Yoshinoya

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World-class Beef Bowl

The hundred and twelve year-old Yoshinoya, which is renowned for its Beef Bowl one-dish meal (cooked sliced beef on rice) with over a thousand and six hundred branches in Japan, North America and Asian countries, finally relaunched in Bangkok after it had been absent for a decade.

Yoshinoya maybe a newbie to Thailand (even though it had once opened in Bangkok, unsuccessfully); but it has a close tie to the United States. Since 1973, the main ingredient of its renowned Beef Bowl - beef, is sourced from the States. And just like most famous Japanese fast food chains, Yoshinoya also set foot in the US market for almost four decades already. Fans of Yoshinoya may not be aware that the Japanese 'beef bowl specialty restaurant' even has its own college in Los Angeles - the Yoshinoya College, the group's international training center.

Back to Thailand, having waited for a long time, the Yoshinoya has (finally) made its come-back to Bangkok. Though I eat at Yoshinoya quite often (whether it is in Los Angeles, Hong kong, and now in Bangkok) I almost treat her as my breakfast canteen; but, honestly said, its Beef Bowl is not gourmet but it is one of my comfort foods.



Yoshinoya Restaurant 吉野家 ***
4/F The Terminal 21
288 Sukhumvit Road
(corner Sukhumvit Soi 19)
North Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.108.0770
* also at Central Plaza Ladprao, Central Plaza Grand Rama 9, and Central World Plaza

Open daily : 10:30 am - 10 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 400

Madam T.

446
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A meal with the madame butterfly

Tucked in the maze-like Sukhumvit Soi 23 (Soi Prasanmit), there comes the Madam T. for Vietnamese cuisine; it is an alternative choice to the over populated bar and massage business in Asok's Soi Prasanmit.

Food wise, they are authentic and taste-bud friendly. Bun (a non-soup vermicelli dish, usually served cold, topped with chopped scallions, onion, chives and meat), which is a popular and a genuine Vietnamese one-dish meal that is hard to find in Bangkok, is surprisingly available at Madam T., and it tastes good.








Madam T. Vietnamese Cuisine ***1/2
128/46 Sukhumvit Soi 23
off Sukhumvit Road
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.259.1127

Open daily : lunch 11 am - 2:30 pm, dinner 5:30 - 10 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 700

Khun Ying

445
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Noble lobsters snobbish crabs

On Bangkok's bustling Ekamai Road, there is the decades old Khun Ying, serving seafood to the high-so(ciety) aunties and their families as well as the well paid expats. There are humors commenting that their service is sluggish and snobbish, but I found that it is attentive and enthusiastic, attached with their Siam smile throughout my dinner. Khun Ying's seafood is undoubtedly fresh and of good quality, thus they deserved us to dig into our pocket a bit deeper to summon for that.


spicy century-year eggs salad, THB 120+; squid in spicy lime juice, THB 120+

steamed curried souffle with seafood in whole coconut, THB 320+

steamed sea bass in spicy lime and Thai herb broth, THB 450+

ripe mango, sticky rice with kati sweet coconut cream, THB 120+
stir-fried bitter gourd stem and leaves, THB 120+

Khun Ying Seafood Restaurant ***1/2
55 Sukhumvit 63 Road (Soi Ekamai)
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.391.5769

Open daily : 11 am - 11 pm
Pay (food only for two, all seafood dining): around THB 1,800

yumcha @ Summer Palace

444.

Dimsum for the Last Emperor

Summer Palace is a long standing Chinese restaurant serving a traditional Cantonese specialty menu in Bangkok. Just like any hotel's Chinese restaurant, Summer Palace also serves dimsum during lunch time (it is called yumcha in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, where Cantonese yumcha culture has its roots there).

Yumcha, or drinking tea eating dimsum (bite-sized food in small portions, usually served in a small bamboo streamer basket or on a small plate); at Summer Palace, of the Intercontinental Hotel Bangkok, it is set in an ambiance of opulence, with the choices of a la carte and all-you-can-eat. The dimsum dishes, enjoyable but not outstanding; and service is pleasant but not impeccable!

