My Food Odyssey

Paste, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 07:36:00 +0000

Every so often, we need something new and exciting to enter our culinary dining experience. Same old, same old just gets boring after a while. Plus, with every new restaurant or café, there's always an element of surprise, some good, and admittedly some bad.

Tonight, I experienced some very lovely surprises at a relatively new kid in town, Paste. A small, but cosy restaurant, we were the first to arrive - as I like to eat early - and had the attentive service of Chef Bee all to ourselves.

Like all good restaurants, we were given a cocktail and a wine menu to begin with. We didn't want to rush our meal and Paste is the sort of place in which one can relax and take in the evening.

The food menu has enough to tickle anyone's tastebuds and while I really wanted to order the jelly fish and shredded chicken salad, Mr. P wasn't too keen. He hates jellyfish and only continued to point to the small literature at the top of the menu stating that their dishes are meant for sharing. OK, my fault for not reading through the whole menu properly!

We mutually agreed on the 'Crispy rice crackers with prawn, pork & peanut candy relish' and the 'Dry spiced chilli squid with a sweet vinegar & fresh tomato relish.'

The rice crackers were wonderfully light and non-greasy. The prawn, pork and peanut relish was absolutely delicious! The squid was yummy, but I found the tomato relish just a tad too tangy for my tastebuds, but Mr. P thought it was just right.

For the mains, we opted to share the 'Tamarind and caramel twice cooked-kurobuta pork belly with green mango, red okra, basil, & green chilli pickle,' and the 'Jasmine and cinnamon smoked wild sea bass with black vinegar, mint and crushed peanuts.'

The pork belly was beautifully cooked, the 'melt-in-the-mouth' fat was perfection. Yes, fat is not good. It was naughty but oh, sooo very nice. If I had one complaint to make about this dish - it would simply be - there was not enough pork to be had. It was seriously good and four slices between the two of us (gluttons), felt like a teaser.

The smoked wild sea bass was certainly smoked. Again, maybe just a tad slightly too smoked for me, but Mr. P didn't seem to mind it at all. It was a generous piece of fish and certainly enough for the two of us.

To finish off the meal, we perused the small dessert menu (three choices to be precise) and decided to share the hot brownie pie with coconut ice cream.

The brownie filling was deliciously stodgy and the crust had a nice texture, although it did taste a little salty towards the end. The ice cream was a great accompaniment but the small ping pong ball like serving just wasn't enough for the both of us.

Anna's Final Thoughts: Lovely place, good food, friendly service. I'll definitely be back and I've already told my friends to go check it out.

PASTE
120/6 Sukhumvit Soi 49, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: 02-392-4313

Open Tues-Sun noon-2.30pm, 6pm-late

Nearest BTS: Thong Lor, take the exit at the end (past exit 1) and walk down to Sukhumvit soi 49. Take a taxi or motorsai down to Samitivej Hospital.

Or Phrom Phong, take the exit down to Sukhumvit Soi 35 (opposite side to Emporium shopping mall) and catch a taxi to take you down Sukhumvit Soi 49 to Samitivej Hospital.

Alight at Samitivej Hospital and cross to the other side of the road. Walk up a few meters until you see a little lane with a Thai restaurant on the corner. Paste is next door, on the right hand side.

UnTour Shanghai - Oodles of Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 04:51:00 +0000

I'm back in Asia and I'm delighted to say I managed a quick jaunt to Shanghai with Mr. P. So, whilst Mr. P was hard at work, I decided to do what I do best, eat!

A quick search on the internet led me to UnTour Shanghai and after a few straight forward email exchanges, I was booked onto their Oodles of Noodles tour the next day.

I met up with Carla - our guide - at Fuxing Park along with two other delightful foodie fanatics. Well, one of them was a journalist, sent to write a piece about the tour for one of the local papers.

We set off walking through the park, with Carla giving us a brief history of it. Our first stop was a little noodle shop where we got to sample a bowl of their signature sesame peanut noodles. With peanut sauce on top, they were quite claggy, but at the same time, delicious. Simple, but very effective.

Our next stop took us to another little laneway noodle shop where we sat upstairs and our guide ordered us two bowls of noodles; a pork and caramelised scallion noodle and a spicy pork and preserved cabbage noodle. The pork and caramelised scallion noodle was out of this world delicious! I loved the sweetness of the scallions mixed with the salty pork. These noodles don't look like much, but it's packed full of flavour. They were in fact my favourite.

The spicy pork and preserved cabbage noodles weren't so much spicy but more oily due to the chilli oil. These didn't really do much for me, but it's all down to individual taste.

Our next stop took us to a fish noodle shop, and Carla ordered us a bowl of their signature Yellow Croaker fish noodles and a bowl of hairy crab noodles.

The croaker fish noodles weren't anything to write home about and the hairy crab noodles were quite sweet.

And so we took a light break and wandered to a wet market where there were lots of vegetables, fish and seafood, dried goods and lots of other interesting foods. Walking through the French concession area with a guide was fabulous. We walked down little laneways, saw a couple of really interesting antique stroke café shops and listened to Carla telling us fascinating tidbits of the area.

Alas, the afternoon drew us onto our last noodle stop, a muslim eatery near to an underground station. The noodles are handmade on the spot in front of customers and all I can say is that it must take some skill and many months, if not years, to become a seasoned noodle maker. We sampled a beef noodle soup noodle and a hand cut stir fried noodle in a tomato sauce with beef and vegetables. Both were delicious and the hand cut noodles were nice and chewy.

I loved this tour, even if I was a little noodle'd out by the end of it. It was informative, delicious, relaxing and such a great way to spend an afternoon in Shanghai. I'd recommend Untour Shanghai in a heartbeat. I just wish I had had the time to do their breakfast tour!

Back in Blighty - Ye Olde Steppes!

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:51:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last post. Over a year in fact. After such a long hiatus, I thought I ought to begin again whilst back in Blighty.

In true English fashion, I went to a tearoom, a very quaint one in the beautiful village of Pembridge, Hertfordshire. It even came with a rosy-cheeked mother hen hostess who greeted us in the manner of old friends.

Décor is very olde English such matching floral curtains and table cloths, a doily on each table, wooden dressers, fireplaces, Union Jack flags, a vintage till and so on.

This place also serves as a village shop selling fresh vegetables, sweets, jams, cards, homemade cakes etc.

After having a little look around, my three companions and I sat around a table in the main room and surveyed the beautifully thought out menu. From what I could tell, so many of their ingredients are locally sourced such as the Hereford Hop (cheese), eggs, ham, pickle, jam, the list goes on.

Their food menu consists of soups, salads, sandwiches, baked potatoes, cream teas, homemade cakes. All of it, deliciously tempting!

I haven't had a pork pie nor a ploughman's for a good five years, so I opted for their special, pork and ham pie ploughman's lunch. One of my companions went for the red onion and goats cheese tart and the other two ordered the normal pork pie ploughman's.

Check out my ham and chicken pork pie ploughman's lunch with crunchy salad and all the lovely trimmings: Branston pickle, coleslaw, cheese, salad, apple, crisps, bread, butter (admittedly far too generous). Washed down with a refreshing bottle of organic cider. It was blissfully scrumptious!

The onion and goat's cheese tart, served with coleslaw, salad and Tyrell's crisps (from Hertfordshire). This also went down a treat.

The food was a hit with all of us. And for me, it brought back memories of lunches which consisted of just some good old English bread, cheddar and pickles, a packet of crisps and fun times with friends. Simple, but tasty, and really quite nostalgic.

Pembridge Village Shop & Tearoom
High Street
Pembridge
Herts HR6 9DS
UK

Cheers Bar & Grill, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:22:00 +0000

When I first heard about a new place called Cheers on Sukhumvit soi 22, I couldn't help but think of Cheers, the fictional Boston bar that dominated tv screens in the UK and US back in the 80s.

I've been to a 'Cheers' bar before. But that one was in London, back in the late 90s, when life was all about working and playing. These days, it's more about working and eating . . . in my case at least.

I arrived here yesterday lunch time, ready for a sit down and a bite to eat after a somewhat taxing language lesson.

Having walked from Asoke BTS, it only took me about six or so minutes. It was a nice day and frankly, I needed the walk.

Located underneath the Regency Hotel, Cheers Bar & Grill is on the right hand side of the Soi when walking down from Sukhumvit road.

The interior looks brand spanking new, which is a good thing, seeing as this place only opened on 2nd December. I must admit, I felt a little honoured to be one of their earlier customers.

Kitted out in teak wood, the bar is at the back, three flat screen televisions, plenty of tables and chairs and a couple of high tables on the balcony for those who love to people watch (although it can get noisy outside!).

A waitress instantly greeted me, allowed me to sit where I wanted to - which was in the corner on the large table - and gave me a menu to study.

And study it, I did. The frosted plastic covered menu is fairly extensive as menus go: sandwiches with chips from 200 baht, steaks (from 600 baht, pizzas, pastas, fish and chips, Thai and Isaan food from 150 baht. I can't name them all, but there is lot on offer. Apparently there was more, but it's been cut down?!

