Last year marked the beginning of a reinvigorated talent on the part of chefs and restaurateurs and a new sense of adventure among diners. Whether it was fancy cocktails or modern gastronomy, we saw the hints of new ideas in dining and drinking, which raises our hopes that in 2011 these beginnings will become full-on trends, and our fair city will rise even further in the estimations of foodies everywhere.

Ubiquitous Modern Gastronomy

Modern gastronomy (the use of high-tech, sometimes industrial food techniques in fine dining) is not new. Bangkok saw some sad attempts over the years, and it’s a tired trend just about everywhere else. But modern gastronomy was also the driving force behind the world’s best restaurant (El Bulli, in Spain), so don’t write it off just yet. 2010 brought us Sra Bua and, more recently, Gaggan—Thai and Indian restaurants respectively—both of which have gotten very positive feedback. While we doubt serious full-on molecular kitchens will bloom all over town in 2011 (too complicated, too expensive), there will soon be few restaurants left that don’t have some touch of modern gastronomy in their menus: an emulsification here, a sous-vide cooked foie-gras there.

Independent Thai Chefs

Finally, 2010 saw Bangkokians ditch hotels as the de rigueur venue for fine dining and head to standalone restaurants for their fix of haute cuisine. So sure, there’s always been Gianni and Zanotti but places like Triplets, 4 Garcons or La Table de Tee have taken the trend to a much younger (and wider) audience, while proving that local chefs can cook foreign food. What can you expect in 2011? A lot more chef-slash-restaurateurs, it seems. Chef Nicholas Reynard, formerly of La Truffe at Maduzi Hotel, is opening his own restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 39. Jesse Barnes, former chef of Grossi at the Intercontinental, is mulling over whether to open something here (he has a hit restaurant in Melbourne already). And Steve Grimes, sushi chef at KOI, has a restaurant in Aree due to open in a couple of months. But independent international chefs are only the first half of the equation: we’d also like to see a lot more Thais take center stage and cook up a name for themselves.

One-Dish Ponies

We’re no strangers to streetside restaurants that only offer one or two specialties—from bamee moo daeng to yen ta fo. But in the realm of proper roof-over-your-head dining, options are pretty limited. Iron Fairies opened on Thong Lor in February, with nothing but several types of burgers on the menu. Owner Ashley Sutton followed up this simple formula several months later, with the opening of Fat Gut’z which emphasized fish and chips. Could this be the start of something? In 2011 the trend continues with the opening of BonChon Korean Fried Chicken, which, with the exception of some salads and small sides, only serves different cuts of fried chicken slathered in a choice of two sauces. We hope many more with follow. Biriyani, maybe? Pho? Or even all-night pizza parlors that sell by the slice, like the defunct New York Style Pizza.

Pop-Ups

Kenji kicked things off early this year with a fleet of trucks doling out Korean-inspired burritos and tacos, at a parking lot near you (see Open Door, Click here). With existing trucks parked at Thong Lor Soi 13 and Lake Ratchada across from Suan Benjakitti, the business intends to expand its locations, communicating its whereabouts via Facebook and Twitter. Could this be the beginning of a pop-up restaurant trend? We certainly hope so. Pop-up restaurants are also a great way for established chefs to try something new for one night only. Besides, it’s more of an experience if it’s never to be repeated again. We know food trucks aren’t exactly the same as pop-up restaurants, but a little birdie told us that the space across from hipster haven WTF on Sukhumvit Soi 51 will soon be converted to an additional event space, including a floor devoted to pop-up restaurants.

