Buono

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Gelato that bounces

Buono's gelato mochi maybe the first and the best of its kind in Bangkok though in recent years there are numerous of cover versions.



Buono Gelato Kiosk ***1/2
5/F Isetan Department Store
Central World Plaza, Rajprasong
Prathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Open daily : 10 am - 10 pm
Pay (gelato mochi for two): THB 100 (4 pieces)

fruit buffet @ Fruit Court

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
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Waist-watch companion

Fruit buffet at Fruit Court, Baiyoke Sky Hotel.

Buffet come with a healthy diet!

Fruit Court **3/4
Baiyoke Sky Hotel
18/F, 222 Rajprarop Road
Rajthevee, Bangkok 10400
Tel.: 02.656.3000

Open daily : 9 am - 9 pm
Pay (fruit buffet for two): THB 798++

Jok Rambuttri

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
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Jok memory

Few years ago when I still love the booze, Khao-san in the Old City is one area I hang out at night. After all the fun, a bowl of jok (a.k.a. congee) might conclude the night in peace.

A revisit to this two decades old roadside hawker, Jok Rambuttri, on Thai Mother's Day (August 12) having my good old days memory back in minutes.




Jok Rambuttri ***1/2
Soi Rambuttri (behind Khao-san Road)
Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200

Open daily (except Monday): 6 pm - 2 am
Pay (food only for two): around THB 100

Zaab Eli

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Playfully delicious

Zaab Eli means truly delicious in Thai Northeastern (Issan) dialect.


1. somtum Thai THB 79++; 2. sun-dried beef stripe THB 180++

3. grilled chicken THB 150++; 4. fresh vegetables

5. tum-zaap with collagen THB 120++ ; 6. my share of tum-zaap

Zaab Eli Issan Restaurant ***1/2
2/f Arena 10 Complex
225/11 Thonglo Soi 10
Sukhumvit Road Soi 55
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.392.2317

Open daily : 11 am - 12 midnight
Pay (food only for two): around THB 600

Ice Cream 555 Rachawong

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
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The impossibly possible

Hiding in a shabby sub soi (alley) attached to an old school Chinese restaurant, Ice Cream 555 Rachawong is the Kingdom oldest home-made ice cream maker.

Going back to a little history. Some years ago, a young immigrant from China started the original shop of Ice Cream 555 Rachawong alongside the river of Chaophraya at Rachawong (now near Pier Rachawong) once served a numerous of prestigious customers in that era, including King Chulalongkorn or King Rama V. The brilliant young man later transformed his small ice cream parlor into a full restaurant business of Tiew-chew and Cantonese cuisine, named after his name, Lieo Lieng Seng.



After more than a century, the third generation of the Lieo family concentrates on the restaurant business in a low profile manner. Kind of "for foodies only"! Nevertheless the Rachawong 555 ice cream had been preserved.

According to the owner, today Rachawong 555 ice cream do not taste like those in 1890 when first introduced to the Siam people. Their recipes had been adjusted to the taste with a modern twist and refined texture. But the fundamental is intact, as use only the best ingredients.



After tasting all of the flavors, I confirm they are of premium grade. (Okay give you a little idea, think of Haagen-Dazs, but freshly home-made without timely transportation!) Especially the coconut and durian flavor, a to-die-for kind if one loves these two tropical fruits. The chocolate is also flavorful and rich, while the coffee is aromatic and strong. Only the vanilla, not to my liking.



Ice Cream 555 Rachawong ****
at Lieo Lieng Seng CN Restaurant
802-804 Rama IV Road
Samyan, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.234.5791

Open daily : lunch 11 am - 2:30 pm, dinner 5:30 - 11 pm
Pay : THB 50/60 per scoop

iberry

243
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Ice cream with berries

iberry is the pioneer of local ice cream cafe chain that makes icy creamy desserts to premium standard. From classic flavor such as vanilla and chocolate to tropical Thai fruits flavor such as tamarind and rambutan, iberry has a collection of 100 flavors to serve (in rotation) in her cafes. To offer dessert seekers more variety and stay in competition actively, iberry also serves cakes and desserts. However, with rapid expansion in recent years, quality of ice cream and service do not stay.