For vegetarians, I did notice that there weren't any dedicated vegetarian dishes. And as one customer politely pointed this out, she was duly accommodated and was able to have her dish prepared with no meat.

I, as a meat eater (trying to reduce my consumption though) ordered a simple dish, stir fried rice noodles with chicken and vegetables (sen yai phad se-uw gai) at 150 baht. It came presented in a lovely clean white dish - which made for a refreshing change. Usually, I get it slopped onto a plate, no wiping away any spills. But then I am partial to eating this at cheaper, no frills spared establishments.

This sen yai phad se-uw gai was steaming hot and after I got my compulsory four condiments to personalise it, I began to dig in. It was tasty and hit the just right spot.

This place is still so new, I feel it's yet to make an impact. I imagine it's a busy place in the evenings where many 'farangs' would flock to.

Service is polite, the place is clean. The other dishes that came out of the kitchen looked generous and my friend tells me, their steaks are pretty tasty.

Likes: The clean plate that my noodles came in.

Dislikes: The slightly too loud 80s glam rock music (I'm not that young anymore) which I grew out of in my late teens. But those with a glam rock disposition will love it.

Final Thoughts: I am sure this new kid on the block will be a popular place for farangs and tourists alike.

Cheers Bar & Grill
12/3 Sukhumvit Soi 22, Klong Toei, Bangkok 10110
Tel: +66 (0)2 259 7420

Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong, exit 3. Go down the stairs instead of into Emporium and carrying on walking straight ahead until you get to Soi 22 on your left hand side. Turn down Soi 22 and Cheers Bar & Grill is a few hundred metres on your right.

Phuket Town, Thong Lor, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:32:00 +0000

Phuket Town sits on the corner of Sukhumvit 55 (aka Soi Thong Lor) and Thong Lor Soi 6. It occupies a small shop house and although I won't go into how charming it looks, because yes, it does look it. It is small however, with only seven tables in total, one would be forgiven for thinking that this place may feel tiny, but it has high ceilings so it doesn't feel too cramped.

The food as one would guess, is Southern Thai food from the region of Phuket. Which I might add, used to be so lovely and sleepy. Fortunately or unfortunately - depending on which way you look at it - Phuket is now one big bustling, thriving town full of expats and tourists . . . .

The food here is home cooked fare, lots of shrimp paste, Southern style curries and plenty more. I came here tonight in a group of four, we were all famished and ordered way too much. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of all the food. A shame and for that, I do apologise. I just tucked in and forgot all about papping the dishes as they came out.

We ordered the stir fried morning glory with shrimp paste. If shrimp paste isn't your thing, you might not enjoy this so much. The morning glory was crunchy and it wasn't spicy.

The bamboo shoots with minced prawn was generous, fresh and again not the least bit spicy.

The eggplant with deep fried seabass was fairly spicy. I bit right into a red chilli and felt the numbing heat for a good few minutes. Oh the joy of biting into red chilli seeds.

The stir fried green beans with prawns in shrimp paste was OK. But I think I was a bit shrimp pasted out by this point.

We also ordered the fish cakes which were quite tasty. Mini fish cakes that were bouncy, but minus any kaffir lime leaf or green beans.

Kanom Jeen Naam Ya Bpoo (crab curry with chinese rice noodles). Thick yellow curry sauce with pieces of crab served with a plate of rice noodles, pickles, dried anchovies and chillies, pineapple. fresh beansprouts and Thai basil. The curry is mild, probably a little too mild for my liking, but good all the same.

Fish balls with dipping sauce which were really plump. My Western friends didn't really take to these. Yes, they are an acquired taste - just like Marmite - love them or hate them. Personally, I love them!

Finally we had the stir fried belly pork with sliced lemongrass and shallots.

Overall, everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. I did feel a little overwhelmed with all the food and sorry to say, that we left quite a bit of it as we couldn't finish it all.

The staff are kept busy and the place has a great bustling feel about it. We didn't feel rushed, in fact we were the last ones out at ten o'clock. The owner was tilling up and the waiting staff had already cleared and wiped down the rest of the tables.

My party wanted more drinks, but we decided to move on and let them clear up and close for the night.

Likes: The cute mural on the wall.

Dislikes: The strange look I got from one of the staff when I didn't understand what he was asking me in Thai.

Final Thoughts: It's a popular place for 'farangs' who love a bit of quaint Thailand. For me, the food was good, it wasn't out of this world. But I would go back, if just for the cute charm of the place.

Phuket Town

160/8 Thong Lor Soi 6, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 (0)2 714 9402

HOURS: 10:30am - 10:30pm

Nearest BTS: Thong Lor, Exit 3. Catch a taxi or motorsai to corner of Thong Lor & Thong Lor Soi 6.

Baan Kanitha & Gallery, Sathorn, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Having already been to their Sukhumvit Soi 23 restaurant, this one is closer to where I live. Therefore no having to traipse or drive around Bangkok for ages. I decided to take my mother here for Sunday lunch.

We were the first ones in today. Despite our mantra of 'an empty restaurant is never a good sign', we decided to just go with it.

The restaurant is large and spacious and can easily accommodate big parties and lots of diners. It is decorated in the traditional Thai house style.

We got the signature complimentary 'meang kum' as an appetite tickler. It certainly did the trick and made us even more hungry than we had been when we arrived.

Since our order of grilled fish would take about half an hour, we decided to order a starter to keep us from wilting.

Our appetizer: 'Krathong Tong' (160 baht), which is basically minced shrimp, crabmeat and corn in a crispy pastry shell arrived in good time.

They looked fairly pretty, but unfortunately were rather sweet. Whilst corn has a natural sweetness to it, I think these had been bumped up with extra sweetness. A shame, because they would have been good otherwise.

We duly waited for the rest of the dishes to come out, and the first dish to be served was the stir fried bok choy with garlic (160 baht).

Thankfully, it wasn't greasy, but in my personal opinion, I thought it could have done with a tad more garlic to really impart their flavour onto the bok choy.

The grilled cotton fish in Thai herbs wrapped in banana leaf (520 baht) was the next to come out. The fish was moist and tasty. My mother thought it could have done with a little more spice. It had already been de-boned and beheaded, so those a little squeamish about being served a whole fish with head still on need not worry here.

The final dish to arrive was the 'Gai Phad Khing On', chicken with sliced young ginger (190 baht). Again, not greasy, but not enough ginger. I only got little morsels of ginger here and there, which for me, just wasn't enough to really love this dish. Personally, I love this when it is loaded with lots of sliced ginger, in fact, an insurmountable amount, the better.

I have to agree with my mother, the food is catered more to the foreigner. The dishes just didn't reach the point of spicyness that Thai food (catered to Thais) should be and the tastes of the dishes were more subtle in flavour.

It makes sense that many foreigners love Baan Kanitha and the fact that the other tables occupied today were indeed occupied by foreigners.

Service is polite and friendly. There is also a bakery and cafe to the side of the restaurant.

Baan Kanitha & Gallery
69 South Sathorn Road, Thungmahamek, South Sathorn, Bangkok 10120
Tel: +66 (0)2 675 4200-1
Nearest Station: Lumpini MRT, take exit to Sathorn Road. Get a taxi or motorsai or walk about 8 minutes. Baan Kanitha will be on your left hand side.

HOURS

Daily 11am-11pm

Secret Garden, Sathorn, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 06:22:00 +0000

Secret Garden in Sathorn sits in a beautiful English tea room styled house. With a pretty front garden, this place is nestled behind a tall wall on the busy Sathorn road.

I guess it's not so 'secret' these days with so many other outlets (namely CentralWorld and Thonglor).

In Sathorn there is parking, which can get full pretty quickly, especially on Sundays. This place is famous for their crepe cake, which I must admit was the reason for my and my DM's visit today.

We arrived just before midday, so there were still a few car park spaces left.

On entering the high ceiling restaurant, we were warmly welcomed by courteous and friendly staff

The Thai and English menu consists of fusion style Thai food. We ordered a cooked salmon salad (240 baht), crispy spring rolls, shrimp paste fried rice and spicy glass noodle prawn salad.

The staff all speak pretty good English, so no worries if you don't speak Thai.

First out was the cooked salmon salad. With fresh herbs and dried chillies, it was a little spicy, but not so much as to blow one's head off. They also gave us extra dressing in a side bowl should we need it. The salmon was lovely, but we both found the dressing a little bit on the salty side.

The crispy spring rolls came with a slightly sweet syrupy sauce. These were crispy, non-greasy and although not traditional in the sense of spring roll filling that I am used to, they were good.

The shrimp paste fried rice came with all the condiments on the side: dried shrimps, freshly sliced chillies, red onion, raw mango, sweet pork and slices of omelette on top of the rice. We both really enjoyed this dish, dm especially.

The prawn glass noodle salad came with plenty of juicy, plump prawns, fresh herbs and chopped peanuts (which so many foreigners, rightly or wrongly, associate with Thai cooking).

The salad was fresh and maybe a little bit on the sweet side.

