340
.
Color of health cuisineBeen there, Viet-Hue Kitchen, a six-table home-cook Vietnamese eatery in Silom/Chongnonsi district. The food is definitely home-style, authentic, prepare a la minute (therefore need a little patience to wait), with very reasonable price. However, the side, fresh vegetables were not quite fresh. Three visits (out of all three), I found rotten part among them. Even if it is not of e-coli concern, the restaurant shall (still) care for ingredients freshness and hygiene. Therefore Viet-Hue has room to improve until she wins the heart of CBD's residents.
bo la lot (grilled seasoned beef rolled in betel leaves wrapper) THB 100
banh cuon gio lua (rice flour rolled cake, Vietnamese sausage) THB 120
side, (not so) fresh vegetables, complimentary (click to enlarge) 
chao tom (fried minced shrimp paste on sugarcane stick) THB 150
pho bo (Vietnamese noodle soup with beef) THB 60
Viet-Hue Kitchen ***
185/14 Naradhiwas-najanagarindra Road
Sathorn, Bangkok 10500
Open daily : 11 am - 9 pm
Pay (food ony for two): around THB 300
BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
.Dine at White houseFeuang Nara - the most recent addition to Silom already bland Thai restaurant scene, turns out to be the kind of unnecessary to exist.
The house painted in white is beautiful. The interior is smart. The owners are friendly. The vibe is comforting. But, not the food! Does mom always says - don't judge someone by his/her/its appearance (and the "it" applies to Feuang Nara), that will save some disappointment.
1. larb moo (spicy Issan ground pork salad) THB 120+
(the first dish, not impressive, neither bad, it is average)
2. yum wunsen (spicy glass noodle salad with seafood) THB 85+
(my nightmare of the night begins, the salad, normal bad though not extra bad)
3. one of Feuang Nara specialty, deep-fried prawn in tamarind sauce, THB 350+
(prawn over-cooked, sauce sweet but no aromatic, one of my most favorite sauce -
ma-kam tamarind sauce, totally spoiled in the hand of Feuang Nara's chef)
4. stir-fried baby corn in oyster sauce, THB 75+
(cheap oyster sauce, one taste, salty; baby corn were rotten, high-so place use of garbage-grade ingredients; no anti-diarrhea pills provided as amuse-bouche)
5. hor-mok NZ mussels (steam curry souffle with minced fish), THB 250+
(sorry to say that, any roadside hor-mok vendors serve better minced fish curry souffle)
6. another house specialty (OMG), deep-fried sea bass with herbal dressing, THB 350+
(too small fish fillet dice for my big mouth; taste? bland, so bland, too bland, very bland)
7. tom-kha-gai (Thai galangal and coconut cream soup with chicken), THB 120+
(ready-made tom-kha-gai pack found in supermarket tastes more authentic than this)
8. tom-yum-goong (Thai spicy sour and spicy soup with prawn), THB 150+
(arguably best shot of the night, didn't kill my palate, thanks Feuang Nara has mercy)
On my second visit, the restaurant even over-charged approx. THB 500 (found out after I checked the bill at home) out of THB 1,804. I sent my personal aide to hear for a reason. The answer is - lack of experience and a workable billing system. My aide therefore was benefited from a glass of very delicious (he said) icy cold mango smoothie and a 15% discount VIP card (and the refund, of course). To me, not convincing enough since the restaurant is already in full (charged) operation.
Since Feuang Nara has a charming interior, friendly owners, and pleasant wait-staffs, I will revisit them later the year, to see if there is any improvement. My opinion is, Feuang Nara shall get rid of the current chef (with so-called prior hotel working experience; what hotel? love hotel perhaps!) before this charming restaurant vanished from the Silom restaurant scene.
I like this restaurant, but just couldn't stand for her food. Sad!
Feuang Nara Thai Restaurant **3/4
69 Narathiwas Rachanakarin Road, Soi 3
Silom, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.233.2410
Open daily : 11 am - 10 pm
Pay (food only for two): around THB 1,200
BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
.Lantern, red, prosperityChinese bistros run by the Mainland Chinese always mislead me to one impression - owners don't care for restaurant hygiene. Luckily there is an exceptional one - Hong Teong Long (Red Lantern) Chinese Restaurant.
Red Lantern is one of the (small) restaurants I always come for authentic Shanghaiese wanton soup (forget about that big chain shamelessly invades to almost every shopping malls with the name "Shanghai" and "xiao-long-pao" as the brand, that chain insults the cuisine of Shanghai and Chinese food), and home-style Chinese provincial delicacies, such as steamed meat bun, stir-fried fish fillet in wine and vinegar sauce and Szechuan minced pork with tofu in chili sauce (ma-po tofu).
A foreign journalist from San Francisco claimed that Red Lantern serves the best xiao-long-pao in town; although I couldn't 100% agree with him (as for me the best one still awarded to Nam-tao-hu Yong Herh) in such aspect, but I agree that Red Lantern does serve very good provincial cuisine in Bangkok.
meat bun / vegetable bun THB 30 each
beef noodle Mainland Chinese style THB 60
arguably best (real) Shanghai wanton in town, THB 50 
Sichuan chili live frog leg casserole THB 180
spicy green eggplant with minced pork THB 120
bite-size steamed xiao-long-pao dumplings, THB 60, average 
deep-fried live sea bass in sweet and sour sauce THB 350
stir-fried long bean with minced pork THB 120
Hong Teong Long (Red Lantern) CN Restaurant ***3/4
149/16 Surawong Road
at Soi Anglo PlazaBangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.238.3379
Open daily : 11 am - 3 am
Pay (food only for two): around THB 400
