Calderazzo Bistro

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
.

Hearty Italian fare in Bangkok

OMG I could never imagine that I will eat at an Italian restaurant that doesn't have its attached kitchen (but separately built miles away in another building), or the chef from the kitchen greets his customers with his jeans and cowboy shirts (but not proper chef attire) on, or plays middle-eastern music (but not jazz nor Italian easy listening) in the dining room , or serves local lettuce (but not Roman lettuce) in my Caesar salad.

The friendly and no-frills chef happened to cook our (every) orders right and has his good hand on sauce; and I am happened to loving this place, with hearty fare and casual ambiance to spend an easy evening with good friends. Sooooooo good!

If Calderazzo Bistro is too "mini" for you, or you expect a bit more sophisticated dining experience; her elder sister Calderazzo Ristorante Italiano is just 50 meters away (towards Chidlom).


seafood salad THB 260++ (fresh salad, real prawn, not frozen one, good dressing)
Caesar salad THB 250++ (funny, chef had local lettuce to replace Roman lettuce)

parma ham pizza THB 350++ (Roman style, medium-grade parma ham, good value)

ministrone THB 180++ (lots of veggie, mild seasoning, it is real soup, not msg water)
lobster bisque THB 250++ (forget to sample, i think it is good as my friend enjoys it)

seafood pizza THB 290++ (nice crust, fresh seafood, cutter fish not chewy)

ravioli spinach THB 340++ (nice ravioli, tasty sauce, good one, very filling)
risotto mushroom THB 350++ (taste good, risotto overcooked, chef likes Jap rice?)

panacotta THB 190++ (texture rich, sweet mild, pretty good)

Jamaica rum chocolate ice cream THB 90++ (although not home-made, but good one)
chocolate foundant THB 230++ (better than frozen one from supermarket!)

Calderazzo Bistro ***1/4
Mayfair Bangkok Marriott Executive Apartments
60 Soi Langsuan
off Ploenchit Road
Lumpini, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02. 672.1230

Open daily : 11 am - midnight
Pay (food only for two): around THB 1,400

Wine Connection Deli & Bistro

287
.

New Year wine and dine

Buy our wine in the Wine Connection's wine shop and dine in is the concept at Wine Connection Deli & Bistro. Food is quite good though not outstanding, but ambiance and atmosphere are very cheerful. And, the price is absolutely right. An ideal place for friends gathering and small group partying. Like what I did last night.

Oops and this is the place where we can have a sip with our breakfast that doesn't cost $1,000 in Ritz-Carlton New York.



Wine Connection Deli & Bistro ***
K-Village #A-116, G/F Building A
93 Sukhumvit Soi 26
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.661.3942
WCDB at K-Village

Open daily : 7:30 am - 1 am
Pay (food only for two): around THB 1,500




* (update on 2012-03-10: another branch of Wine Connection Deli & Bistro opened at Rain Hill Sukhumvit Soi 47)

Petra

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
.

Fragrant vs. fragrance

Very unusual! Today I went to Sukhumvit's Soi Arab twice. During the afternoon I was there to meet my tour driver to hand him a map of a Hua-hin resort. At night, I went there (again) to eat.


Lebanese salad; mutton masala

Yemenese mutton soup, grilled lamb

hummus, eggplant mousse, and nan bread

pickled vegetables with dips; barbecue chicken

nan bread; biryani chicken

Petra Restaurant ***
75/4 Sukhumvit Soi 3/1
Nana Nua, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.254.9226

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

Kitchen Paradiso

238
.

Yes, we can! (Really?)

Some restaurants need not to pursue a culinary excellency to survive in the game, if they have unlimited fresh fund from the holding companies or from their families and armed with massive pr works. Unfortunately such scenario is overflowed in Bangkok's restaurant business.

Obama's presidency campaign might have borrowed an idea from those Bangkok's high-so restaurateurs - "Yes, we can"! There is a trend that local high-so second and third generations like to open their experiment restaurants to see if "they can" or not!

Kitchen Paradiso, owned by a quality spa products supplier and exporter also one of my favorite aroma massage oil brands, rolled out her debut in the Erawan Plaza Bangkok many years ago. The first time I visited there was 4 years ago, that was my only attempt on her food.