Seeing as this place is famous for their crepe cake. What better way to end than a cup of tea with cake. All their teas are served in the one pot, one cup set. How rather quaint and adorable I say!

The slice of crepe cake came drizzled with strawberry coulis on top. It was delicious, soft crepe, fresh cream, not too sweet strawberry coulis.

All in all, we were pretty satisfied. Service was excellent I thought, savoury food was pretty good and their crepe cake was just lovely. In fact, I have heard that their cakes is the reason for why so many people come here. And really, they serve a lot of crepe cake!

This is a lovely, tranquil hideaway from the hustle and bustle of Sathorn road. It really did remind me of an English country garden in so many different ways . . . and I have to say, having been brought up in the Cotswolds, England (where I was surrounded by tea shops), it brought on a lot of nostalgia, in a good way of course.

Secret Garden
117 Thanon Sathon Tai, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10500
Tel: +66 (0)2 286 2464
Nearest MRT: Lumpini Park, exit for Sathorn Road. Take a taxi or walk about 8 or so minutes.

HOURS

Daily 11am-10pm

Dumpling Crazy At Din Tai Fung, CentralWorld, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Din Tai Fung, Bangkok has a fairly large location on the 7th floor in CentralWorld.

I have eaten at a Din Tai Fung restaurant before, in Sydney, Australia. It was recommended by some friends who are a Sydney-siders who love food. All I can say is, it was good!

Din Tai Fung in Bangkok has an open dumpling kitchen so patrons can watch the chefs making the dumplings whilst salivating.

For those who may not know, Din Tai Fung is in fact a Taiwanese dumpling restaurant. Many people come for their 'xiao long bao' dumplings, which do in fact come from Shanghai and those passionate about these dumplings will tell you that only in Shanghai can you get the best xiao long bao.

Although I have been to Shanghai, unfortunately I have never eaten these wonderful dumplings there. I was, but a mere backpacker at the time.

Nevertheless, we ordered half a dozen of these soup and meat dumplings (145 baht), half a dozen prawn and pork shao mai (close to 200 baht I think?), noodles with spicy minced beef, steamed pork soup (185 baht) and stir fry veggies (sorry folks, can't remember their chinese name ... terrible I know!).

The xiao long bao dumplings were hot, beautifully wrapped morsels. The wrappers were just the right consistency, not too thin and not too thick.

The prawn and pork shao mai looked liked beautiful little parcels. The fanciest shao mai I have ever seen.

Again they were hot, but a little difficult to eat. I found myself biting the top part (the prawn) before then digging into the bottom. The dumpling wrappers were a little thick and glutinous. The mince pork had been well seasoned.

The noodles are dan dan noodles (spicy Sichuan noodles). Being complete noodle freaks, we both really enjoyed these. In fact, you may have noticed how much Thais in general, love noodles ....

The steamed pork soup was very tasty. It wasn't overly salty at all which I loved. The pork just fell off the bone. Steamed pork soup is (for me at least) a comfort food and many who grew up with Chinese parents will readily know what I mean.

The stir fry veggies were also good. Lightly stir fried, they weren't greasy at all which was really very pleasant.

Staff are friendly, polite and well-trained. Tea is constantly topped up, so no having to wait around trying to flag someone down. If you're craving some good dumplings, then get yourself down to Din Tai Fung in CentralWorld.

By the time we finished, the place was full. Just like in Sydney, people were queuing up to get in. I'm glad we arrived here just before the mad lunch rush (midday) and I'd advise anyone who wants to avoid queuing to do the same.

Din Tai Fung

7th Floor, CentralWorld Shopping Mall, Bangkok

Tel: 02-646-1282

Nearest BTS: Siam or Chidlom. Follow the signed skywalk.

HOURS

Daily 10am-10pm

Fat Fish Seafood Bistro, Watthana, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:01:00 +0000

Fat Fish Seafood Bistro sits not too far down Sukhumvit Soi 31 on the right hand side if walking from Sukhumvit road.

It looks all shiny and new from the outside and as you step inside, the interior is modern industrial with exposed brick walls, soft lighting and a bar that looks rather inviting.

I came here with Fluff (my American fellow foodie) as we couldn't find our original destination, the Home Run Bar. Seriously, where are you?

Anyhow, back to Fat Fish, Fluff said that she heard some good things about this place and since it was raining cats and dogs, we decided to get out of the rain and into some shelter for some much needed food.

At 8pm on a school night, there were only a couple of other tables occupied. An empty place isn't necessarily always a bad thing I kept telling myself.

The menu, as you can imagine, consisted of a lot of fish and seafood. Over the page was a small, but adequate tapas menu and we decided to share a few of them rather than get a main each.

We ordered small plates of calamari fritters (90 baht), paprika potato wedges (90 baht), garlic prawns (120 baht), and (from the specials) cheese and spinach spring rolls (120 baht).

We got complimentary warm bread with butter, pesto olive oil and tuna dip. The bread was soft and Fluff wasn't too impressed with it. Myself, I thought the bread was a little too soft all over for my liking. The dips were pretty good though.

Now, this is where the meal started to go from bad to worse. The waitress brought us what I thought looked like the crab triangles that I had seen on the menu. We never ordered these by the way.

When we told the waitress that we didn't order these, the poor thing looked like a lost puppy and went to ask the kitchen. She returned to tell us that these were the spring rolls. I had to laugh. Do they look like spring rolls to you? Exactly!

We decided not to make a fuss though and on first bite, I looked over at Fluff, who was eating them with disdain and I exclaimed how they were indeed the crab triangles. She just nodded in agreement.

Next up, the paprika potato wedges. Now these were hot and crispy, but they could have done with a side of sour cream. They were good, but given that our only choice of sauces were thousand island dressing or tomato ketchup, we both declined.

Onto to the calamari fritters - a light batter - I thought they were just a tad over on the chewy side. Again, they lacked substance and needed a good drizzle of fresh lemon and some freshly ground black pepper.

The garlic prawns were juicy and plump, there was also plenty of chopped garlic. So this one came out as described on the menu ... garlic prawns.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the spring rolls, but they were like rolled up thin cigars. And again, a dipping sauce of some sort would have been nice.

Maybe we just chose badly, but we both felt like we had just eaten a load of deep-fried batter (of which we had) that just left a taste of oil in our mouths.

Neither of us enjoyed the tapas, especially when they brought out a dish that we hadn't ordered and then proceeded to tell us that they were the spring rolls. And then, only to bring out the spring rolls at the end. But it was also our fault for not kicking up a fuss in the first place.

As we paid the bill, we looked out of the window to the opposite restaurant, only to notice how chock full of people it was ... always a good sign in my eyes.

And finally, to give you another review to read just so you don't just take our word for it, Hungry In Bangkok visited Fat Fish last year.

Fat Fish Seafood Bistro
20/4 Sukhumvit 31, Sukhumvit Road, Klongton Nua, Watthana
Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong, exit 5. Take a right onto Sukhumvit Soi 31 and Fat Fish will be on your right hand side.

HOURS
Daily:
Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm

Dinner 6:00pm-10:30pm

Le Dalat Indochine, Sukhumvit, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:26:00 +0000

From Hanoi with love. Le Dalat Indochine is a Vietnamese restaurant nestled towards the northern end of Sukhumvit Soi 23. Housed in a converted 200 year old traditional Thai house, the restaurant feels more like an upmarket antiques store as you enter the front lobby area where there are two open rooms on either side.

Tonight, Mr. P joined me for dinner. The place was fairly busy and we hadn't made a reservation, but it wasn't necessary. A friendly waitress dressed from head to toe in traditional Vietnamese dress showed us to our table by the window. The dining room is one big room with two person tables, and larger ones for bigger parties.

The menu has photo illustrations of some of the dishes (which always helps when deciphering dishes one is not familiar with), and the head waitress was very enthusiastic in pointing stuff out to us.

We ordered the Vietnamese rice paper prawn rolls, along with beef pho and a grilled beef with dry rice noodles.

A mini herb garden was brought out to us along with some pickled shredded carrot and turnip:

Our rice paper spring rolls were plump, the rice paper was thin and the sweet dipping sauce wasn't too sweet.

The beef pho came as a three piece set: a plate of herbs and finely sliced pieces of raw beef; a bowl of noodles and veggies, and another small bowl of broth. The latter of which sat atop a candle which was lit to heat up the broth for a minute or so.

Once the broth was done, the waiter duly poured it into the bowl of noodles and veggies whilst we proceeded to add the beef and the herbs.

The stock didn't have the body that we were expecting. It was too bland and to be honest, a little disappointing. Mr. P and I agreed that this was not the best beef pho we've ever had.

The grilled beef and dry noodles (sorry, can't remember the official name!?) was, on the otherhand pretty good. Loaded with lots of different vegetables: cucumber, carrot, daikon, onions and so on, it was fresh and light.

For dessert, we chose the creme brulee, Vietnamese style. I won't say what it reminded me of when it was brought to the table ... I am sure you can guess what I was thinking.

Mr. P took a bite and as we both looked at each other, he asked me if I thought the toffee tasted burnt. It did. And we didn't really enjoy it.

