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.

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Waraku

486
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Eat that display!

Waraku, at the downtown mega mall - Central World, offers Japanese cuisine with a European twist (yes, that means fusion!) and in an casual array. The food display at the shop front is gorgeous, sadly not the food itself! Their ambiance and service, on par with other dine-in fast food joints.

Waraku Japanese Casual Dining **1/2
7/F Zone A - Atrium, Cemntral World Plaza
Rajdamri Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.613,1750

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

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Summer Palace

483
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Another palace to dine at

I am a fan of the Iron Chef Thailand (and also Iron Chef America), a TV program that puts chefs in the cooking contest arena, which was originated in Japan by Fuji Television Network. Earlier this year, when I witnessed two Chinese chefs from one of my favorite hotel chains - IHG, Crowne Plaza's Xin Tian Di and InterContinental's Summer Palace, beat the Iron Chef of Chinese cuisine from the Iron Chef Thailand, I had a mixed feeling. 

I agree that Chef Lam of Xin Tian Di (Crowne Plaza Bangkok Lumpini Park) deserved the victory in the Iron Chef Thailand contest, as I always enjoy his culinary service at his restaurant, whether it is home-style menu when I dine alone, or a banquet feast that I celebrate with friends. And for Chef Khor of Summer Palace (InterContinental Hotel Bangkok), I have a neutral view on that. I do sometimes enjoy food there!

 















Summer Palace Chinese restaurant  夏宮金殿 ***
InterContinental Hotel Bangkok
973 Ploenchit Road
Patumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.656.0444
Summer Palace

Open daily : lunch 11:30 am -2:30 pm, dinner 6:30 - 10:30 pm
Pay (food only for one): expect THB 2,500 or more 

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Mr. Shake

471
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Shake the groovy cooler

Mr. Shake serves the original iced bubble milk tea with tapioca pearl, which is a native drink of Taiwan. After its two-decade old debut in Bangkok, with lots of 'cover versions' available these days, Mr. Shake still serves the best native Taiwanese pearl bubble milk tea in Bangkok.

For people prefer that their drinks done with a less sugary level, always exercise a 'non-sweet' option.



Mr. Shake ****
7/F Central World Plaza
4 Rajdamri Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
*and at major shopping centers across Thailand

Open daily : 10 am - 10 pm
Pay (drinks only for one): around THB 40



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Fifth Dragon

468
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Fly high and humble

This Chinese dumplings joint, the Fifth Dragon, serves real xialongbao and hand-pull noddles in a downtown low cost mall. Although its food is far from a 'wow', but with its unbelievably friendly price for the locals, and the offer of real Chinese Northern bao (bun) and la-mian (noodle), the Fifth Dragon is an unpretentious restaurant that serves solid food but not a story or 'strawberry*'. So it is unlike the one in the opposite shopping mall (CWP); in here every penny a customer paid goes to the food, not to a PR cost or franchise fee.





The Fifth Dragon Chinese Restaurant ***1/4
4/F BigC Supercenter Rajdamri
97/11 Rajdamri Road
Prathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Open daily : 11 am - 10 pm
Food (only for one): around THB 200




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Charm Thai

464
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Charm of Thais

Charm Thai, a hotel's Thai restaurant that doesn't hurt my taste buds. I eat there quite often, due to her very convenient location, although it is not one of my favorite Thai restaurants.


yum som-o (spicy pomelo salad with river prawns)

gai hor bai-tuey (marinated chicken meat wrapped in pandan leaves)

gaeng massaman gai (Southern style massaman curry with chicken meat)

tom kha gai (chicken soup in coconut milk with galangal and herbs)

phad pak yod mara (stir-fried bitter gourd leaves); stir-fried mixed vegetables

pla kapong tord rad prik (deep fried local sea bass, chili sauce)

goong maenam bai horapha phad prik (river prawns, sweet basil, chili sauce)

Charm Thai ***1/2
The Holiday Inn Bangkok
971 Ploenchit Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Charm Thai

Open daily : 6 - 10:30 pm
Pay (food only for one): around THB 800




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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