Last year Kitchen Paradiso moved to Siam Paragon. The location is so much better when compares to her old shop. Well-off students and lost tourists may settle at Kitchen Paradiso while the opposite Starbucks is full. Like I encountered few days ago, unfortunately!


duck leg confit failed to reach the mark! i didn't feel like sample confit that were carefully prepared in timely process the Gascony way! this one is bland, no layer of flavor, and lack of texture, i wonder if the chef deep-fried it before serving to yield crispy touch instead of slowly poached in oven then stored the leg in her fat .. strange some reviews claim that Kitchen Paradiso a duck specialty restaurant (thanks to paid pr works!) but my found is far from authentic.

Kitchen Paradiso **
3/F the Siam Paragon
991/1 Rama I Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.610.9709
Kitchen Paradiso

Open daily : 10:30 am - 9:30 pm
Pay (food only for two): expect THB 3,000

Reflexions

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
.

French into Pan Asia affairs

I confess. I almost forget a review on one of Bangkok best wine and dine venues, Reflexions. There we expect innovative French cuisine with intense flavors and the use of finest seasonal produce from talented young chef de cuisine Thibault Chiumenti.

The French moderne Reflexions is an exquisite combination of nouvelle cuisine and traditional French fare, with unusual fun on-the-wall and transcontinental vibes as the addition. I enjoyed my evening there with delectable cuisine in a romantic ambiance and incomparably attentive service.

If one feels that French cuisine is insipid in Bangkok, prepare to have ones taste-buds evolve at Reflexions.


1. amuse bouche; 2. sea urchin cream soup with poached oyster and truffle

3. degustation de hors d'oeuvre - sea bass carpaccio, duck raviole, foie gras terrine, roasted frog leg, and sea urchin cream with poached oyster

4.complimentary tequila vodka sorbet on ice

5. roasted pigeon breast and leg in duck liver pastilla, and black truffle
6. grilled Andaman tiger prawn, Sardinian couscous, fava beans and lobster sauce

7. freshly baked French bread variety; 8. desserts sampler

Reflexions ***1/2
Plaza Athenee Hotel Bangkok
(a Royal Meridien hotel)
10 Wireless Road
Lumpini, Bangkok
Tel.: 02.650.8800
Reflexions

Open Tuesday - Saturday : 6 pm - 11 pm
Pay (food only for two): expect THB 6,000



-
The passion of contemporary French cuisine is limitless; my food is a culinary journey to discover. Thibault Chiumenti

il cielo

225
.

A taste of Tuscany in Bangkok

I did review many of Dusit Thani outstanding outlets such as Benjarong (royal Thai cuisine), Hamliton's (steakhouse), and D'Sens (French), so it is time for its Italian restaurant, il cielo.


classic minestrone THB 330++
(assorted root vegetables and tomatos with pasta and basil)
porcini cream soup THB 350++
(with fresh ricotta cheese and a drizzle of hazelnut oil)

appetizer tasting platter THB 970++
from left to reght, they are (beef carpaccio with arugula, lettuce, porcini mushroom and cubes of duck liver; Param ham with sweet honeydew melon and figs; tuna tartar with artichoke, olives, sun-dried tomatos and Trout caviar; marinated goat cheese with garlic, chili and olives; garlic bruschetta with mozzarella cheese, anchovies and black truffle; pan-fried duck liver with crispy Coppa ham; pancetta and sage wrapped prawns with lemon dressing; deep-fried calamari with tomato and lemon)

al granchi THB 510++
(tomato, mozzarella, crabmeat, caper berry, black olive, Trout caviar)

al pomodoro THB 390++ (tomato sauce, basil and olive oil)
pan-roasted corn feed spring chicken THB 620++
(braised in white wine and tomato with black olive, capers, thyme and baby spinach)

braised wagyu beef rib in Borolo wine THB 880++
(with small risotto, mushroom emulsion and rosemary jus)
marinated and pan-roasted snow fish fillet THB 790++
(served on root celery mousse, red pepper coulis, Italian basil and selected vegetables)

tiramisu THB 350++
(Italian mascarpone cheese cake flavoured with coffee and Kahlua)
panna cotta THB 290++
(cream and vanilla pudding served with raspberry sauce crunchy almond pastry)

il cielo Italian Restaurant ***1/2
Dusit Thani Hotel Bangkok
946 Rama IV Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.200.9000 ext. 2299

il cielo, were the appetizers good? were the food good?

Open daily : lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm; dinner 6 - 10:30 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 3,500