Service is very attentive here. The bathrooms are huge with lots of wall paraphernalia and the like for you to amuse yourself with for a while.

As I looked across at the dishes the other tables had ordered, I thought perhaps we had ordered badly. There were delicious looking plates of seafood, shrimp on sugar cane sticks and other good looking morsels.

I'd love to give this place another go, as a group rather than dining for two. That way, I'd get to try more from the menu to really get a taste of what this place has to offer.

Le Dalat Indochine
57/1 Sukhumvit Soi 23, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel: +66 (0)2 6640 670
Nearest BTS: Asoke, exit 6. Take the steps on your left hand side down to Sukhumvit road. Turn left at the bottom of the stairs to walk along Sukhumvit road. Take a left onto Sukhumvit Soi 23 and keep walking for about eight or so minutes. Le Dalat Indochine will be on your left hand side.

HOURS
Open Daily:
Lunch 11:00-14:30pm
Dinner 18:00-22:30pm

Middle Eastern Delight: Nadimos, Silom, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:55:00 +0000

Hummus, hommus, hommos, homos, humus, hamos - whichever way one spells it - is an Arabic dip made from cooked chickpeas, mashed and blended together with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.

I've eaten this delightful mushy treat in some of the traditional places where it is found, namely Israel, Jordon, Egypt, Morrocco and the Emirates.

Nadimos is a Lebanese restaurant in Bangkok which has two outlets. The first (and the original) sits inside the Baan Silom complex. There is outside seating which makes for lovely alfresco dining with friends or inside seating where the air is cool and patrons have a view of the open kitchen. There is also an upstairs, so there is plenty of seating.

Mr. P and MD joined me today for lunch. We ordered a variety of dishes: 'hommos Beiruti' at 150 baht (as seen in the picture above) 'tabbouleh' at 110 baht, 'spicy potato' at 150 baht, 'musakaa' at 160 baht, the 'shawarme mixed plate' at 240 baht, and some pitta bread for 60 baht.

First, we were served a plate of pickled vegetables with a garlic and a chilli dip. The pink vegetables are in fact turnip coloured pink with beetroot. The chilli dip was spicy, REALLY spicy, but thankfully the garlic dip was only mildly garlic.

The tabbouleh salad was a huge bowl of finely chopped fresh parsley, onion and tomatoes, subtly dressed. Being a Lebanese tabbouleh salad, notice how it is mostly parsley and not bulger wheat ... this was the top contender for Mr P. and MD.

This musakaa differs greatly from the Greek moussaka. The aubergine (eggplant) was velvety, with no trace of bitterness. The chickpeas were cooked through and the tomato based sauce wasn't overpowering. This reminded Mr. P. a little like a French ratatouille.

This shawarma mixed plate is thin slices of cooked lamb and chicken with chopped parsley, tomato and fine slithers of onion. It comes served with a quartered pitta bread. We all felt the meat was a tad too dry and would have preferred bigger slices of juicier meat.

The spicy potatoes were diced golden brown nuggets of delicious starchiness covered in lots of chopped garlic and coriander. These were my absolute favourite. I'm a sucker for garlic fries, so these were more than perfect in my eyes.

The hommos was also delightful, not too garlicky, not too lemony, not too chickpea-y. I've had various different versions of hommos and to be honest, I have never tasted a really bad one out. I say 'out', because having tried making my own a few times, I failed miserably to get it right. I'm not the only person I know to have failed miserably at their own attempt at making hommos. My good friend back in the UK also confessed to me that he just couldn't get it right. Please somebody tell us what we are doing wrong?!

There is no service charge or government tax added to your bill here. This makes for an even more pleasant experience.

Nadimos also has another restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 24, opposite the Davis Hotel. I haven't been, but if the food is anything like this one, then it's going to be good.

Nadimos
Baan Silom, 651 Silom Soi 19, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel: +66 (0)2 266 9081
Nearest BTS: Chong Nongsi, exit 3. Get a taxi to take you to Baan Silom (opposite Silom Village) on your left hand-side.
OR
Sala Daeng, exit 2. Get a taxi to drive straight down Silom Road and get off at Baan Silom on your left hand-side.

HOURS

Daily 11am-Midnight

Tan Tan Men, Watthana, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 10:24:00 +0000

My American friend Fluff, (who knows a thing or two about food having worked with some top chefs) told me about this place. So of course, I needed to pay a visit to Tan Tan Men.

I went a couple of times in order to try two different ramen dishes. The restaurant is clean, light and bright. Located in an old shop house - it is small but tall - meaning there are three floors of seating.

The girls welcome every guest with as much gusto as they bid farewell, which is pretty enthusiastically. You'll know when patrons enter or leave this place. The kitchen is located at the back of the ground floor which is slightly open for viewing.

On my first visit, I chose the 'Curry Ramen' at 150 baht. I simply couldn't believe how big a portion they served. Wow, I was a little overwhelmed, but seeing as I was hungry, I started to tuck in. The curry was only mild and it certainly wouldn't blow any heads off. This ramen was fat and tasty. It was so filling, I couldn't finish the whole lot. Shame because I really enjoyed it. Next time though, I will order the Tonkatsu curry ramen (breaded deep-fried pork cutlet) for a bit of added protein.

On my second visit, I ordered the 'Tan Tan Men' ramen at 140 baht. Again, I couldn't believe the shear scale of the mammoth portion that was brought out to me. It came topped with fresh beansprouts and spring onions (scallions). The sesame seed based broth was delightful and left a rather pleasant peanut-y aftertaste. Again, I simply couldn't finish the whole lot, and again, what a shame!

They also serve one plate rice dishes, stir fry vegetable dishes, fried rice and a few other things like gyoza and tempura.

Prices are reasonable, especially considering how big a portions they are. Service is polite, friendly and efficient (as one would expect in a Japanese restaurant). And to top it all off, there is no added service charge or government tax to the bill. Love this place for all sorts of reasons and I will be back.

Tan Tan Men
595/20 Sukhumvit Soi 33/1, Khlong Tan Nua, Watthana, Bangkok
Tel: +66 (0)2 662 2084
Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong, exit 5. Keep walking ahead and turn right into Soi 33/1 at the corner of Robin Hood pub. Tan Tan men is just up on the right-hand side.

HOURS

Daily 11am - Midnight

A Workshop-Come-Restaurant-Come-Bar: Iron Fairies, Thong Lor, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 08:52:00 +0000

It's not everyday that one gets to sit in a dungeon-like, fully functioning blacksmith's workshop eating a burger and fries amongst gargoyles and fairies. But in this crazy city known as Bangkok, one can.

Enter through a narrow wooden doorway, drape back the black curtain to reveal a dramatic spiral iron staircase that looks as though it might lead up into some sort of enchanted Narnia.

As your eyes take their time to adjust to the darkness, ambient jazz plays in the background and you will begin to realise that this place is like no other bar and restaurant. It feels almost mystical, like some kind of secret society meeting chamber.

Iron Fairies serve burgers and fries, so if you want any other food, I suggest you go looking elsewhere.

Space is also quite limited, making for a more intimate experience. I have to say, it is really a rather cool concept in a tiny little space.

There are a few burgers on offer and my dinner companion tonight - an American lady who I will refer to as Fluff - and I decided to choose two to share.

Fluff being American knows a thing or two about the burger. It is, afterall, an American institution and (according to Wikipedia) the hamburger appeared on the first printed American menu in 1826 from Delmonico's in New York.

Unfortunately I didn't record the names of any of the burgers on the menu nor the prices. But from what I recall, they were between 190-230 baht. Fluff went for a classic burger, and me having been brought up in England, ordered the bacon and egg burger.

As we sat pondering life in this workshop, the burgers were brought to us on solid wooden chopping boards, held to the board with a big steak knife through the middle of each burger and the burgers themselves held together by two big barbeque sticks. "Now that is a burger!" exclaimed Fluff. I had to agree, it was indeed a burger in a bun as I know it.

As Fluff bit into her burger, she exclaimed how she could taste 'beef' ... "which is how a hamburger should be" she said with a look of approval.

As I bit into mine, there was no taste of beef. I didn't read the description very well as it was simply a 'bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato' burger, (BELT) which was nice enough and is simply a BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) and a BET (bacon, egg and tomato) together.

The bacon was crispy, the lettuce was crunchy, the tomato was a slice of 'beef' tomato and the bread bun was 'bready' ... just like bread from back in the UK.

We also ordered a side of fries which came out piping hot. Again, as Fluff bit into the first of her fries, she looked over at me and said "You can taste the starch in these fries ... this is what fresh fries should taste like." I grabbed one and bit into it, it reminded me of my homemade potato wedges (which are always very popular with guests by the way!).

The fries being irregular in shape suggests that they are handcut. They were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and non-greasy.

I really didn't have any complaints. Fluff confessed to preferring her beef burger to my bacon burger. For me, I liked them both for different reasons. I can take a burger without the beef, although does that still make it a burger? Or would that just make it a bap sandwich? I won't get all pendantic about it ....

