10 authentic French dishes you can actually afford
This Bastille Day, no need to eat at Robuchon for a real taste of La France.
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6 years ago
Credit: www.facebook.com/csbangkokMoules frites at Le Café des Stagiaires (580B)
This charming bar-restaurant started out in Shanghai before bringing its easygoing, after-work vibe to the streets of Sathorn. Drop by for the quintessential bistro classic of mussels with French fries—one of their signatures and a strong draw for the nearby Gallic community, who spill out onto the street-side tables to slurp up Stagieres’ three sauce options: marinara (white wine, garlic and parsley), cream and French blue cheese.
142/21 Sathorn Soi 12, 081-207-3077
Beef bourguignon at Cafe Claire (750B)
Totally Insta-worthy with its marble bar and black leather booths, Cafe Claire is a French bistro with class, attached to one of the fanciest blocks of private residences in the city. Its beef bourguignon is an all-time bestseller thanks to the amount of time they let the giant chunks of steak simmer in a rich, wine-heavy stew. The result is beautifully tender meat that absorbs all the flavor of the wine.
Oriental Residence Bangkok, 110 Wireless Rd., 02-125-9000
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Andouillette at Indigo (300B-400B)
Indigo’s reputation as one of the leafiest lunchtime bistros in town is built on the quality of its meat. With just one look at their boucherie, you can tell where their expertise and interests lie. Their andouillette (coarse-grained sausage made with pork) is highly authentic and a lure for many a French expat looking to relive childhood memories. The setting, with its charming courtyard and wood-raftered dining room, is also a feast for the eyes.
6 Soi Convent, 02-235-3268
Entrecote steak-frites at Le Boeuf (B699)
This steak-frites specialist takes its cues from Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote, a 50-year-old Parisian restaurant where the wait for steak in a classic “Cafe de Paris” green sauce served with bottomless fries can take more than an hour. Customers choose between beef, lamb, salmon or lobster, all of which come grilled just so, then drenched in a potent “secret” sauce laced with an unholy amount of butter. The dining room’s blood red fabrics, brass and dark woods look straight from the 6th Arrondissement.
1/F, 9:53 Community Mall, 124 Sukhumvit Soi 53, 097-235-7935
G/F, Mayfair, Bangkok - Marriott Executive Apartments, 60 Lang Suan Rd., 02-672-1230
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Credit: www.facebook.com/scarlettwinebarbangkok
Beef tartare at Scarlett (780B)
Thirty-seven floors above Silom, Scarlett offers three of the most delicious tartare (diced raw meat) dishes in town: salmon, tuna and beef. It’s the beef that truly wins our heart thanks to succulenr tenderloin meat. Prepared tableside, we recommend just asking the waiter to toss in all the condiments it comes with, from capers to raw egg, Tabasco and cognac.
37/F, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, 188 Silom Rd., 02-238-1991
Onion Soup at Brasserie Cordonnier (B280)
Bangkok’s latest Parisian bistro is also one of its most authentic, where French Chef Clement Hernandez (previously a sous chef at J’aime) turns out classics like snails, beef tartare and, of course, onion soup. This latest must-eat comes dripping with molten, perfectly browned cheese, under which you'll find a dense, wine-rich broth stewed to perfection.
33/30 Sukhumvit Soi 11. Tel. 094-970-8599
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Escargots at Bistro Convent (B380 for 6)
The adorably cliched setting—woven chairs, round marble tops facing leafy Soi Convent, chalkboard above the bar—comes with food that’s no less Parisian and competently executed. Here, the bistro classic of cooked snails is prepared with plentiful chunks of garlic for a dish that hits all the buttery notes and powerful aromas that makes chewing on little mollusks so rewarding.
40/3 Convent Rd., 02-233-8233
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Tomates farcies at Pizza Massilia (490B)
If you’ve never heard of the Marseilles classic of ground meat mixed with herbs and bread (much like sausage meat), baked into a carved-out tomato, that’s because hardly anywhere in Bangkok serves it. The version at Pizza Massilia is based on a traditional recipe from Marseille and cooked in a wood-fire oven for deliciously authentic flavor.
15/1 Soi Ruamrudee, Phloen Chit Rd., 02-651-5091
Croque Monsieur at PAUL (290B)
Best known for producing over 140 different types of bread and baked goods, the PAUL empire has opened over 500 branches throughout the world without ever letting standards drop. Pastries (Millefeuille fraises), cakes (Moelleux citron framboise) and croissants are just as good as the baguette. Sit down in one of their restaurants for the quintessential Parisian food: a grilled cheese and ham “Croque Monsieur” sandwich—possibly the ultimate in comfort food.
1/F, Central Embassy, 1031 Phloen Chit Rd., 02-001-5160
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Coq au vin at Cafe Parisien (B950)
Head chef Olivier Castella has worked as the private chef for an actual baron in Monaco, and was one of the guest judges on Iron Chef Thailand. His classic coq au vin (chicken braised in wine) is prepared the traditional way: slow-cooked for 72 hours so that flavors amalgamate into a decadent, rich, thick broth with meat that melts in the mouth.
Glasshouse at Sindhorn, 130-132 Wireless Rd., 02-650-9993
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