See Fah

443
.

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

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

Secret Recipe

387
.

Sweet tooth express

Secret Recipe, a chain cafe for casual dining and cake shop from Malaysia, has food of television-meal standard and their cakes were not great when they launched in 2004. Over time, the big-cut cakes have had nice improvements, though the food is still served as a punishment for my taste buds.



Secret Recipe ***
G/F Siam Paragon Shopping Center
991 Rama I Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.610.7626
Secret Recipe

and in major shopping centers in Bangkok and upcountry

Open daily : 10 am - 9 pm
Pay (cakes only for two): around THB 250

40 Years of Starbucks

311
.

Drinks, conversation, share and friends

It's (exactly) been 40 years .. more fun begins today.


left: my thermo tumbler (old logo) now an antique; right: cup with the new logo

more fun begins with cake pop - it is cake on a stick

Starbucks Coffee ***
39/1 Soi Langsuan
Ploenchit Road
Lumpini, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.684.1524
Starbucks Thailand
.. and at all major shopping centers across the Kingdom.


my cute (new) value card, special edition, Starbucks 40th

Dunkin' Donuts

304
.

Thailand runs on Dunkin'

No matter how long the line that ultra-sweet ultra-fat Krispy Kreme tricks us to queue in, Dunkin' Donuts is still the most popular donuts brand in Thailand. Back to the days Starbucks was short to arrive (to the Kingdom), Dunkin' Siam Square shop was where I met friends and gigs.

Although I have cut off the consumption on donuts for years, but once in a while I couldn't resist to have the "sweet" memory rerun for minutes. Heard that Dunkin' Donuts is the first US donuts chain that promotes the use of new oil and cuts its fat and sweet level with zero trans fat. It is - healthy donuts! Don't believe me. This is just an excuse for myself to eat some donuts at Dunkin'.



my favorite comfort hole


Dunkin' Donuts ***
at major shopping centers
Bangkok and upcountry, Thailand

Pay (food only for two): around THB 100

Melt Me

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
.

Melting me softly with a scoop

Bangkok most trendy Italian gelato parlor debuts in trendy Thonglo.

Since December (2010) I hover in Arena 10 0f Thonglo at least three times a week, sampling self-proclaimed "healthy" gelato at Melt Me is one of the agendas. Is that gelato so good? Definitely NO! Is that awful? Neither!

I appreciate that the texture of Melt Me's gelato is smooth, creamy, and gentle; however, the taste - some flavors very artificial. (I can easily get the same flavor from my family doctor, just tell him I have a cough.) The good are forest berries and pistachio. Hard to bear are mango and vanilla. May spit to dustbin are strawberry and mojito. Three stars that I gave to Melt Me; half star for the ambiance, another half being part of Thonglo trendy kids (when I sit there), and one for her marketing achievement. (If it is not slightly overpriced, I may be more generous to give her Four!) Melt Me is where one can learn how to venture into a restaurant business, frog can turn out to be a prince!



Melt Me's chilled Hokkaido chocolate tastes like melting a piece of chewy creamy candy with dark chocolate flavor (tasty though) in my mouth. A cover version of Royce! Like it or not. Your call.

Melt Me Hokkaido Chocolate & Healthy Gelato ***
Arena 10
159/8 Thonglor Soi 10
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.392.4855
Melt Me

Open daily : 11 am - 2 am
Pay (desserts only for two): around THB 450

Starbucks

271
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Share a cup. Share a story.

I have read a book when I was 14, 'What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School'. I believe that Howard Schultz must have read this book too.

The success of Starbucks does not lay on the food (definitely not on its coffee) alone, but rather on the service. Starbucks is probably the only fast-food category restaurant that comes with good service. Eighty percent of customers are not foodies, but all of them are discerning consumers. Starbucks has very strong marketing strategy and impeccable customer service to all. They share with customers "what we want" instead of what the company "push you to have" like some other brands do.

A greeting card from Starbucks has being sent to me on my birthday's month, every year. I have no idea where did they obtain my address from, as I have never disclosed my mailing address to them. (A little surprise!) For hotels and restaurants, through membership, keep sending promotional materials to me, which is their main purpose of course. In contrast, Starbucks, never sent me any junk (promotional) mail. Just cards and gift vouchers. This is an impeccable marketing job.

