Su Tha Ros

501
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The Iron Chef's cuisine

With stunning view overlooking the Rajprasong lifestyle hub, Su Tha Ros, is an elegant and classy Thai restaurant at the Muse Hotel Bangkok that serves time-honored Thai cuisine with a modern touch. For a few visits I did over the year, young chef culinary presentation did live up to expectations. 

Su Tha Ros ***1/4
19/F Muse Hotel Bangkok
55/555 Soi Langsuan, off Ploenchit Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 
Tel.: 02.630.4000
Su Tha Ros

Open daily : 6 am - 10:30 pm (full Thai menu during lunch and dinner only)
Pay (food only for one): around THB 900 
(lunch set at THB 299++)

*Updates (2015-Feb): Su Tha Ros is now replaced by Babette's | the Steakhouse Bangkok.

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

Khan Ar'Sa House

488

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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

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Khua Kling + Pak Sod

424
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A seasoned taste of Chumpon

A family-run Southern specialty cuisine operation, Khua Kling + Pak Sod Restaurant (named after a southern specialty dish, khua kling, usually eaten with fresh vegetables or pak sod) has moved to Bangkok's lifestyle hub - Thonglo community (from Sukhumvit Soi 40); offering home-style cuisine with the use of the best ingredients, therefore the price is not on the low-side, but worth our pocket to be dipped in a bit deeper (for the good food).


stir-fried crab meat with dok-ka-jon cowslip creeper flower, THB 350

crab meat curry with chapoo betel leaves, served with kanom-jeen, THB 350

deep-fried premium pla sa-lid snakeskin gourami fish, THB 240

stir-fried Southern sa-tor stink beans with sea prawns, THB 180

lok-tan dessert, THB 75; black herbal jelly, THB 45

Khua Kling + Pak Sod Restaurant ***1/2
98/1 Thonglo Soi 5
Sukhumvit 55 Road
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.185.3977

Open daily : lunch 11 am 2 pm, dinner 6 - 10 pm
Pay (food only for two): THB 1,200

Phuket Town

417
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Pungent delicious from Phuket

Bangkok's hip Thognlo strip is not short of foreign cuisine and chic Thai fusion restaurants, but it doesn't have a good hand of merit Thai restaurants that food Thai grandmas will not hesitate to put in the mouth.

All time favorites are old guns such as Thon Krueng (corner Thonglo Soi 13) and Ruea Thong (corner Thonglo Soi 17), while newer players like Khua kling + Pak Sod (Thonglo Soi 5) and Khao Chao (Thonglor Soi 17), are eateries that serve authentic (Thai) and old-school dishes. Last year the Phuket Town adds spices to this high-so(ciety) community (Thonglo) with its debut to the gourmet scene.

Phuket Town, with her name, hints that the cuisine is emphasized on the Southern (especially Phuket) specialties with most of the ingredients sourced from Phuket; dishes like nam-prik pla ching-chang, stir-fried pak miang, stir-fried sa-tor bean with shrimp in Southern spicy curry paste, and Southern style yellow curry with ocean sea bass fillet with young coconut tip, pineapple and banana stalk, are cooked with true Southern accents. Interesting?

If you eat too much fried chicken fillet in pandan leaves wrapper, steamed sea bass in lime and spicy broth, and green curry, then it is about time to evolve your palate to another level in the Thai cuisine - at Phuket Town.


deep-fried Phuket Town fish cakes, THB 140
(sauce already marinated with fish patties, so no more dipping needed)
stir-fried TH bitter gourd with eggs, THB 95

nam-prik-kra-pi-goong-sod, THB 150
cooked shrimp paste, served with fresh & cooked vegetables, and cha-om omelet

pork belly stew Phuket style, THB 150 (to me so-so, but friends love it)
masaman curry with chicken drumsticks, THB 150

fermented rice noodles, served with vegetables, steamed crab meat curry, THB 180

Southern style yellow curry, with ocean sea bass, with selection of vegetables,
bamboo shoot (left) or young coconut tip (right), THB 180

stir-fried Southern sa-tor bean with prawns in shrimp paste, THB 180

stir-fried crab meat with lemon sauce, THB 250
'oh-aew' banana jelly with red beans & red syrup topping, THB 55

Phuket Town Thai Restaurant ****
160/8 Soi Thonglo (Sukhumvit 55 Road)
(at Thonglo Soi 6)
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.714.9402

Open daily : 10:30 am - 10:00 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 600

Ruea Thong

401
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Meal on the golden boat

Bangkok's hip and chic Thonglo area is growing at light-speed in recent years. On its restaurant scene, we witness the never ending opening (and never ending closing down) of fancy newbies, and boring chains, sprawl into Thonglo soi by soi for the pre-partying clubbers and the high-so(ciety) hipsters. Nevertheless foodies in the neighborhood still stick to a few trusted old names, like Ruea Thong, which is a small shop-house eatery (on corner of Thonglo Soi 17) that is honored by time, the food there made her standing strong in the area for season after seasons.

For a place that Thais will find their grandmas' recipes and to please the palate throughout a meal, Ruea Thong is always one of the top choices in Thai cuisine; Ruea Thong (literally boat golden) is one of my favorite restaurants to crave for scrumptious home-style cuisine.


nam-prik ong makam, THB 100, fresh vegetables with tamarind relish dipping
pla salid tord, THB 130, salid fish, deep-fried to perfection, crispy but moist

yum makheua yao, THB 100, eggplant salad with spicy fish sauce dressing
pik gai tord, THB 90, deep fried chicken wings, crispy, light and aromatic

gaeng khua hoy khom, THB 90, red curry with small sea cockcle
(classic curry dish, easy to cook, difficult to have it good, key is in the paste, eight
out of ten restaurants in Bangkok do awful gaeng khua, but Ruea Thong's is superb)

phad yod fak meaw, THB 90, stir-fried chayote leaves, young and crispy
a portion of Thai pomelo, complimentary

gaeng som cha-om-tord, THB 90, sour curry with fern-leaves omelet, yummy!

Ruea Thong Thai Restaurant ****1/4
351/2 Soi Thonglo (corner Thonglo Soi 17)
Sukhumvit 55 Road
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.185.2610

Open daily : lunch 11:30 am - 2 pm, dinner 5 - 11 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 400

All about Thai curries

119
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Kaeng, or Thai curry

Kaeng is widely eaten in Thailand, so how can you afford to miss it! Stay tune ..

Ooooops! Can you identify any 3 of these curries (in English) and tell me at least 3 ingredients in each of the three? (hints: not curry powder)
1. Kaeng keow waan
2. Kaeng phet
3. Kaeng massaman
4. Kaeng penang
5. Kaeng paa
6. Kaeng kua
7. Kaeng bhan
8. Kaeng som
9. Kaeng luang
10.Kaeng liang
... and Thailand has more curries than the above!