Nightlife, Dining, Same Difference

Hyde and Seek was to expensive signature cocktails what Wine Connection was to affordable wine: the epicenter of a trend that began to swell soon after that decisive first step. In the last quarter of 2010, we saw no less than three establishments that hired mixologists to come up with their own, distinctive cocktails: Soul Food Mahanakorn, Serenade and Fat Gut’z. In 2011, Salt sublet a barman from Hyde & Seek to crafts its cocktail menu and train its staff. Joseph Boroski, a mixologist of New York fame, is also training the barmen at St. Regis in the delicate art of classic cocktails. Almost all of these cocktails cost over B200, which says something about our determination to drink them. Hip bars and restaurants opening in the coming year would be best advised to take extra special care of their drinks lists if they hope to attract followings as loyal as the ones these guys do. But the trend is also working in the other direction. Q Bar is doing wine nights, WTF is doing more and more food. With Bangkok’s late 20-somethings and early 30-somethings increasingly bored with DJs (unless that DJ is Maft Sai), we predict more wine and better eating at bars.ฃ

American Cuisine—whatever that means

Apart from the age-old debates as to who has the best burger or ribs, there hasn’t been much going on American cuisine of late. But last year saw the opening of Home Run Bar and Grill, a gastro bar that was not, for once, affiliated with the British Isles, V8 Diner, a 24-hour diner straight out of a 1950s American college student’s dreams and The Garret, which actually does dishes like salads with “autumn greens” and touts itself as “New American”—a cuisine that’s very hot in foodie cities in the US like New York and San Francisco. (The Seafood Bar has also billed itself as contemporary American for a couple years.) In 2011, we expect to see more and more chefs exploring this hearty cuisine and importing its unique combination of rustic and modern into Bangkok.

Regional Thai Food

Up until recently, fancy Thai restaurants were for tourists, and their food was toned down beyond recognition. But with Bo.lan, Nahm and Soul Food Mahanakorn, proper Thai food, farang and air-con are finally on speaking terms. The success of these ventures makes us think that we will see much more high-quality Thai food in 2011. Still, these kitchens are headed by Westerners, something reflected in their clientele. So what kind of high-end Thai restaurant could make sense for Thais? Perhaps regionally-focused restaurants such as Phuket Town, a hugely popular cute little shophouse on Thong Lor. After all, Bangkokians have always seemed more willing to splurge on high-end somtam at Kum Poon than high-end tom yam kung.

More Wine By the Glass

Wine Connection Deli and Bistro opened at K. Village and quickly became a bustling monolith for beginner wine drinkers, enjoying cheap bottles served alongside comforting dishes like pizzas and pastas. In 2011, however, similar hype is surrounding other restaurants that are positioning themselves as wine bistros, such as Wine I Love You, a venture between Route 66 and Gulliver’s, and Wine 33, a partnership between Singha (who also own the PB Valley winery) and Pla Dib—both packing tables at the Crystal Design Center. Even on Aree, the burgeoning new foodie neighborhood, their usual house-converted-into-bars-type spaces are getting savvy and restaurants like Aree Alley are marketing themselves as places to get wine. On Sukhumvit, forgoing the need to wait for the next wine tasting event, Ekkamai just saw the opening of Sip, a wine bar that offers tastings, so you don’t have to commit to a whole glass, much less a whole bottle. What this means for the dining scene in 2011 is better wine lists in the sub-B1,500 range and more offerings by the glass, as opposed to just the generic red and white house wine.

Aree, the New Thong Lor

Last year, unless you were going to Pla Dib or unless you lived out there and were an expat government officer, there was little need to go out to Aree. The existing spots were all the usual formula of cute house, front garden, gin and tonics, beer, singer with an acoustic guitar. But that is slowly changing, with proper eateries beginning to pop up there that are neither Fuji nor Basilico, such as Tanyamama and late-December addition, Salt. We hear rumors of new Japanese finer dining restaurants in Aree scheduled for later this year, and it could very well be that Thong Lor will have, if not stiff competition, then at least a little something to keep it on its toes. We only hope restaurateurs will get it together and sign their new leases before the real estate goes through the roof.