If you want something different, take a visit to Iron Fairies, have a burger, have a drink and maybe take home a fairy as a souvenir or as a gift.

The Iron Fairies
394 Thonglor Road (Sukhumvit Soi 55), opposite Ton Krueng Thai Restaurant, Bangkok
Tel +66 (0)84 425 8080

Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong, exit 2. At the bottom of the steps, take a taxi (about 50 baht depending on traffic) or motorsai to turn left into Sukhumvit Soi 55. Stop just after Thong Lo Soi 12 on the right hand side. Iron Fairies is just a little past Thong Lo Soi 12.

HOURS
Daily 6pm-2am

A Spot Of Something French: Café Tartine, Pathumwan, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:15:00 +0000

Café Tartine is very close to the BTS station, so you won't be sweating buckets when on arrival (which is always makes for a more pleasant dining experience).

This place reminds me of some of the chain-like brunch places in NYC and London, namely 'Le Pain Quotidien', although Café Tartine is more homely and unique.

The interior is light and airy with fan ceilings. Huge glass door cabinets are neatly lined with designer glass water bottles in the seating area, whilst a homely country style kitchen complete with counter top occupies the other half. The white shirt aproned service staff all look completely at home, bustling away as they take, prepare and serve orders.

The menu has a good selection of breakfast items, crepes, sandwiches (with your choice of bread), a couple of soups including the obligatory french onion soup, salads, or if you so prefer, there is a 'make-your-own' salad option where you just tick off what you want from the list. Beverages include coffees, including an XXL bowl option, shakes, and other drinks.

Mr. P joined me for lunch today as I had already told him that I would take him to a wonderful place for something a little French. As we stepped inside, I could tell Mr. P approved of this café.

Feeling right at home with the menu, Mr. P chose the ham and melted brie baguette (around 190 baht). The baguette was crunchy on the outside, and lovingly soft on the inside. He was pretty pleased with his baguette sandwich and it brought back memories of his many childhood summers spent in France.

I ordered the salade nicoise (220 baht) which was a hefty plate of salad topped with boiled egg, tomato, boiled potato, olives, red peppers, green beans and let's not forget, the tuna itself!

The olives were fat and juicy, the tuna was soft and well, tuna. The ingredients all tasted wonderfully fresh, but if I had one complaint - and it is a small one - I would have liked the lettuce to have been better tossed in the dressing as the salad leaves at the top were not as well dressed as those at the bottom.

All in all though, a really tasty and well-thought out generous salade nicoise.

We both finished off the meal with a coffee which was steaming hot and again, very generous. And a dessert of course; me having the tart tatin and Mr. P having the lime pie.

I had suggested sharing to Mr. P before ordering, but he would not listen. So when the very generous portions arrived, we couldn't believe our eyes and Mr. P confessed that we should have indeed shared ... men! Our neighbours even eyed up our desserts and exclaimed how good they looked.

The apples on the tart tartin oozed with just the right amount of sweetness, the caramel infused pastry was delicious, although not puff pastry. Again, it tasted good and the caramel sauce with fresh cream on the side is a lovely addition for those with an extra sweet tooth.

The lime pie looked just like a British lemon meringue pie, but of course the French have their own 'Tarte Meringuée au Citron', so nothing British about this one ....

The meringue was very light with the edges browned just enough on top, and the lime curd was on the right side of sour. The pastry was slightly biscuit-like which Mr. P (as an Englishman) loves.

Service is polite and friendly here. There is seating outside with tall floor fans, which I imagine is really lovely for chilling out in once the heat subsides a little in the evenings.

They also offer free wifi which is fantastic. Having been here twice already, I noticed how lunch time between 12:30-13:30pm is absolutely buzzing, so if you want to avoid the manic rush, come either before or after this hour.

I have yet to try their croissants, of which I am so looking forward to doing very soon.

Café Tartine
Soi Ruam Rudee at Athenee Residence, 65 Wireless Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel: +66 (0)2 168 5464

Nearest BTS: Ploenchit, exit 4. U-turn at the bottom of the stairs, take the first left into Soi Ruam Rudee and Cafe Tartine is a mere 100 metres on the right hand side.

HOURS

Daily 8am-8pm

Boran Noodle Shop, Klong Toey, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:13:00 +0000

Boran, simply put, is a traditional Thai-style noodle shop set in a modern air-conditioned retro Thai-style cafe. Located on the second floor of the Exchange Tower makes it within walking distance to Asoke BTS via the sky walkway.

Retro posters adorn the walls, along with a retro looking portable tv that takes pride of place on a high shelf next to the semi-open kitchen. The dark wooden stools and tables that populate this noodle cafe is a salute to the old school markets and stalls.

The menu comes in Thai, so if you don't read Thai (like me) just request for one in English instead. Saves having to work out how to decipher the menu with limited or no Thai reading skills.

Unsurprisingly, reading from the title of this post, it's all about the noodle here. The main showstopper - in my opinion - being the traditional boat style noodle soup.

Simply pick your protein from pork or beef in your preferred style: meatballs, sliced, braised, combination and so on. Then select the broth; aromatic boat style, clear soup. Move on to choosing your noodle from thick rice noodles to egg noodles to glass noodles. And finally don't forget to specify whether you require a large or a small portion. Prices range from 55-105 baht.

They also have a small selection of dim sum: pork or prawn shui mai, prawn har gau (all 45 baht each), bbq pork buns and a couple of others for 25 baht each.

My steamed prawn shui mai came out alarmingly quick. This is good if you are super hungry, bad if you are a little wary (like me) of why food comes out so soon. But, I have to say they were plump, juicy, and really quite tasty considering. Just remember that this is Thai style dim sum, not Cantonese style dim sum. Yes, there is a difference!

Now for the braised beef boat style noodles. I chose glass noodles (woon sen) as they are made from mung beans and therefore, I regard them as a healthier alternative to rice noodles.

Below is a small, but very generous portion. It had lots of yummy fresh veggies; cabbage, greens, coriander and beansprouts. The braised beef was super tender, although a little fatty. But nothing that a bit of carefully orchestrated biting with good chopstick skills can't solve. Besides, cooking with the fat still on the meat only helps to tenderise it during the cooking process and adds a bucket load of meaty goodness to the flavour of the soup.

On a separate occasion, I came back to try their braised pork boat noodles, again with glass noodles. The pork was less fatty, but still super tender.

You can make it as salty, sour, sweet or spicy as you like with the traditional four condiments that is mandatory for Thai noodle soups. Thai noodle soup served without these four condiments is like serving a scone without jam and cream.

Drinks here include old fashioned rock sodas, iced teas and coffees, Singha beer and a handful of other soft drinks.

Service is quick, friendly and easy going. It may not be as cheap as a street stall, but in my book, it is certainly more comfortable and you do get very generous portions.

BORAN
2/F, Exchange Tower, 388 Sukhumvit Rd, Klong Toey, Bangkok
Tel: +66 (0)88 022 4022
Nearest BTS: Asoke, exit 6. Walk along the skywalk and take the walkway into the Exchange Tower on the right hand side. Boran is the second shop on the left as you enter the building.

HOURS
Mon-Fri: 7:30am-8:30pm
Sat-Sun: 10:30am-8:30pm

Cupcakes Are A Girl's Best Friend: Sparkles Cupcakery, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:00:00 +0000

'Add Sparkles, eat more cupcakes'. Now this is one mantra that you can imagine Carrie Bradshaw from Sex And The City might have chanted back in the day.

Sparkles is not your normal cupcake bakery. It is a gourmet cupcake bakery for grown ups who love a bit of the sweet life. You won't find any artificial sprinkles or oreo cookies here. All the ingredients are carefully sourced, and every cupcake is freshly baked and lovingly frosted by the one and only Thai-American Sophie.

The bakery is small, but everything is beautifully laid out. You'll notice how each cake stand houses just one cupcake. Do not fret, Sophie has a whole lot more in her upstairs pantry should you request several others (which isn't hard to do by the way!).

There is a little corner should you want to eat your cake there and then. And you can also request a hot or cold beverage to go with it.

Now, before I go any further, I have to tell you that I came to Sparkles twice, two days in a row in fact.

On my first day, I had the 'Marbled red velvet cake'. The sponge was moist, the frosting was light, it wasn't too sweet and it wasn't too dense. I have to confess, this was the best cupcake I have had in Bangkok.

The next day, I decided to come back to make sure that this wasn't just a one-off lucky find. On Sophie's recommendation, I tried the 'Champagne Diamond' (named after a gemstone); peanut butter cream cheese banana cake with maple syrup.

Again, the sponge was moist, the frosting was light, the touch of maple syrup gave it a bonus oomph ... I was in heaven.

These cupcakes are the real deal and Sophie is genius with her sweet combinations.

There are 55 flavours to choose from. That means I need to come back 52 more times just to try each one and even then, I imagine Sparkles will have added more flavours to the list. All I can say is, one can never have enough cupcakes!

