Khan Ar'Sa House

488

.

Dinner only!

Tucked away on a sub-soi off Phaholyothin Road, at the Ari residential area, the Khan Ar'Sa House is a home-style restaurant that serves grandma's recipes to diners who are craving for unique family (Thai) cuisine. The House offers both an air-conditioning dining room and al-fresco garden dining experience to diners. Service is prompt and freiendly. 

Khan Ar'Sa House Thai Restaurant ***1/2

34 Soi 9 Phaholyothin Road

Samsen-nai, Bangkok 10400

Tel.: 02.279.2545

Open daily : dinner 5 - 11 pm

Pay (food only for one): around THB 300

* To follow Bangkok closely, please 'friend' Thaisclub in Facebook!

Chocolate Ville

484
.

A day in New England

I really love this place - the Chocolate Ville, especially the scenic setting, so I would just show the ambiance of this restaurant instead of their food, as, to keep only the good memory be recorded.

Chocolate Ville ***
Thanon Kaset-navamin Km.11
Bueng Kum, Bangkok 10230
Tel.: 083.077.3738

Open daily : 4 pm - 1 am
Pay (food only for one): around THB 400

* To follow Bangkok closely, please 'friend' Thaisclub in Facebook!

Yok Yor Klongsan

449
.

Ocean on a plate

Yok Yor used to be on the bottom of my restaurant's choice; on a recent revisit to this tourist-friendly seafood joint with my visiting friends, I witnessed sound improvement there. Now I moved its position to the middle of my 'eating' list.









Yok Yor Restaurant (Klongsan) ***1/2
762 Lardyar Road
(near Klongsan Market)
Klongsan, Bangkok 10600
Tel.: 02.437.3791
Yok Yor

Open daily : 4 pm - 1 am
Pay (seafood dinner for two): around THB 1,100

Rabiengta-le

415
.

Beauty and the breeze

Bangpoo in Samut Prakarn is about 20 km, or an hour's drive, from Bangkok city center in the Southeast, stretching to the Gulf of Thailand where the river meets the sea. In the 70's Bangpoo was so popular where Bangkokians fond of spending their weekends at the seaside, went to Samut Prakarn especially in the Bangpoo area; thus the area has a handful of seafood restaurants to serve the tourists. Though the glory faded away with time, Bangpoo's restaurants serve local residents, and Bangkokians seeking a deja vu experience.

Rabiengta-le is the established one in the area. Seafood is very fresh while most of them are live in the fish tank, with some rare shellfish choices; but chefs didn't cook them to expectations. For the three stars rating, one and a half goes to the ambiance and the sea breeze.


raw shrimp in light fish sauce, THB 100 (goong chae nam-pla)
raw local oysters, small size, served with condiments, THB 90

baked ma-prao clams topped with condiments, THB 150 (hoy ma-prao phad cha)
stir-fired local watercress, THB 90 (phad pak waan)

char-grilled local white sea bass, THB 290 (pla kapong yang kleua)

tamarind curry w/ jumbo fresh water fish roe, THB 220 (gaeng-som kai pla)

grilled ocean squid, THB 150 (pla-meuk yang)
curry souffle w/ seafood in young coconut, THB 220 (hor-mok talay maprao-on)

Rabiengta-le Seafood Restaurant ***
72 1/71 Moo.14 Thai Ban, Bangsaen 2
Sukhumvit Road (old line)
Bangpu Mai, Samutprakarn 10270
Tel.: 02.709.1825

Open daily : 11 am - 11 pm
Pay (seafood dining for two): around THB 900

Est. 33

410
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An edutainment microbrewery

Est. 33, the name coming from the Kingdom's oldest brewery debut in 1933, is a serious microbrewery, restaurant and mini beer museum in Bangkok. Though most of my friends are fans of beer gardens and wine bars, yes people love beer, but I am not particularly excited about this fermented malted wheat beverage; so when Est.33 opened at the posh CDC (Crystal Design Center), I didn't immediately share the joy. Later I found out that Est. 33 teamed up with one of my most favorite bistros (to handle the kitchen) to offer New York style Parisian minibar cuisine and fusion Thai fare; I now join my friends at the Est. 33 and have become a regular.

Of course Est. 33 serves (maybe the Kingdom's best) fresh home brewed beer (larger, copper, and dark) from its microbrewery, and other selections in a bottle; with the help of her kitchen partner, it also serves 'real' food and enticing mocktails.










Est. 33 ****
Crystal Design Center, Building E
1420/1 Praditmanutham Road
(Ekamai - Ramintra Highway)
Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240
Tel.: 02.102.2096

Open daily : 4 pm - midnight (Fri-Sun from 11 am)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 1,000

* Est. 33 also has a branch at the Nine, Rama IX Road

MoMo Cafe

402
.

Back to the future

Recently I went to La Tavola, the luxury Italian restaurant of the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, there I found a surprise. Compared to a year ago, the menu had been 'upgraded', and the culinary outcome has also been 'upgraded', but the good price withstands.

I eat at Marriott Hotels' restaurant outlets quite often, they include the New York Steakhouse and Tsu Japanese Restaurant of the J.W. Marriott, Fei Ya and La Tavola of the Renaissance, and MoMo Cafe of the Courtyard. A recent visit to the Courtyard Hotel on Soi Mahalekluang 1, I ate at the hotel's MoMo Cafe with my friend. The first impression was that the service is as good as before, they are attentive and enthusiastic. By browsing the menu, both selections (of food) and the price had been revamped. For instance, the fish n' chips and wood-roast chicken 'enjoyed' a 50% price hike to THB 230++ and THB 260++ respectively, as well as most of the dishes in the menu, including the wood-fired pizza, all 'enjoyed' a new tag with 50% price hike. As for the taste of the food, no hike in quality and culinary skill though, and in contrast, the 'your-own' pizza (THB 380++) was quite awful in its crust and texture, very disappointing!

MoMo Cafe used to be Bangkok's most cherished hotel dining at mall food price, but the glory is definitely fading away!



MoMo Cafe ***
Courtyard Hotel by Marriott
155/1 Soi Mahalekluang 1
Rajdamri Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.690.1888
MoMo Cafe

Open daily : 6 - 1 am (all-day dining)
Pay (food only for two): around THB 1,200
(weekdays lunch set THB 240)