iberry Honey Toast THB 169, the cover-version of After You's Shibuya toast
this one, outside burnt with bitter taste, inside is insipid, lack of flavor and texture, toast quality like those taan-lao (foreign labor) could buy from a roadside market for 5 baht; wondering why such an established ice cream chain has to be a copy-cat and doing worse as a result ..


iberry Cafe **3/4

iberry @ La Villa
356 Phaholyothin Road
Phayathai, Bangkok 10300
Tel.: 02.613.0544
Open daily : 11 am - 10 pm
iberry La Villa

iberry @ Siam Square
Siam Square Soi 2
Rama 1 Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.658.3829
Open daily : 11 am - 9 pm
iberry Siam Square

Pay (desserts only for two): around THB 300

After You

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Toast that tosses

After You is a desserts power house in Bangkok. First debut in 2005 in Thonglo, our chic and high-so lifestyle neighborhood. Its trend setting dessert Shibuya toast (which doesn't find in Tokyo) is now being duplicated widely in Bangkok.

Ooops not just Shibuya toast I can order. After You also serves fabulous cakes and drinks.


1.hot apple cider THB 85, best companion to the Shibuya toast
2. honey syrup for the Shibuya toast

3. Bangkok original Shibuya toast serves with vanilla ice cream THB 165 by After You
4. full aroma of buttery toast, sightly crispy outside while silky inside, just mouthwatering!

After You Dessert Cafe ***3/4
J-Avenue branch
Thonglo Soi 13
Sukhumvit Road Soi 55
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.712.9266

La Villa branch, 2/F
356 Phaholyothin Road
Phayathai, Bangkok 10300
Tel.: 02.613.0597

Open daily : 11 am - 10 pm
Pay (desserts only for two): around THB 300

* (update on 2011-10-20: After You opened at the Siam Paragon)

Hong Kong House

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魚 翅 撈 飯

Not just decent home cooking Thai cuisine is hard to find in Bangkok's C.B.D., so does Chinese Cantonese cuisine! Good Cantonese feast seems only available in 5-star hotels?

Hong Kong Kitchen on Surawong Road is the rescue to the dilemma. This bistro of Chinese Cantonese accent is a mix of modern ambiance and old school dai-pai-dong* flavor. There serves no 5 stars gourmet, but food taste nostalgic and authentic. Take the shark fins soup for instance, it tastes like those I ate in a wedding banquet in my baby days at Ocean Palace or the City Hall in Hong Kong; while the wok-fried jumbo prawn with ginger and scallion just tastes like those dai-pai-dong one. Also the pipar tofu (mash tofu, chopped shrimp and ground pork in paste, deep fried) is a classic dish hardly found in Bangkok.



Hong Kong House ***
84-86 Surawong Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.637.1367

Open daily : lunch 11 am - 10 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 700



* dai-pai-dong or roadside restaurant is an unique culinary culture in Hong Kong, a collective memory for the Hong Kong people, due to hygiene and political reasons, HKSAR Government ceases issuing new license for dai-pai-dong since 2005.

Suntawa

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Gems in an epicure slum

I always complain that Bangkok C.B.D. (Silom and Sathorn) doesn't not have a sufficient of non-tourist-oriented or non-commercial (Thai) home cooking venue in sight; indeed it is a mercy for anyone to find an "eatable" Thai restaurant in the area.

To crave for a real feast, we need to drive to the old city or off the C.B.D., time consuming when traffic is bad (and it is always bad).

Except Suntawa, one of a very few gems in the epicure slum - Silom!


1. grandma recipe yum hua-plee (spicy banana blossom salad)
2. authentic home-style goong chae nam pla (raw shrimp in bird-eyes chilies and fish sauce)

3. aromatic moo yang Issan (grilled pork with selective fresh vegatables)
4. pungent hot gaeng baa nuea (villagers' jungle curry with beef)

5. Suntawa pla kapong nung manao (steamed sea bass on broth with chilies and lime)
6. freshy phad pak dtum-lung (stir-fried ivy gourd stems and leaves)

Suntawa Thai Restaurant ****
Silom Soi 3 (Soi Pipat)
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.233.0940

Open daily : 11 am - 9pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 600