Since everything is made from scratch, using only the finest ingredients including organic eggs, Madagascar vanilla, Canadian maple syrup and no trans fats, you can rest assured that Sparkles cupcakes are the ultimate guilt-free cupcakes that taste like real cupcakes should.

And just to add, you can also get your fill of delicious American-style cookies here as well.

Sparkles Cupcakery

2/6 Sukhumvit Soi 53, (Soi Padi-Mani), Bangkok
Tel: +66 (0)81 136 3367

Nearest BTS: Thonglor, exit 1. Walk straight ahead at the bottom of the BTS stairs, take the first turn on your right into Sukhumvit Soi 53 and Sparkles is just ahead on the right hand side.

HOURS
Mon-Sat: 9am-7pm

Sun: 11am-6pm

It's Happened To Be A Closet @ Emporium, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:46:00 +0000

Don't you just love Thai-lish? What? Exactly!

Let me rephrase that question; don't you just love Thai-English? That is, English spoken and written the Thai way.

'It's happened to be a closet' doesn't make grammatical sense to a native English speaker, but we all know that grammatical mistakes can and does (often) happen in this part of the world. And so as a native English speaker, I often find myself speaking English the local way in order to make myself understood to the locals. Note to self: permission granted to friends to slap me if I ever speak Thai-lish in their presence.

Anyway, back to It's Happened To Be A Closet, The menu is made up of Italian inspired fare with a few French things thrown in for good measure: soups (including onion soup), pasta, osso buco stew, desserts, coffee (Lavazza).

The décor is eclectic shabby-chic; tables and chairs line the outside, clothes and other interesting paraphernalia make up the interesting closet inside.

I ordered a pasta 'bacon olio' (over 200 baht) and an iced coffee. Both of which I have completely forgotten exactly how much. Sorry folks, wasn't paying too much attention today.

I was brought a lovely little oven tray full of different breads: garlic, cheesy, walnut and focaccia. They were deliciously warm and fresh.

My iced coffee came with a big dollop of cream from a can, which I duly asked the waiter to remove. A girl like me simply cannot consumme full fat cream in such blatant form. It has to be hidden for me to enjoy - wierd I know - I have some strange quirks.

My spaghetti bacon olio was a very generous portion as you can see. The ingredients were fresh and plenty of them. The pasta is obviously the dried stuff and if I'm honest, it was a little on the oily side for me. Service is polite and unassuming.

Overall, the food isn't cheap here. In fact I'd say it is a little on the pricey side. Is it worth it? Well, it's a pretty unique concept and it's a great spot for a relaxing lunch or afternoon tea.

Would I go back? Yes I would; I want to try their baked onion soup; I love the cuteness of the place; the colourful shabby chic décor and the fact that it happens to be a closet as well.

It's Happened To Be A Closet

Emporium Mall, Fl. 2, 622 Sukhumivt Rd., Kongton, Klongtoey, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand

Tel: +66 (0)2 664 7211 2

Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong, exit 2

HOURS
Daily 10:45am-10pm

Cabbages & Condoms, Klongtoey, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:07:00 +0000

Unlike any other, this restaurant supports the promotion of family planning, safe sex and HIV prevention in Thailand. Set up by former politician and activist Mechai Viravaidya, Cabbages and Condoms serves Thai food in a two storey building with a beautiful garden courtyard.

As you enter the Cabbages & Condoms hexagonal brick path, you'll pass their handicraft store which sells all sorts of condom related gifts. This place is light-hearted, fun and most important of all, is geared towards a good cause.

When you get to the restaurant's front desk, you'll be met by friendly service who'll take you to your table.

There is plenty of dishes to choose from and for a lunch time, I was pleasantly surprised to find a mixture of clientele from tourists to ladies who lunch to men in suits.

Being on my own, I don't like to order too much, so I opted for stir fried rice noodles with chicken in soy sauce (phad si-ew gai) 100 baht:

Along with stir fried morning glory with chilli and garlic (pak boong fai daeng) 100 baht:

The food was tasty, filling and plenty of it. I simply couldn't finish it all as it really was enough for two people.

If you want a meal in a unique setting where part of the profits go towards a good cause, then make sure Cabbages & Condoms is on your list.

Come along in the evening and sit in the beautiful courtyard which lights up like a pretty fairyland and take in the beautiful surroundings.

Cabbages & Condoms
10 Sukhumvit Soi 12, Bangkok 10260
Tel: +66 (0)2 229 4611
Nearest BTS: Asoke, exit 2. Walk straight ahead at the bottom of the stairs, past Times Square building. Take a left onto Sukhumvit Soi 12 and walk up a couple of hundred metres.

HOURS

Daily 11am-10pm

Baan Kanitha, Wattana, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:00:00 +0000

A long established restaurant, Baan Kanitha (House of Kanitha) occupies a traditional Thai style house with plenty of parking on Sukhumvit Soi 23. It's a fair few minutes walk from Sukhumvit road and you'll need to pass all the masseuse girls along this soi before you reach the restaurant on your right hand side.

There is seating both indoor and out in the pretty lamplit lush garden. Just be weary of mosquitos lurking around; get your spray on or be prepared to be bitten.

Traditional teak wood furnishing lends to the old style feel of this place and in doing so, creates a warm and pleasant atmosphere.

A waiter took us to a table by the window and handed us some menus. There is a wide variety to choose from: starters, curries, vegetables, stir fries, seafood and so forth.

After Mr. P and I avidly discussed the game plan for our feast, we placed our order and we were pleasantly surprised when the waiter asked if we had any allergies. As this is the first time that I have ever been asked this question in Thailand, BIG kudos to Baan Kanitha for implementing this into their standard order taking procedure.

Our waiter duly went off with our table order and swiftly came back with a complimentary plate of 'meang kum'; a tasty Thai appetizer traditionally served to welcome guests.

For those unfamiliar with this dish, it's betel leaves served with roasted unsalted peanuts, dried shrimp, diced young ginger, lime, chilli, shallots, toasted shredded coconut and a shrimp paste based sauce which includes shredded coconut, garlic, ginger, shallot, fish sauce and palm sugar.

To eat, simply pick up a leaf, spoon a bit of everything into the centre, fold leaf together to make an easy all-in-one parcel, pop into the mouth and enjoy. It is a simple, yet delightful explosion of many different flavours all at once and is a great way to whet the appetite. Mr. P gave this a big thumbs up!

We followed this with a pork red curry (gaeng phed moo). A coconut milk red chilli based curry with sliced pork, Thai pea eggplant and quartered Thai green striped eggplant, kaffir lime and basil leaves. It wasn't overpoweringly spicy (as requested) and was really quite delicious:

Next up, the stir fried mince chicken with Thai basil and chilli (phad krapow gai sarp). A favourite of Mr. P's and a well known Thai dish which when served as a one plate dish comes with a fried egg on top. Again, just lovely:

And to make sure we got our 'five-a-day', stir fried morning glory with garlic and chilli in yellow bean sauce (pak boong fai daeng). We both love this vegetable and Mr. P confesses to liking the Thai style of stir frying it over any other.

Ingredients were fresh and tasty. None of the dishes were bland, they don't use MSG here and they also have brown rice instead of Jasmine should you have a preference.

Mr. P and I thought service and food were good. We were treated well and after a satisfying meal, asked if we needed a taxi.

A really tasty meal with fresh ingredients set in a beautiful old house with good service. They also have a few other branches around central Bangkok which I can't (yet) comment on. Perhaps if you can, you would?

Baan Kanitha
36/1 Sukhumvit Soi 23, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel: +66 (0)2 258 4181 / 4128
Nearest BTS: Asoke, exit 6. Take the steps on your left hand side down to Sukhumvit road. Turn left at the bottom of the stairs to walk along Sukhumvit road. Take a left onto Sukhumvit Soi 23 and keep walking for about five or so minutes. Baan Kanitha will be on your right hand side.

HOURS

Daily 11am-11pm

NY-style bagels at last! BKK Bagel Bakery, Pathumwan, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Don't you just love learning something new, however big or small that new thing may be?

I do, and today I learnt a few interesting facts from the manager of this less than six months old bagel bakery which I will share with you later on in this post.

But first, I would like to introduce the first ever (dedicated) bagel bakery in Bangkok, BKK Bagel Bakery. It's a short hop, skip and a jump from Chidlom BTS, exit 2.

It's a small place, but with maximum impact: light and airy, stuffed full of delicious looking bagels, chewy brownies, American style cookies, NY blueberry cheesecake, moist carrot cake and so forth. Everything is clearly displayed on their chalkboard (with friendly manager included in my picture) below:

Choose from their signature bagel sandwich stuffings or choose to make your own. Get a side of coleslaw or salad and you have the perfect bagel lunch. With six different bagels to choose from, its hard to go wrong.

Since I have recently decided to become a more adventurous eater, I thought I ought to broaden my horizons today.

Although I will confess some things are and will forever remain off limits for reasons I won't bore you with.

So to follow through on my promise, I ordered the 'open-faced tongue sandwich' on a wholewheat bagel (200 Baht) along with an iced coffee (50 Baht) to wash it all down with. Oh how I wish I could see some of your facial reactions to my choice.

