The space in Ekkamai previously belonging to Toot Yung and Pandora Art galleries is now home to a new offshoot of Chiang Mai’s nature-inspired restaurant Cuisine de Garden. The design courtesy of architect Sorakit “Mon” Kitcharoenroj (Integrated Field) sees a dining room of dark wood flooring and raw concrete punctuated by actual tree trunks, setting the scene for chef-owner Leelawat “Nan” Mankongtiphan’s food, which is available only in a six-course set dinner. Dishes play with various forms and textures of ingredients, like Rain Forest, which combines beef tartare with beef tuille, seasoned cured egg yolk and parsley powder, and Farm, which sees goat milk presented as panna cotta with crispy milk chips, milk snow and macadamia flower honey. 

 

 

Replacing the Hong Kong-born Little Bao at 72 Courtyard is a new place also doing bao, this time with a Korean slant, alongside tiki-themed cocktails and tables which double as retro videogame consoles. Hopeland's menu takes an Asian-fusion comfort food route with the likes of a tender beef brisket and kimchi bao, bulgogi kimchi fries, mandu (pork dumplings served with spicy mayo on the side) and bibimbap with your choice of spicy pork belly, tofu and mushroom, beef short ribs or chicken. While pounding away at arcade classics like Pacman, Space Invaders and Tetris, you can try drinks like Dolphin Next Door a mix of Pampero Blanco rum and Wild Turkey 81 bourbon with a touch of macademia syrup, coconut milk and lime.

Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thonglor). See full details here.

Kaprow Khun Phor

Looking like a no-frills cafeteria, Silom's Kaprow Khun Por serves more varieties of pad kaprao than you could dream of. In fact, the menu does nothing but spicy basil stir-fries (15 types in all), though they shake things up with premium ingredients, whether it's the minced kurobuta pork in the kao kaprao moo sub or Company B’s dry-aged Australian beef in the kao kaprao nuea, They claim to steer clear of frozen seafood, which means kaprao with fresh shellfish, banana shrimps and Suratthani oysters. As for the recipe, they say they use only young holy basil leaves and a mix of Thai bird's eye and prik jinda daeng chilies for an authenticaly fiery kaprao. Of course, you can top off your dish with an egg done to your liking.

Silom Soi 20. See full details here.

Krua Banleng

One Ounce at Chang Chui

Sushi Ichizu

Occupying an imposing Japanese house on Petchaburi Road, Sushi Ichizu highlights fresh produce from Tsukiji Market and the delicate knifework of Toda Riku, former sous chef at Tokyo's one-Michelin-starred Sushi Sugita. Though only 26, the Japan-native already boasts 12 years in the Edo-style sushi game, learning all about salt-and-vinegar curing, searing and smoking, and marinating to draw out the finest flavors of each fish. Here, there are only 16 seats on offer a day and chef Riku's 16-course omakase dinner will set you back B8,000, with highlights including an appetizer of steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce, and perfectly crafted bites featuring four-day marinated kohada (gizzard shad), kombu-cured katsugo (small tai fish) and Higashi Sawa’s seriously in-demand uni from Hokkaido. Reservations are available two months ahead of time.

Sukhumvit Soi 39. See full details here.