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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Kokhun Ponyangkham BBQ


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BBQ bite crossover

The consume of quality local beef (don't yuck, Thailand has decent beef); not only do we save money from trans-ocean transportation cost and high excise tax for those imported cuts, but we may also help the world to reduce carbon emission. The most tender local beef, reua kokhun ponyangkham, is the original Thai-French bred cattle, first raised in Moo Baan Ponyangkham Village of Sakon Nakhon province, is best known for its tenderness of texture and flavorful taste of the red meat.

Thais are not keen on eating meat in a big chunk (e.g. steak); the common scene where I see locals eating beef are in suki (Thai-Chinese hot pot) restaurants or in jim-joom (Issan hot pot) joints; that's especially for the Issan (northeastern provinces) villagers; slices of beef are the essential ingredients for a pot of a fiery jim-joom feast, and of course the best choice is laid on the kokhun ponyangkham Thai-French beef.





In Bangkok, though there is a handful of jim-joom and barbecue specialty eateries which serve kokhun ponyangkham beef from Sakon Nakhon; the original vendor shall be honored to be Khunthong, whose his father was the one who brought up this Thai-French breed of cattle, at Ponyangkham Village, Sakon Nakhon; that is where the name kokhun ponyangkham beef came from. Today Khunthong's family is the key Thai-French beef supplier to local supermarkets and individuals through its Thai-French specialty butchery; Khunthong himself runs jim-joom and barbecue restaurants under the brand Kokhun Khunthong Ponyangkham Restaurant (nine of them now). There they serve kokhun ponyangkham beef with choices, barbecue or jim-joom, and a wide range of Issan 'must-have' delicacies, such as somtum (spicy shredded raw papaya pok-pok salad) and gai yang (grilled chicken).





Kokhun Khunthong Ponyangkham Restaurant ***
Huaykwang branch:
Ratchada Soi 4
Ratchadapisek Road
Huaykwang, Bangkok 10310
Tel.: 085.056.7330
Kokhun


Open daily : 5 - 11 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 500




Friday, February 24, 2012

Tadaima


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Daiso dining at home

A return student from Japan opened a Daiso-model (flat price merchandise in store) isakaya cum eatery, Tadaima, a few months ago in the hip Thonglo lifestyle hub. It offers Japanese izakaya cuisine with an authentic touch but may also please the Thai palate, at an eighty-eight Thai baht each (small portion) dish.



Tadaima Real Japanese Restaurant & Izakaya ***
LG/F Eight Thonglor
88/14 Sukhumvit 55 Road
(Thonglo Soi 8)

Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.714.9883

Open daily : lunch 11 am - 3 pm, dinner 5 - 11 pm (Sat & Sun 11 am - 11 pm)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 900




Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Malai Coffee House


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Evergreen 'night owl' cuisine

I have reviewed Malai's scrumptious Thai-Chinese khao-tom set that surprisingly has been offered in an aging downtown hotel - the Malaysia Hotel. Despite its shabby interior, the hotel's attached coffee shop offers true twenty-four hour service and a full menu (not a 'light' menu from 10 pm to dawn likes most hotels' so-called 24-hour dining) that may comfort my stomach anytime around the clock, especially after midnight while choices of eateries are thin; it is convenient for those who lodge in the Sathorn vicinity would like to eat real food other than microwave meals from the 7-Eleven, though gourmet is not a realistic quest at Malai Coffee House.






Malai Coffee House ***
The Malaysia Hotel
54 Soi Ngamduplee
off Rama IV Road
Sathorn, Bangkok 10120
Tel.: 02.679.7127

Open daily 24 hours
Pay (food only for two): around THB 600



Sunday, February 19, 2012

Mae Sri Ruen


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Chicken noodle landed in the Paradise

Fifty years ago Mae Sri Ruen stared from selling chicken noodle in Pattaya and has now expanded to a chain eatery with nearly twenty branches in Bangkok and Pattaya; with her renowned chicken noodles (either soup or stir-fried style) still being the star of the shop. Last week I went to the Paradise Park and spotted that there is a Mae Sri Ruen outlet, so I settled my early dinner with her chicken noodle.


sa-te barbecued pork skewer, THB 96
fresh spring roll a la Mae Sri Ruen with crab's claw meat, THB 85


stir-fried flat rice noodle with eggs and chicken (guay-tiew kua gai), THB 60

half-century famous chicken noodle a la Mae Sri Ruen, THB 37

sizzling small oysters dipped in batter on hot plate (hoy tord), THB 175
(this hoy-tord is a surprise, very fresh oysters, nice blend of batter)

roasted chicken a la Mae Sri Ruen, half, THB 140

Mae Sri Ruen Restaurant ***1/4
Paradise Park branch
3/F the Paradise Park

61 Srinakarin Road
Prawet, Bangkok 10250
Tel.: 02.931.9443
Mae Sri Ruen


Open daily : 10 am - 9 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 500




Thursday, February 16, 2012

Snapper


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Bye the fish and cheap

Bangkok has too many fish and cheap (chip) eateries but almost all of them treat their customers with either greasy chips and fish, fishy, unapproved sauce, or overpriced, and some luxurious hotel restaurants even serve fish and chips with rather inexpensive dory fish but cast an expensive price tag (guys, dory sold less than two hundred Thai baht per kilogram at Marko) on it.

I am a fish and chips eater, I have been long waited for a proper chippie in Bangkok, one like Rock and Sole Plaice or Golden Chippy in London; but not those that serve in a pub while the beer is the show, which is very popular in Bangkok.

The recent opening of Snapper, a seafood eatery with mostly New Zealand catches to offer, let me finally see the light (to eat good fish and chips here); this Kiwi seafood eatery serves gorgeous, lightly battered, non-greasy, ocean fresh fish and chips, with six choices of fish (all) from New Zealand. Snapper also has a brief seafood menu on service, eventually it is a seafood restaurant with wild-caught catches from the New Zealand waters to offer, but her fish and chips just steal the spotlight on her. Snapper, arguably the best chippie in Bangkok, is also the only New Zealand restaurant present here.

Their service, enthusiastic, prompt and kind.


NZ thick cut home-style chips, THB 120+; NZ red gurnard, THB 180+

NZ lemon sole, THB 220+; NZ Southern hake, THB 180+

a scrumptious fish and chips feast at Snapper New Zealand Restaurant

chunky seafood patties, THB 260+, slow cooked, w/ tangy mango salsa

jalapeno tiger prawns, THB 280+, sauteed in NZ butter with onion,
garlic, capsicum, lime and jalapenos, served with toasted ciabatta


pan-fried NZ lemon sole, THB 300+; marinated mixed olives, THB 110+

spiced fish salad, THB 240+; NZ style seafood chowder, THB 240+

Snapper New Zealand Restaurant ****1/2
1/22 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.651.1098

Open daily : 6 am - midnight (except Sat & Sun, opens at 11 am)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 700