Yoshinoya

447
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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

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)

khao-chae @ Little Home

436
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Cheerful food in summer

The Songkran Festival of the year of 2555 (2012) is over, but my khao-chae eating mood is not. Taking an opportunity when I attended a dull meeting at Thonglo, during the break, I took a few minutes ('slipped out') to fill my singing tummy with a set of khao-chae (rice soaked in icy jasmine-scented water, served with tidbits) at the nearby Little Home; though its khao-chae is of so-so standard, it still lighted up my mood for the second session of the meeting.




khao-chae
at Little Home Bakery and Restaurant ***
434/10 Soi Thonglo
off Sukhumvit 55 Road
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.185.1485
and at leading shopping centers in Bangkok and upcountry

Open daily : 9 am - 9 pm
Pay (khao-chae for two): around THB 450

khao-chae @ Hot Shoppe

434
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Poor comfort

Hot Shoppe is a long running coffee shop with a capable and senior ('senior' in both culinary means and in age) chef to handle the kitchen, and has lots of traditional delicacies to offer, such as khao-soi and khao-chae (only available in April); due to their infamously poor service; recently it had become very quiet and is a restaurant of oblivion in the middle of Sukhumvit Road.

Yesterday I had my once-a-year visit to Hot Shoppe for her 'pretty okay' khao-chae (rice soaked in icy jasmine-scented water, served with tidbits) meal. Right after I stepped into the restaurant, my devastating dining experience began; it was like a train wreck from the beginning. My attendant, the feminine old waiter was not only sluggish and unfriendly but he looked lifeless. His facial expression was as if he had just been woken up from a coffin to serve customers. He certainly did not help me in celebrating an event that I was in such a festive mood to eat khao-chae. Needless to say, I failed miserably. But when I set my expectations for their service to none, the meal (khao-chae at Hot Shoppe) was still a treat!





khao-chae
at Hot Shoppe Coffee Shop ***1/4
Miracle Mall
Sukhumvit Soi 41
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.258.0653

Open daily : 10:30 am - 10 pm
Pay (chao-chae only for two): around THB 500 (THB 265+ per set)
* khao-chae is available from mid-March until end of April

E-sarn Loom Yen

431
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Hard to feel cool

With more new hotels and luxury condos built at the Victory Monument area and its vicinity, the nearby Nangnam Road seems to enjoy a blooming restaurant scene; patrons are now not limited to budgeted armed force personnel and university students, but also includes middle-class residents and international tourists.

There is always devil and angel in the restaurant business. For E-sarn Loom Yen, one phase to describe this Issan (Thai Northeastern) restaurant, is mediocre food at best.



E-sarn Loom Yen Restaurant **1/2
Rangnam Road (corner Soi Loet Panyu)
Phayathai, Bangkok 10400
Tel.: 02.248.2295

Open daily : 8 am - 10 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 500

Lee Cafe

428
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Chef that is lacking of iron

Japan's most talked about cooking contest and television show, the Iron Chef has come to Thailand; last week (March 14) the contestant (or the challenger in Iron Chef's term), a Thai-northeastern native chef who works in a Bangna district Chinese Restaurant, that leans on group tours and event clientele, easily beat the program's permanent Iron Chef of Chinese cuisine - Khun Chaithe a.k.a. Mr. Lee (owner of Lee Kitchen and Lee Cafe) by a fairly big margin. I went to Mr. Lee's restaurants a few times, no matter if they are the Lee Kitchen or Lee Cafe, the food was far from cheerful.

* Iron Chef Thailand, every Wednesday 11 pm on Channel 7.



Lee Cafe **1/4
3/F Central World Plaza
4 Rajdamri Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.646.1838
.. more branches at major shopping centers

Open daily : 10 am - 9:30 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 450

Canton House

427
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Quality cheap eat

Among the locals, Canton House is a very popular Chinese Cantonese dimsum specialty eatery with a Thai-Teochew twist; with several branches across Thailand, they now have a new branch at Terminal 21 where shoppers can now get a fix of dimsum at sixteen baht a dish just like other Canton House branches offer.



Canton House Restaurant ***
Terminal 21 branch:
4/F, the Terminal 21
288 Sukhumvit Road
North Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 081.821.8755

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

Kokhun Ponyangkham BBQ

423
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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