I don't go to Starbucks for beverage and food, but comfort drink and soul food. Shared and connected, so to enjoy. That's a lifestyle.

Starbucks Coffee ***
39/1 Soi Langsuan
Ploenchit Road
Lumpini, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.684.1524
.. and at major shopping centers
or around the corner of your house
Starbucks Thailand

Open daily : 10 am - 10 pm
Pay (a treat for two): around THB 350

Ootoya

BANGKOK AMAZING GOURMET
.

Portal to taste

Started in Tokyo as a fifty yen gohan (rice) canteen in 1958, Ootoya restaurants were well received by the locals and enjoy a steady expansion since. Today Ootoya is a multi-nation dine-in-fast-food style restaurant chain, with branches not only in Japan, but sprawl across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Indeed the Thonglor J-Avenue branch in Thailand was Ootoya's first overseas debut.

Here in Thailand. Ootoya is also well received by Thais and enjoys a fast expanding result to more than twenty branches in mere six years. The credit shall be awarded to Ootoya choice of top quality and fresh ingredients, flavorsome taste, and the use of white charcoal on grilled items, though price is not easy.

If you expect sushi or sashimi, there is not your portal to a meal.



Ootoya Gohandokoro 大户屋 ***
Thonglor branch
B-9, 2nd Floor J-Avenue
323/2 Thonglo Soi 15
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.712.6827
Ootoya

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

iberry

243
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Ice cream with berries

iberry is the pioneer of local ice cream cafe chain that makes icy creamy desserts to premium standard. From classic flavor such as vanilla and chocolate to tropical Thai fruits flavor such as tamarind and rambutan, iberry has a collection of 100 flavors to serve (in rotation) in her cafes. To offer dessert seekers more variety and stay in competition actively, iberry also serves cakes and desserts. However, with rapid expansion in recent years, quality of ice cream and service do not stay.



iberry Honey Toast THB 169, the cover-version of After You's Shibuya toast
this one, outside burnt with bitter taste, inside is insipid, lack of flavor and texture, toast quality like those taan-lao (foreign labor) could buy from a roadside market for 5 baht; wondering why such an established ice cream chain has to be a copy-cat and doing worse as a result ..


iberry Cafe **3/4

iberry @ La Villa
356 Phaholyothin Road
Phayathai, Bangkok 10300
Tel.: 02.613.0544
Open daily : 11 am - 10 pm
iberry La Villa

iberry @ Siam Square
Siam Square Soi 2
Rama 1 Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02.658.3829
Open daily : 11 am - 9 pm
iberry Siam Square

Pay (desserts only for two): around THB 300

Hong Min

237
.

Filling the hunger

Hua Seng Hong in Yaowaraj is one trusted Thai-Chinese restaurant with specialties of shark fins soup and Thai-Chinese delicacies for half a century. Due to its location (I always avoid that dirty and messy Chinatown) and my habits of no-fins dining, this outstanding Yaowaraj restaurant doesn't earn my blessing. Nevertheless, it is a blessing to me that Hua Seng Hong operates a number of sister branches in major shopping malls, as Hong Min.

This all-day-dining venue serves scrumptious Hong Kong dimsum, light meal, hot-pot and Chinese cuisine in a Thai-Chinese accent. Food is pretty good in local standard, or compare to her competitors in similar cuisine in Bangkok, Hong Min is definitely a standout from them. Currently, Hong Min offers live crab at THB 288 per crab. You may ask the chef to prepare your crab in stir-fried with curry powder, or black pepper with chilies, while I had mine in stir-fried with phad prik prao (fried pungent chili paste). Surprisingly it was one of the best crabs in prik prao sauce I have sampled. Hong Min (@MBK branch) earns my applause.



Hong Min by Hua Seng Hong 香味 ****
Shop#3A09-11, 3/F MBK Centre
(also a branch on G/F near Tops Supermarket)
444 Phayathai Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Open daily : 11 am - 9 pm
Pay (food only for two): Around THB 150 for noodles/one dish menu, or THB 600 for full course