French, Upheld by Japan

Thai chefs like those at Triplets and 4 Garcons may be bringing simple, authentic French food to a wider audience, but salvaging French haute cuisine and patisserie may end up in the hands of the Japanese. In August of last year, Ma Du Zi Restaurant by Yuya did away with La Truffe, its French restaurant, and brought in a Japanese chef to serve up French food with little Japanese touches. Over on Sukhumvit, the modest little Japananese-owned bakery, Le Blanc, has been doling out beautiful French bread and pastries for months and months. So, with our love of importing all things Japanese, and with the number of Tokyo chefs winning Michelin stars, we predict more French food prepared by Japanese chefs.

Essentials

4 Garcons. 1/F, Oakwood Residence, 113 Thong Lor 13, 02-713-9547.
Aree Alley. 2/1 Areesamphan Soi 4, 02-278-5325. www.areealley.com.
BonChon Fried Chicken. 2/F, Seenspace 13, 251/1 Thong Lor Soi 13, 02-185-2361.
Le Blanc. 15 Sukhumvit Soi 39, 02-259-4353.
Bo.Lan. 2/F, Exchange Tower, 388 Sukhumvit Rd., 088-022-4022.
Fat Gut’z. 1/F, Grass Thonglor, 264 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thong Lor), 02-714-9832.
Gaggan. 68/1 Soi Lang Suan, 02-652-1700.
The Garret. Rooftop, Mini Showroom, 99/99 Ekamai Soi 7, 02-711-6999.
Gianni. 34/1 Soi Tonson, Ploen Chit Rd., 02-252-1619. www.giannibkk.com.
Grossi. G/F, InterContinental, 973 Ploen Chit Rd., 02-656-0444.
Home Run Bar & Grill. 253/2 Sukhumvit 31, 02-258-6250. www.homerunbangkok.com.
Hyde and Seek. Athenee Residence, 65/1 Soi Ruam Rudi, 02-168-5152
Iron Fairies. 394 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thong Lor), 084-520-2301.
Kenji. 02-162-9000, www.kenji-bkk.com.
Kum Poon. 7/F, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-646-1044
Ma Du Zi Restaurant by Yuya. 9/1 New Ratchadapisek Rd., corner of Sukhumvit Soi 16, 02-615-6400.
Nahm. G/F, Metropolitan, Sathon Rd., 02-625-3333.
Phuket Town. 160/8 Thong Lor Soi 6, 02-714-9402.
Pla Dib. 1/1 Areesamphan Soi 7, 02-279-8185.
Salt. Arisamphan Soi 4, 02-619-6886.
The Seafood Bar. Somerset Lake Place, 41 Sukhumvit Soi 16, 02-663-8863. www.theseafoodbar.info
Serenade. 1/F, Grass Thong Lor, 264/1 Thong Lor 10, 02-713-8409.
Sip. 33/32 Sukhumvit 63 (Ekkamai) 02-714-2223
Soul Food Mahanakorn. 56/10 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thong Lor), 02-714-7708.
Sra Bua. Siam Kempinski, 991/9 Rama 1 Rd., 02-162-9000.
Tanyamama. 10/27 Phahon Yothin Soi 5, 02-617-3950.
La Table de Tee. 69/5 Sala Daeng Rd., 02-636-3220. www.latabledetee.com.
Triplets. 6/F, Parnjit Tower, Sukhumvit 55 (Thong Lor), 02-712-8066.
V8 Diner. 284 Sukhumvit Rd., 02-229-4453.
Wine 33. Crystal Design Center, 02-102-2233.
Wine Connection Deli & Bistro. G/F, K.Village, 93-95 Sukhumvit Soi 26, 02-661-3940.
Wine I Love You. Building E/F, Crystal Design Center, 02-102-2166.
Wine 33. Crystal Design Center, 02-102-2233.
WTF. 7 Sukhumvit Soi 51, 02-662-6246. www.wtfbangkok.com.
Zanotti. 1/F, Sala Daeng Colonnade Condominium, 921/1 Silom Rd., 02-636-0002. www.zanotti-ristorante.com.

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