another mission, to take my friends to sample nostalgic Cantonese dishes with a real 60's Hong Kong tone in downtown Bangkok's Asok area. Before I dance with Roselamoon, a self-claimed Cantonese cuisine specialty, it took me a decade of waiting to sample her dishes where the restaurant is just opposite to my old office but I was hesitated to give it a try due to her dim and out-fashioned facade. I used to think Roselamoon maybe another Chinese eatery for the fat-pocket Japanese clientele (yes this area used to be the site of the Japanese Embassy and a major Japanese community in Bangkok) with inflated price but loose the authentication for a native Cantonese feast.
As twelve years go by, on one night I couldn't hold my curiosity longer to see why this die-hard restaurant can survive for decades in the even heavier competitive retail food market if she is no good! Took a deep breath I pushed the door only to stunt a few minutes with hesitation to move forward. In front of me a 60's look dining hall with almost empty tables (at 7pm!) covered with plastic table cloth in subtle flora pattern, the decoration is glittering (the 60's kind I mean) and look like a New Territories (part of Hong Kong) kind village restaurant in my childhood. On my left were two customers in one table, and to my right were a series of obsolete fish tanks only to accommodate lichen. No pain no gain! Go go go! Anyway it was still early, if the food was wrong then I could go cross the street for my favorite steak at Neil's Tavern.
The menu is as minimal as a single page laminated sheet, with around 50 items to offer. Browsed the whole menu the Roasted Pigeon Hong Kong Style caught my attention, as this is a simple dish but really hard to please gourmet. I am a pigeon eater. I like pigeon whether it is Chinese style or French style; and whether it is braised, drunken, or roasted. However, after sampled most prominent individual and hotel restaurants in Bangkok there is no one came close to those quality I used to eat in Hong Kong. Without high hope I still took the pigeon as my only attempt, if it was no good, then I could move to Neil's Tavern to continue my dinner; therefore, I even called to secure a table at 8.
The Roasted Pigeon Hong Kong Style arrived to the table, my eyes opened, hey she looked okay! At least from the appearance of the bird's color and the aroma from the pigeon I was convinced that the bird was deep-fried in a pool of fresh frying oil, not recycled oil that many restaurants do without any shame. I held the pigeon with my fingers to deliver the first piece for tasting, then I experienced the love at first bite! The skin was so crispy while the meat was moist and tender with a subtle seasoning not overpowered the natural flesh taste of the bird. Then the table at Neil's Tavern was canceled and more dishes were ordered at Roselamoon, and more revisit since that day!
Of course Roselamoon's menu isn't only about pigeon. The owner keeps the menu small to ensure offers in Roselamoon were all specialties. Tonight our appetizers were Roasted Pigeons Hong Kong Style (Baht 350 each), one for each person. In Hong Kong, there are a few pigeon specialty restaurants and we really take roasted pigeon as an appetizer. Followed were Stir-fried Iceberg Lettuce in Oyster Sauce, and Quick-boiled Hong Kong Kale in Oyster Sauce. They were ideal to clear some grease if we ate too much deep-fried food. The Stir-fried Curry Crab (Baht 780 for our crab/ Baht 1,000 per kilogram) was so marvelous in overall it yielded a well balanced taste from Indian curry and spices incorporated well with the crab meat itself, not overwhelming by the spicy taste from chilies as some famous seafood joints do. This is real Hong Kong style curry crab though it is not the Thai-Chinese kind. The Deep-fried Sand Goby with Soy Sauce (Baht 650 for our fish/ Baht 850 per kilogram) was one of the best selling dishes of the restaurant. Roselamoon refuses farmed sand goby in the result with better texture and taste, the natural way. Fried E-fu Noodles and Wok-fried Flat Noodles with Beef were the other Stars of the night alongside with the pigeon. To conclude the dinner we had Home-made Black Sesame Paste Desserts, home-made?
I was filled with nostalgia by dining at Roselamoon with my favorite childhood dishes namely the roasted pigeon, the curry crab HK taste, and the quick-boiled kale in oyster sauce, as well as the wok-fried flat noodles with beef. Not only these dishes were some of my childhood favorites but Roselamoon also cooked them the nostalgic way, those same culinary skill in the 60's - 70's of Hong Kong. For example, in the very old days boiled kale in oyster sauce should incorporate with fried lard to unlock the aromatic flavor of oyster sauce, nowadays due to healthy concern lard had been abandon in the kitchen. To bring back some good old days' memory once in a while by eating this kale in oyster sauce with lard at Roselamoon is acceptable. If you really don't want lard and MSG, tell the chef to avoid them.
I am delighted to narrow down Roselamoon as a roasted pigeon specialty in Bangkok rather than a broad Cantonese cuisine specialty though overall most dishes were delicious. Roselamoon also retraces my memory of those bestsellers juicy and tender roasted pigeons in Lung-wah Restaurant and Fung-lam Kitchen we enjoyed so much with my family in the 60's to 70's of Hong Kong.
Listen to mammy said not to judge by one's appearance (in this case a restaurant) may save myself twelve years of wasting of time until I sampled my favorite roasted pigeon in Bangkok. Be a good son/daughter then!
Roselamoon Chinese Restaurant ****1/4 165/5-6 Asok Road (Sukhumvit Soi 21) Sukhumvit Road Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel.: 02.258.3406
Open daily: Lunch 11am - 2pm; Dinner 6 - 10pm Pay (food for two): around THB 800 without seafood (or THB 1,500 with them)
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