Nevertheless, whilst my bagel was being prepared, I discovered the following:

1. Bagels are boiled before baking. This helps to create the chewy texture inside.

2. Bagels are a Jewish cuisine.

3. Bagels are historically linked to pretzels.

4. Bagels should not be kept in a paper bag overnight as it makes them rock hard the next day.

5. Bagels are best kept in a plastic bag overnight to avoid becoming rock hard.

And now for a close-up of my open-faced beef tongue sandwich:

Yes, it's a mighty big tongue, what do you expect for a cow?!

For anyone who may be a bit squeamish about eating beef tongue, please don't be. If you didn't know that this was tongue, you'd think it was delicious homemade corned beef.

Now to get this beef tongue super tender, I was told how it goes through a lengthy process which involves all sorts of brining and marinating. It's a true labour of love and one that is clearly evident in the finished product.

The horseradish sauce wasn't overpowering (unlike some) and it gave the beef tongue extra oomph. The scallions were indeed fresh with a crunchy bite. There was so much tongue, I was stuffed to the brim.

The iced coffee was also really good and because I enjoyed my bagel sandwich so much, here is another photo to end on:

I bought a couple of bagels at 35 Baht each to take home, kept them in a plastic bag overnight and toasted them the next day. They were perfect, thank you BKK Bagel Bakery manager for the storage tip!

The signature bagel sandwiches range from 150 to 225 Baht. If choosing to make your own, you could end up paying a lot less, or a bit more depending on what and how much you choose.

If you're hankering after a NY-style bagel, a delicious sandwich or American style cookies, brownies and more, get to BKK Bagel Bakery.

BKK Bagel Bakery
518/3 Maneeya Center, Ploenchit Road, Bangkok 10330
Tel: +66 (0)2 254 8157

Nearest BTS: Chidlom, exit 2. At the bottom of the stairs, turn around to the left and take a right at Haagen Dazs. BKK Bagel Bakery will be a few steps up on your right hand side.

HOURS
Mon-Fri: 8:30am-6:30pm
Sat: 8:30am-3pm
Closed Sundays

Hai Som Tam Convent, Silom, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Love Thai food? Then I'm guessing you may very well know which region of Thailand 'som tam' (papaya salad) comes from. For those of you who don't know, it comes from the northeast region of the country, known as Isaan.

Isaan has its own language, a dialect derived from the Lao language, but written in Thai alphabet. Their food is hotter, they don't use coconut as liberally as the rest of Thailand and it gets so freakin' hot during the early part of the year.

A friend of my dm's who is Isaan has to eat som tam everyday, otherwise she just doesn't function very well at all. It's akin to those who have to drink a shot of caffeine when they wake up or those who have to eat potatoes everyday. The last one may sound a little absurd, but I knew a guy back in my uni days who had eat potatoes everyday. No, he wasn't Irish, although he may have had Irish blood running somewhere down the line. Each to their own I say, each to their own.

Now, pretty much every Thai girl, woman, man who-is-watching their figure that I know simply loves som tam. Why? It's tasty, it's cheap, it's healthy and did I say it's tasty? OH yes, it sure is. I love it too. And yes, I am a woman who-is-watching her figure.

On Soi Convent off the busy Silom road, you'll find the aptly named Hai Som Tam Convent on the right hand side as you walk up from Silom. Not hard to spot, just look for a big space with strip light ceiling and bright plastic green stools:

It's farang friendly, meaning the menu has been translated into english and some of the serving staff can converse in the language too. Otherwise, just use the universal sign language of pointing to what you want on the menu.

Works like a dream, unless the font is so small that it makes your finger look like a podgy sausage and no matter how much accuracy you aim for, sometimes the wrong dish inevitably gets ordered. Yeah, happened to me once, can't remember where, wasn't in Thailand, but let's just say it definitely wasn't what I intended to order.

As I read through the menu, I couldn't help but watch the chef chopping the grilled chicken (gai yang) just in front of me. Of course I had to get me some of that juicy looking meat.

And here is half of my lunch: sticky rice (khao niew) 15Baht, small portion of grilled chicken 70Baht (or 100Baht for large portion). Comes with a plate of raw cabbage and green beans, and sprigs of fresh Thai basil. The two chilli sauces are a hot and a sweet.

The other half, som tam at 40Baht is a decent size. Freshly grated papaya, dried shrimps, peanuts, tomato, chilli, green beans all in a yummy, ever so slightly sweet dressing. Just be careful if you don't or can't take hot chilli, just ask for it without. I ordered mine with just a little chilli and I found it fairly spicy. Many locals think I am a bit of a chilli wuss. Compared to them, I am!

I got here before the lunch time rush so service was quick and attentive. There are loads of waiting staff so even during busy times, service will still be quick.

This place is clean and I even got lots of friendly smiles and laughs as I took my pictures. They didn't seem to mind at all. If you're in the area and looking for a som tam place, take a visit to Hai Som Tam Convent.

Otherwise if you live fairly close by but can't be bothered to venture out, they do deliver at a charge of 80Baht. Although I am not sure how easy it would be to order if you can't speak Thai, would love to find out ....

Hai Som Tam Convent
2/4-5 Soi Convent, Silom, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 (0)2 631 0216 / 2514
Nearest BTS: Sala Daeng

HOURS
Mon-Fri: 10am-3pm
Sat: 10am-2pm

Closed Sundays

Gourmet Burgers in Bangkok: Bangkok Burger Company, Thong Lo, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:06:00 +0000

A burger isn't the first thing one would associate with Bangkok, let alone Thailand. But Thais, especially the younger generation love this Western import and the burger market over here is dominated by one big chain of golden arches. Yep, you guessed who ... I don't need to spell it out.

So when I read about a gourmet burger joint that had opened very recently - in the last week in fact - I had to go check it out for myself, along with my dear mother (dm).

The 'Bangkok Burger Company' sits just inside Thong Lo Soi 10 on the left hand side as you enter the soi. There are benches outside for those who want to puff away whilst eating (which I think is gross by the way) or those who just love the heat (in this case I think they are just mad, nothing worse than dripping sweat whilst eating). Otherwise, step inside the air-conditioned red leather seated diner.

Six person booths line the left wall, four person tables line the right, huge glass windows let in lots of natural light and serving girls are eager to take orders.

The yellow t-shirt girls are a friendly bunch, one came over to hand us the drink menus. A quick peruse and there are milkshakes, soft drinks, hot drinks, fruit juices.

Then there is the food menu, which doubles up as a place mat. It lists everything under separate headings: sides, toppings & sauces, salad, desserts, sandwiches (three choices), chicken (two choices), vegetarian (two choices) and a fish option, namely a fish finger burger.

There is a lunch time deal which runs from 11am until 2pm: a regular burger with a choice of soft drink for 199Baht plus 7% government tax.

With many burger choices to choose from, my dm asked me to pick one out for her, so with her consent of course, I picked out the Le Parisien: french brie topped with garlic mushrooms and a dijonaise sauce.

I went for The Mexicana: Chilli con carne (beef), sour cream, salsa, grilled cheddar cheese and jalapenos. OK, not exactly a traditional burger, more like a sloppy joe. Who cares though, it's still beef in a bun right?

The open kitchen with a high counter is at the back, so you can see the chefs bustling away as they prepare your food which is great.

Music plays in the background and although it was a little quiet at first, customers started to trickle in whilst we were there. You can tell that this place is brand spanking new, with shiny leather seating and freshly painted walls. I am sure it will only be a matter of time before word to gets out about this place.

Back to the burgers though. I can't remember how long it took for our food to come out (wasn't too long and ugly), but they looked good. Here is the Le Parisien with stack of thick cut chips, skins still on, yummy!

The Mexicana, which if I do say so myself, looks mighty meaty here. This one came with a salad, which I didn't feel needed to be in the picture as the burger was the star of the show. Like a true sloppy joe, the beef slopped out of the joe (as I cut into it) and went straight into my mouth.

Here are some pictures of a few other tempting things on offer:

So what did I think of the burgers? Execution and presentation were pretty good as the burgers were lovingly juicy and very meaty. The thick cut chips were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The salad was nicely dressed. All the ingredients were fresh and tasty. They certainly make an effort to give you a 'gourmet' burger experience.

However, I felt a little let down by the buns. I like my buns (bread buns that is) to have a crispy crunch and these didn't quite have that crunchy edge. I also found the bread a teeny bit sweet for my liking, which I find is typical of bread found in Thailand. Many Thais tell me this is how they like their bread. My dm didn't seem to notice, she is Thai by the way.

All in all, I think it's great that there is a dedicated gourmet burger diner in Bangkok. I wish them well and I will look forward to going back for another little jaunt in the future.

In the meantime, Bangkok Burger Blog was fortunate enough to have had a sneak peak tasting and I for one will be interested in reading their review in the near future.

Bangkok Burger Company
Thong Lo Soi 10, Bangkok, Thailand
Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong and the take a motorbike or car taxi to Thong Lo Soi 10.