Cantonese yum-cha lunch ***

at Summer Palace Chinese Restaurant 夏宮金殿

InterContinental Hotel Bangkok

973 Ploenchit Road

Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Tel.: 02.656.04444

Summer Palace

Open daily : lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, dinner 6:30 - 10:30 pm

Pay (yum-cha lunch for two): around THB 1,500

weekdays all-you-can-eat dimsum offer THB 638++ per person

See Fah

443
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Blue sky in a storm

See Fah is a family restaurant, serving a traditional Thai and Thai-Chinese menu since 1936. It is one of the (very) first Thai restaurants with a Chinese twist in Bangkok. I have not visited See Fah for a decade, due to the far-from-satisfactory experience from my last few visits (they were in the early millennium period).

Recently See Fah has completed their shop renovations, and rolled out a roasted duck specialty menu. It is time for me to revisit this once famed pioneer-kind of restaurant, that fed many of our grandparents in their old days.

I still stuck to their over half-century famous goy-si-mee (fried egg noodle in brown gravy with shredded chicken and bamboo shoots), and baked rice in an earthy pot. For Thai selections, such as yum (spicy Thai salad) and tom (spicy soup), they are pungent and flavorful. Though they are not the best in town, certainly their good quality can easily top all mall food standards.

During (2012) summer, See Fah offers a seafood promotion, such as pla kapong (local sea bass) any-kind-cook-to-order; I sampled the pla kapong sam-ros (sea bass in three-taste hot sauce); the fish was fresh and the flesh was sweet, sauce was pungent and aromatic, and at less than THB 300 per fish, it is a good value for mall diners. Service at See Fah's Central World Plaza branch is smart and prompt, a big step forward.


1. spicy salad with three crispy ingredients (yum sam krob)
use of quality ingredients, nicely yum & tossed, yield a good taste!

2. deep-fried sea bass in hot, sour and sweet sauce (pla kapong sam ros)
3. stir-fried local kale in oyster sauce (phad kana nam-mun-hoy)

4. fried rice in shrimp paste with toppings (khao kluk kapi)
though not the best in Thailand, arguably best mall food khao-kluk-kapi in town

5. fried egg noodle in brown gravy with shredded chicken (goy si mee)
6. deep-fried stuffed chicken wings (peek gai yud sai)

7. baked rice in an earthy pot, with various toppings (khao ob mor-din)
compare See Fah's baked rice with that pale & weak baked rice at Lee Cafe (posted
previously), this one is not only appealing to eat but also it is quite delicious!

Sea Fah Restaurant ***
6/F Central World Plaza
(Beacon Zone, close to Isetan)
4 Rajdamri Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.255.6369
See Fah

Open daily : 10 am - 10 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 600

Okashi by Poonni

442
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Sweet cravings

Okashi by Poonni is run by a local patissier who bakes cakes with a French-Japanese touch. The owner guarantees that at Okashi they only use fresh and quality ingredients, and their cakes are light in sugar, not causing our teeth to have cavities. I found that their cakes are mild in sweetness and have a fairly nice texture and taste.

When they mentioned that their cakes are of French-Japanese style, it seems that the price is also of quite a 'French-Japanese' standard.



Okashi by Poonni Patissier ***
Navamin Festival Walk
299 Prasertmanukit Road (Kaset-Navamin Road)
Ladprao, Bangkok 10230
Tel.: 02.676.4395

Open daily : 10:30 am - 9 pm
Pay (desserts only for two): around THB 400

(Okashi branches are also available at City Viva, a lost and quiet community mall on Narathiwas-rajanakarin Road in C.B.D.; and at the very busy new shopping center - the Central Plaza Grand Rama 9)

Kuroda

441
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Export vs. import

While almost every top Japanese restaurant in Bangkok claims that they import all main ingredients from around the world (beware: that means including China), Kuroda tells you that they sourced them locally; its long-time famous char-grilled, free-range, chickens are raised in its own farm, in Korat province, to serve at their five branches in Thailand, and to export to Japan.

Once in a while I eat at Kuroda, mainly with a craving for her famous self-raised free-range chicken; it is true that her poultry dishes are far better than the sashimi and sushi dishes. In order to stay strong in severe competition, Kuroda also offers an all-u-can-eat menu which is at a good value, not the best, but definitely a gift for big eaters who are fans of Japanese food.



Kuroda Japanese Restaurant 黑田 ***
Ekamai branch:
5 Sukhumvit Soi 63 (Soi Ekamai)
Sukhumvit Road
Wattana, bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.392.4933

Open daily : 11 am - 11 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 800
* all-u-can-eat dinner THB 450 net per person