457
.Factory of gourmet burgers What would be better than to have a bite of a burger (real one!) on July 4th for us whose living overseas! My friend and I went to Burger Factory today, a newbie burger specialty restaurant on Soi Ekamai, only to please our taste buds.
There, the nicely prepared burgers were made from patties that are house-ground daily from parts of Australian grain-fed beef; good patties need not have excessive seasonings otherwise the taste of the beef would be spoiled (those who like a heavy seasoned burger may go to get one at CP Fresh Mart, or those local fusion restaurants, such as one at the K-Village); at Burger Factory they do it right.
I ordered the BF BBQ Burger (THB 300+), the succulent patty was rich in natural beef flavor, with a hints of smokey scent from its flame-grilled process, sandwiched in a home-baked bun, slightly browned on both sides, and sided with potato salad that was good but not the best. My friend ordered their signature burger - the Factory Burger (THB 290+), with curly fries, which was very satisfying as well. Overall it was a pleasant burger lunch and it would be better if the owner sent the staff-in-kitchen to A.U.A. to learn the English meaning (not Issan meaning) between medium and medium well!
both my friend and I asked for medium-well, and they were ..
Burger Factory ***1/2
Ekamai Shopping Mall
3 Ekamai Soi 10
Sukhumvit 63 Road
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.714.4249
Open daily : lunch 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, dinner 5 - 11 pm
Pay (food only for one): around THB 400
* To follow Bangkok closely, please 'friend' Thaisclub in Facebook!
456
.The color must go on
White Cafe, a popular caterer turned restaurant, continues its utmost popularity by pleasing the taste buds of Thonglorians and Bangkok's high-so(ciety) diners. If people like their laab or gaeng cooked with foreign ingredients, or pasta dishes using pungent Thai sauces, yes fusion I mean, then this is the place for them.
Somehow, White Cafe is one of a very few fusion led restaurants in Bangkok that I don't avoid (well, friends know that I am not an admirer of fusion food); I found their dishes also pleased my taste buds.
fermented shrimp-paste dip with tidbits (nam-prik kapi) and seared tuna (thumbs-up!)
nam-prik kapi, THB 280+; deep-fried Thai pilot fish (pla salid tord), THB 220+ (thumbs-up!)
stir-fried asparagus and crab meats with salted eggs, THB 220+ (good!)
White Cafe house recipe NZ mussels with Thai herbs, THB 220+ (thumbs-up!)
organic brown rice; a portion of spicy yellow fish curry salmon (so-so!)
spicy Southern yellow fish curry (gaeng lueng) with salmon, THB 220+
White Cafe ***1/2
G/F Nobel Solo Condominium
988/5 Soi Thonglo (Sukhumvit 55 Road)
off Phetchburi Road
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.714.7623
Open daily : 11 am - midnight
Pay (food only for one): around THB 500
* To follow Bangkok closely, please 'friend' Thaisclub in Facebook!
455
.Penguin likes calories Brownies, cream pies, and chocolate cakes are rich, but wonderful, though they deliver extra sinful calories, more than I ever needed.
Penguin Likes Chocolate, run by a local chocolate enthusiast, is a recent addition to the crowded Sukhumvit gourmet strip. While there, I found that their cakes and drinks are modest in sugar, meaning sweet patrons may have less of a chance to visit a diabetes doctor in the future. Glad that now there are more local bakeries (finally) that offer real pastries, but not sugary condensed products!
Penguin Likes Chocolate ***
1/F Rain Hill Community Mall
777 Sukhumvit Road (at Suk Soi 47)
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.261.7115
Open daily : 10 am - 10 pm
Pay (pastry product only for one): around THB 160
* To follow Bangkok closely, pleas 'friend' Thaisclub in Facebook!
454
.Eat like King Kong at a small cost
One of the youngest yakiniku chains in Bangkok, King Kong, gains momentum to be Bangkok's most popular Japanese BBQ restaurant!
King Kong Yakiniku Buffet Restaurant ***1/2
Silom branch
3/F United Center
323 Silom Road
Bangrak, bangkok 10500
Tel.: 02.238.1877
* more branches at Ekamai, Rama 9, Mengjai and Langsuan
Open daily : 11 am - 11 pm
Pay (all-u-can-eat yakiniku for one): THB 470 net (incl. free-flow drinks)
* To follow Bangkok closely, please 'friend' Thaisclub in Facebook!
453
.Gone with the J-taste
Bekku, probably the first, and the best tonkatsu (Japanese deep-fried battered pork cutlet) specialty eatery in town; recently relocated (yes, again!) to Sukhumvit Soi 22, which is a short walk away from its old President Park's location, has lost its original charm and characteristics as a Japanese salaryman hangout and tonkatsu heaven. Now the once famed restaurant is looking more like a Beijing dumpling eatery than a Japanese tonkatsu joint. Food wise, the deep-fried battered pork cutlet is still 'eatable' but the tidbits (side dishes) that come with it (optional, at extra charge) both looked and tasted like some leftovers. I doubt that if the original owner (Khun Mitsutoshi Bekku) still runs this place!
yucky side dishes set, Yuushoku (large) THB 160+, Nagomi (small) THB 120+
tonkatsu curry rice, THB 240+; not-as-good-as-before sauce
tonkatsu set (incl. side dishes, rice, soup, and desserts), THB 499+ for two 
tonkatsu filet THB 200+ (with side dishes, rice, soup and ice cream THB 320+)
Tonkatsu Bekku Japanese Restaurant ***
318/1 Sukhumvit Soi 22
Klangtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 02.663.0318
Open daily : lunch 11:30 - 2 pm, dinner 5:30 - 10 pm
Pay (food only for one): around THB 300
*To follow Bangkok closely, please 'friend' Thaisclub in Facebook!
452
.
Time honored hole-in-the-wall grows bigger!
A hole-in-the-wall, secret foodies joint, Lieo Lieng Seng recently opened a canteen-like branch at United Center, right at C.B.D.'s Silom Road; now everyone can have easy access to Lieo's Thai-Chinese time tested menu, though the ambiance is (still) not 'on the menu'.
Lieo also owns the Kingdom's oldest ice cream recipe. Lieo's 555 Ratchawong Ice Cream was the first ice cream vendor in Thailand (yes, more than a century ago); the recipe passes on to Lieo's third generation, with the use of the best ingredients, is also available at Lieo Lieng Seng @ United Center.
dried fish maw in supreme broth, THB 100
wok-burnt tofu with bean sprouts and preserved sour veggie, THB 100
stir-fried kale, THB 100; fish maw in supreme broth, THB 100
oysters casserole, in Lieo's secret sauce, THB 300
fried bamee boran (literally ancient egg noodle) with chicken, ham, or crab meats, THB 100
Lieo Lieng Seng @ United Center ****
Basement, B1 #103, United Center
323 Silom Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel.: 081.827.6512
Lieo Lieng Seng
Open daily : 11 am - 9 pm
Pay (food only for one): around THB 300
** update: sadly this branch is now a history; its original branch at Galaxy Square (off Rama 4 Road) is still serving old-school Thai-Chinese at present.
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