HOURS
Daily 11am-11pm

Taling Pling, CentralWorld, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:34:00 +0000

Bangkok is known as a shopping as well as an eating destination. Bangkokians love nothing more than to go shopping and to take part in eating, all the time, day and night.

But why are Thai women so skinny you ask? Let me just say, it's part gene, part eating habit. There's no need for me to go into detail. But I will say this, unfortunately I didn't inherit the first part ... yes, yes, boo hoo to me. I did however inherit the Thai 'love of eating'; which without the skinny genes, is not a good predicament to be in.

So before I get completely depressed about how I can't eat a whole tub of ice-cream without putting on weight, CentralWorld shopping mall is a huge complex which can be accessed from the skywalk which connects to both Siam and Chidlom BTS stations.

It used to be the World Trade Centre years ago and I remember it as a pretty empty, quiet sort of a place. It also came under fire during political unrest in the second quarter of last year. Nowadays, it's buzzing with life.

Having been to the Taling Pling chain of restaurants before; in Paragon shopping mall and a visit to another outlet, I liked their food. So tonight after a bit of shopping, I decided to try out their outlet in CentralWorld.

It's located in the Atrium zone of the 3rd floor and the casual, smart contemporary décor with mood lighting and floor to ceiling windows at the back, all makes for a pleasant cafe-style restaurant.

Their helpful picture menu is a godsend for those who aren't familiar with the dishes and is just a really nice guide for those who are. The focus is on homestyle Thai cooking and there's loads to choose from: appetizers, curries, noodles, one plate rice dishes, vegetarian, fish, desserts.

I wanted something a bit different and something that I hadn't eaten for some time. So I went ahead and ordered the 'spicy stir fry "sator" beans (otherwise known as fava beans) with minced pork and prawn '(155 Baht).

For those who have never eaten sator/fava beans, they have a sort of mild nutty taste and are slightly crunchy in texture. Some say these beans are slightly bitter in taste. Cooked well, i.e. with a really good, strong stir fry sauce, the bitterness is hardly noticeable. At least that's my opinion anyway.

Now, I must forewarn, this is a truely 'nose-runner' of a spicy dish, so if spicy, and by this I mean really spicy chilli is not your thing, then do remember to ask for it mild or mi phet (not hot).

And to ensure I got my five-a-day, I also ordered a plate of 'Stir fry morning glory with garlic, chilli and oyster sauce' (95 Baht). This is one of my favourite vegetable dishes of all time, although I am told that I shouldn't eat too much morning glory as it's not good for energy levels. Not sure where I heard this, but I rarely heed this advice. Needless to say, maybe this is the reason for my low energy dips in the afternoons, or maybe that's more to do with eating too much for lunch?!

Staff are friendly and polite here. Food didn't take too long to come out and I can't remember whether there was music in the background or not. Shh, I would make a rubbish restaurant critic, good job I am not one then. Although secretly, I would love to be, and now my secret desire to be one is not so secret anymore. Anyone need a restaurant critic? I am really good at eating ....

Taling Pling

3rd Flr Atrium Zone, CentralWorld Mall, Bangkok

Tel: +66 (0)2 613 1360-2

Nearest BTS: Siam and Chidlom

HOURS

Daily 10am-10pm

Crêpes & Co, Klongtoey, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Love crêpes? Me too. For those of you who don't, what's there not to like? Seriously people, they are goooood.

I actually prefer crêpes over any other style of pancake. These thin crispy edged pancakes are a wonderful French export and yes, we have them here in Bangkok.

I had been meaning to check out Crêpes & Co for some time now and today, I finally managed to get there.

It's about a five (sweaty) minute walk down Soi 12 from Sukhumvit road. Add a couple more minutes or so if walking from Asoke BTS (exit 2).

You'll see a painted white wall with their sign sticking out and at first, you may start to doubt whether this place was really worth checking out or not. At least this is what I did. And after a sweaty walk down, I was damned if I was going to turn back around.

As I approached the entrance though, I was presented with the most lush and beautiful jungle garden. I have to admit, I was VERY pleasantly surprised. Maybe this place was worth seeking out.

Walking into the restaurant, I was instantly greeted by a friendly waiter in the typical Frenchman outfit: a blue and white striped top with a red neck scarf and a black beret. All he needed was a moustache and a french accent. Thankfully he hadn't acquired the abrupt Parisien manner that I had been accustomed to.

I chose to sit in the front room on a table by the low window and I was immediately poured a lovely glass of iced cold water and handed the menu. Ahh, this place just kept getting better by the minute.

There is seating outside on a beautifully decked verandah and a large dining room up a few steps from the front room which also houses the bar.

There's a couple of tall bookcases with magazines, cushioned rattan seating with a coffee table covered in newspapers, a basket full of teddies and toys for the kiddies. Music plays out softly in the background and the owner comes around to say hello to all his patrons ... a really lovely touch. There is also free wifi for those who want it.

As you can imagine, there are crêpes galore here: French, brunch style, most popular and international flavours. There's also appetizers, pasta, Mediterranean plates such as moussaka, Tajine of lamb and so forth, and 14 different salads. And if you would prefer, you can also make up your very own savoury crêpe by ticking off your own ingredients:

Being in Thailand, I decided to go for the Massaman chicken curry crêpe. I was very tempted to go for a French one, but decided that curry was the order of the day.

I didn't have too long to wait, but it didn't come out right away, which in my book is a good sign that the crêpes are cooked fresh. As you can see below, it was a very generous portion.

The curry was delicious, the potato was cooked through, the chicken pieces were tender and crêpe was scrumdidlyumptious. My only gripe and this is just an aesthetic one: the chef could have cleaned the plate of crumbs before it came out ... it looks like a bad case of crêpe crumb dandruff.

That said, I will definitely be back. I love the ambience, the setting and the lush green jungle front garden. The serving staff are all so friendly and polite, along with the owner himself.

They also have a branch in Thonglor and you can find the details on their website.

So if you're in the mood for crêpes in Bangkok, you really need to check this place out.

Crêpes & Co
18/1, Sukhumvit Soi 12, Klongtoey 10110, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 (0)2 653-3990 / 3991
Nearest BTS: Asoke, exit 2

HOURS
Daily: 9am-Midnight

Charley Brown's Mexicana Cantina, Wattana, Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (My Food Odyssey) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Why would anyone want Tex-Mex in Bangkok when Thailand has (what I think) one of the most exciting and enticing cuisines in the world.

Because sometimes, we all like to mix it up a bit and personally, I like a bit Tex-Mex, but only very occasionally.

Now Tex-Mex in the middle of Bangkok doesn't get any more central than Sukhumvit Soi 11. Walk down this Soi and you'll see 'Cheap Charlie's' bar on a little street off to the left. Take a left turn past Cheap Charlie's and carry on around to the right and you'll see Charley Brown's Mexicana Cantina a little further up on the left hand side.

This side street reminds me a little of Heddon Street in London's Picadilly, just a bit more scruffy and a lot less sophisticated. I guess this is what adds to the 'Bangkok charm' that so many tourists and expats love.

There's seating outside if you can stand the heat, or step inside to a cool air-conditioned, fairly brightly coloured restaurant.

My friends (W & Ms. E) arrived for an early 6:30pm dinner, so we were pretty much the first ones there. In fact, they are the ones giving an excited thumbs up in the above picture.

The menu is a one page drinks and food menu, with items clearly laid out in their respective categories.

Whilst surveying the menu, we were given a bowl of hot crispy nachos with homemade salsa to whet our appetites. Don't you just love it when restaurants add that nice 'free' touch!

We all went for the 'Chipotle Chicken' quesadilla since they were doing a 'buy 2, get 1 free' deal that night. This place offers a promotion from Sunday to Thursday nights from what I remember. But you'll have to go to their website to see their deals. And they offer lunch deals from 150 Baht.

It didn't take too long for our quesadillas to come out. Looking a bit like a toasted upside down pizza base, it wasn't the most appealing of quesadillas. It came with a serving of sliced jalapeños, sour cream (which had the consistency of goat cheese) and tomato salsa.

It wasn't a bad quesadilla, but it certainly wasn't the best. In fact 'W' questioned whether the chicken tasted like tuna. I had to question this myself as I picked at the meat before rubbing it between my fingers, sniffing at it like a sniffer dog and discerningly examining it with my bad eye sight. Yeah, I can be a really pleasant person to eat out with sometimes!

Nope, definitely not tuna, it wasn't fishy enough and the meat was chicken white. It really was chicken, but rather chicken that resembled the texture of tinned tuna. For 190 Baht, could one expect more? Maybe, but then again, it's not exactly expensive by Western standards and I hear that their sangria is good and strong.

The outside area became busy with expats coming by for drinks and a bit of food. The staff are friendly and polite. Overall, I'd like to come back and try their specials and a bit of dessert. Charley Brown, is this really your name? If so, how cool!

Charley Brown's Mexicana Cantina
1/23 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 (0)2 651 2215
Nearest BTS: Nana, exit 3

HOURS
Mon 5:00pm - Midnight
Tue-Sun: 11:30am - Midnight