Now you can get all-you-can-eat teppanyaki at Kisso (Westin Grand, 259 Sukhumvit Soi 19, 02-207-8000) for B880 net per person. This price gets you a selection of beef sirloin, duck breast, oysters mussels, snow fish and more. If you add an additional B500 per person, though, you get a pretty sweet upgrade with extra goodies like Australian lamb rack and tiger prawns. Side dishes like soba noodle soup, fried egg noodles, salads and pickles are also part of the deal. Not bad for a buffet under B1,500.
The tiny four-table, Italian-style restaurant on Phra Athit Road, Mr Pas, has moved across the river (88/12 Kanjanapisek Rd., Nonthaburi, 081-921-1920). Now there’s parking, more tables, a bar and more space for the owner-chef to cook. There’s no big sign up yet, so feel free to call for directions.
Previously known for its cutesy clothing stores in Thong Lor and Siam, Kloset has now, of course, launched an eatery. Café & Etcetera by Kloset (171 Sukhumvit Soi 63, 02-711-6019) is a large pale blue house with a white trim, loads of light and even some diner-style booths. The menu is a familiar mix of Thai, Western and a bit of Japanese, like deep-fried calamari with tartar sauce, tempura don, and tom yam kung. There’s also a buy-one-get-one-free happy hour every day from 5-8pm on cocktails, beers and wines.
Chef Martin Boetz, whose Longrain Sydney was lauded by Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide in 2005, has garnered attention for his contemporary Thai cooking. And he will be visiting Celadon (The Sukhothai, 13/3 Sathorn Rd., 02-344-8888) next month. With dishes like betel leaf with smoked trout and galangal, and egg net with pork, river prawn and cucumber relish, this sounds closer to Nahm than Sra Bua—a good thing in our book.
The folks: We’re proud to report that this wine comes from Nikki Lohitnavy of Granmonte in Khao Yai, Thailand’s first female winemaker. The estate is a Lohitnavy family enterprise through and through and has been making wine since 2001, but we can’t help but think that it’s this bottle—made with Nikki back from her oenology studies and apprenticeships and their very own, in-house winery—that’s begun to put Granmonte and Thai reds on the map. The 2009 Heritage Syrah won a silver medal at this year’s Decanter Awards.
French Independence Day is coming up soon (Jul 14), and to celebrate, Pullman Bangkok King Power (8/2 Rangnam Rd., 02-680-9999) has a whole bag of tricks at all their F&B outlets. Déjà Vu will do a (count ‘em) 16-course tasting menu for B2,200, from Jul 12-17 at dinner. Wine Pub will do a tree comprised of 10 French tapas like rillettes, black mussels, millefeuille and more, all for B990 from Jul 1-Sep 30. Finally, Glen Bar will do a French afternoon tea set for B350. All prices are net.
Tony Roma’s
G/F, Siam Paragon, 991 Rama 1 Rd., 02-610-9311. Open daily 11am-11pm
The place: The lone Bangkok branch of the American barbecue chain, Tony Roma’s has a classic family vibe, thanks to its tucked away location at Paragon, its glassfront street entrance, and bits of Midwestern Americana (the music, the exposed brick, the booths).
This American Independence Day (Jul 4), we put on some bibs to discover the best bbq’ed pig in town.
Four Seasons Hotel
Anchalee Ponrungsit, Madison chef & Supanut Khanarak (Ann), Spice Market chef
We’ve been impressed with the affordability of Tapas Y Vino (Grand Millenium, 30 Sukhumvit Soi 21, 02-204-4158) for a while now, but they’ve just thrown in a couple more deals for good measure. At lunchtime, they now do all you can eat tapas and paella for B590 net. At dinner it’s B800, but for an extra B150, they throw in free-flow house wines. Service can be slow but it’s still a deal worth the wait.
Over a month has gone by with no new restaurant proclaiming wine as their focus. Fear not! Our old friend K. Village (Sukhumvit Soi 26) comes to the rescue. Where the now-defunct Café Pommery used to be, a new wine restaurant, bizarrely named Y Wine Y is due to open soon. That’s all the information we have for now, but do revel in the name in the meantime. There’s also a new dessert place at K. Village, Crave (2/F, 080-584 9834).
