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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Sra Bua


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Deconstruction cuisine

In Thailand, there is never a problem to enjoy a meal of good Thai cuisine (of course); they are just around any corner, at a decade-old pochana (small local restaurant), or in a Thai household. But when the cuisine comes to luxurious banquet versions it is rather sad; most five-star hotel's versions of Thai cuisine are quite disappointing; the food is pale and bland without bright ambition or effort. I feel they are just repacking mediocre food, serving them on porcelain tableware in the comfort of exquisite ambiance and impeccable service. So boring!

Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin, the Bangkok branch of the Copenhagen based Kiin Kiin Thai Restaurant, wearing one-star Michelin recognition, opened almost two years ago in the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok and has added spice to the local gastronomy scene. Sra Bua offers molecular gastronomy Thai dishes, the first in the Kingdom; so grandma's recipe gaeng bark (firey hot jungle curry), a backpacker's love phad Thai (stir-fried sen-chan noodle) and a tourist's favorite chicken pieces wrapped in pandan leaf may not appear on the menu; even if they do, they may appear in another costume, like the very common red curry there is presented in a form of iced cream, served with frozen fog.

My friend took me to Sra Bua for lunch, to see if our taste-buds appreciated the first Thai molecular gastronomy cuisine. There are likes and dis-likes for Sra Bua's modern Thai cuisine, using cutting-edge culinary technique and molecular gastronomy, and I enjoyed the meal so much, as long as I opened my mind, and treated that as haute cuisine with a Thai twist.








Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin ***
Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok
991/9 Rama I Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.162.9000
Sra Bua

Open daily : lunch 12 am - 3 pm, dinner 6 - 11 pm
Pay : lunch set THB 1,500++, dinner set THB 2,400++




Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Sai Nam Phueng Chicken Wings Noodle


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Fascinated wings

All that is necessary for a bowl of noodle soup to stay on the right track is on the broth, real pork bone or chicken bone (or both) simmered broth, without the use of MSG. Sai Nam Phueng Noodle Shop on Sukhumvit belt, a small eatery renowned for her noodle soup, topped with braised chicken wings, has the broth marvelously done. Toppings like fish balls, tofu balls and (of course) braised chicken wings were made from fine ingredients, and made my bowl of noodle shine.





Kuay Tiew Peek Gai Sai Nam Phueng ****1/2
392/20 Sukhumvit Soi 20
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.258.1958

Open daily : 9 am - 3 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 100



Saturday, September 24, 2011

Shun No Mai


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Fail to dance

When I was a little child, sometimes I would sneak into the kitchen to cook my favorite dish - deep-fried chicken pieces. They were actually leftovers (steamed chicken) prepared from the previous meal; I took them out from the fridge, rubbed and marinated the chicken pieces with soy sauce, deep-fried them in the sea of running oil; seasoned them (yes again, so you know how awful they tasted!) with additional soy sauce and salt; when done, I poured some seasoning agent on them, so my master piece was a dish of salty meats; the only taste my taste buds could detect was - salt. I ate them while watching my favorite TV program, Sesame Street. Later when my taste buds gained strength, I realized that it was a little crime in culinary means.

Shun No Mai, a Japanese show kitchen style buffet restaurant, bravely opened in Thonglor few months ago, reminds me of that mischief I did in my early childhood.

At THB 680++ per person (all-you-can-eat) it is not difficult to please diners even if Shun No Mai just serves mediocre food; the inexpensive price tag helps her to gain back some credit; however, its raw fish, or sashimi, quality is worse than those you can get for fifteen baht at Klongsan, and cooked food used low grade ingredients; meats are pale and tasteless. The only taste was from the heavy-weight seasoning sauce.

My friend, who was also in the table, proved that the sashimi was lacking freshness with a result that he suffered a food-poisoning kind of diarrhea that night. I was okay since I didn't touch those raw stuff.

Shun No Mai, literally dance of the season, did not have the food dance, but had our colon dance!



Shun No Mai Japanese Buffet Restaurant **1/4
Floor G Opus Tower
139 Thonglor Soi 10
Soi 55 Sukhumvit Road
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.714.7589

Open daily : lunch 11 am - 2 pm (set lunch),
dinner 5 - 10 pm (buffet and a la carte)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 1,350

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The World


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Buffet from five Continents

My friends were upset by the (low quality) breakfast offer at Oasis, Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya, while they stayed there, in a result that the morning had been spoiled. Centara hotels have a hand in consistency of food and beverage (low) quality, the buffet dinner at the World, Bangkok's Centara Grand at Central World, does not rescue its poor reputation.

The variety of buffet line up is large, but all of them, mediocre. When I avoid its tired sashimi, stale oysters, and Wednesday's chewy wagyu roast (from where? probably China!), the meal concluded happier.



dinner buffet **3/4
The World
Centara Grand at Central World
999/99 Rama I Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.100.1234
The World

Open daily : 24 hours (dinner buffet 6 - 10 pm)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 3,300



Sunday, September 18, 2011

Baan Boran


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Dressed in red

I am not a fan of that bloody color yentafu noodle (noodle in fermented bean curd sauce), but every time when I passed by Baan Boran on Ladprao Soi 1, its yentafu noodle is irresistible to pass. Simply it is delicious!





Baan Boran Noodle House ****
Ladprao Soi 1
Chajuchak, Bangkok 10900

Open daily : 8 am - 9 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 100

Friday, September 16, 2011

Napa


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Charm, on Silom

Napa is a charming two-story house restaurant on Naradhiwas Road in between Surawong and Silom Road, with both al fresco and air-conditioning dining area. Just like its neighbor Take a Seat, Napa also offers tourist-palate-friendly Thai cuisine. Napa even claimed itself a Thai-fusion restaurant. I found, its Thai dishes are quite authentic in taste that may please both local and foreign diners.





Napa Restaurant and Bar ***1/4
6 Naradhiwas-najanagarindra Road
Suriyawong, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.234.8671

Open daily : 5 pm - 11 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 600



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Mongkol Wattana


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Chicken of disappointment!

Some restaurants soak in the glory of their past; overtime they are proud of the hall of fame status instead of the food that (actually) brought the glory to them. Mongkol Wattana Pochana in Saphan Kwai area, with their khao-mum-gai (Hainanese chicken and rice immersed in chicken fat) specialty, is one of them.

A revisit to this once famed Thai-style Hainanese chicken rice eatery two weeks ago, revealed the long queue is still there, the chicken fat immersed rice is still fragrant and flavorful (but not salty), but the chicken itself didn't live up to expectations. The chicken was seriously overcooked, and the flesh was bland with a hint that the shop use a low grade chicken as the ingredient. Quite disappointing!





Mongkol Wattana Pochana ***
670/6 Phaholyothin Road
Phayathai, Bangkok 10400
Tel.: 02.270.1107

Open daily : 9 am - 8 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 200