G u i d e t o T h a i R e s t a u r a n t s i n T h a i l a n d
So you just arrived in Bangkok and after a rest to try to shake off the aches of a long flight are itching to get out of the hotel and experience Thailand and Thai cooking. Finding a good Thai restaurant isn't difficult in Bangkok, in fact the real challenge maybe trying to choose one or two from the wide range on offer.Thai cooking was popular with U.S. GIs during the Vietnam period but in the last few years has really taken off in popularity worldwide. In fact, Thai food has become the Kingdom's fastest growing export and an advertiser of Thailand’s many charms. Once-unknown names such as tom yam goong (hot and sour prawn soup), gaeng kiaw wan gai (chicken with green curry) or Musaman (Thai red curry) have become basics of the worldwide language of dining. Thailand's complex and exciting dishes now make Thai cuisine one of the most popular on the planet. From Seattle to London, Beijing to Paris, people often know as much about Thai cuisine as they do equally popular and much longer established Chinese and western favorites.
But here in Thailand, you can even better savor the flavors of this diverse and increasingly highly regarded culinary art in their natural settings and with the visual components and service so key to true appreciation of this unique style of living. Because of many factors, the number of Thai restaurants in Bangkok is increasing daily and visitor numbers are also increasing as foreign tourists discover the more hidden places that local Thais have enjoyed for years. A final bonus is that Bangkok is still one of the most affordable cities in the region. Please note though that although food, beer and soft drinks are cheap by western standards, wine costs about the same here — sometimes more — than it would back home. Consequently, the price of a meal can vary greatly depending on what you choose to drink with it.
Thai’s believe that pleasing the eye is just as important as pleasing the stomach and in terms of decor, there's nowhere more visually stunning place to dine Thai-style than Celadon, the leading Thai restaurant at the architecturally stunning Sukhothai Bangkok Hotel. Here the architects have utilized glass, mirror and Thai teakwood pavilions overlooking lotus ponds in the hotel's manicured grounds to create a memorable backdrop to your culinary adventure. You can dine al fresco on the terrace or in air-conditioned splendor in the high- ceiling indoor salas. The menu is extensive and includes all the classic favorite soups, salads, curries and grilled items, as well as some less well known internationally Thai dishes such as miangkam (stuffed leaves). These are make-your-own fresh Thai-style spring rolls, which you create from wrapping various ingredients, such as shredded coconut, shallots, dried shrimps, ginger and, of course, chilies in fresh Thai leaves, which you eat with the savory dipping sauces that are such a feature of Thai cooking. Another favorite is the pla samlee dad diew rue rod prik (deep-fried cotton fish with sour mango salad or chilli sauce). Unusual for Thailand’s hotel restaurants but found in many lesser known Thai restaurants, Celadon has extensive vegetarian options and offers a tempting vegetarian set menu. Locals often complain that Celadon is overpriced which when compared to the smaller Thai restaurants is true. But compared to other foreign restaurants in Bangkok and considering the stunning architecture and attentive services, Celadon is certainly one of Bangkok's most memorable dining experiences and for those with only a few nights in Bangkok the price is certainly reasonable.
Almost all of the top hotels in Bangkok have great Thai restaurants, these include the Oriental, the Dusit Thani, Royal Orchid Sheraton, etc. All of these are reliable and have excellent service. This includes the venerable Bencharong in the Dusit Thani Hotel which has long been a standard and where the cooking is as much of an art form as the exquisite Thai decoration and antiques in this premier restaurant in one of the city center's classic luxury hotels. Here you can expect sophisticated royal Thai dishes and superb Western-style service. Other choices are the Sala Rim Nam across from the Oriental Hotel and the Thara Thong in the Sheraton Royal Orchid where you sit along the river on the floor Thai style while being entertained by Thai dancers and enjoy many ancient style dishes and fruit based deserts that are now fast disappearing from most Thai restaurants.
One standout in this list is Basil at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit where award-winning chef Pathomkorn Mung- in serves up creative Thai dishes, which are elegant yet modern just like the surroundings, and which the hotel describes as "home-style cooking". Signature dishes here are based mainly on fresh seafood, and include goong makamm (stir-fried river prawns in a mild curry sauce) and yam gratin, an unique salad with tamarind shrimps, and the delicious choochee lobster, stir-fried in a delicately mild curry sauce. The menu in an attempt to lessen the spice for those not yet used to spicy hot dishes uses a chilli rating from one to three, for respectively "pleasantly hot", "mildly volcanic" and "volcanic" dishes. For those with a sweet tooth, don’t forget to try the famous durian cheesecake.
The new talk of the town for Thai food is Blue Elephant. If the name sounds familiar, that's probably because - Blue Elephant has made a name for itself first in London and then elsewhere in Europe and recently in the U.S. with exclusive and elegant Thai restaurants. Late last year, the group, whose list of branches includes many foreign capitals decided that they needed a presence in Thailand and quite a branch they have achieved. The new Blue Elephant is located in one of the old Thai homes that used to line both sides of now busy Sathorn Road but were largely leveled in the rush to modernity of the 1980s. The dressy staff and the sumptuously refined turn of the century setting again creates a memorable location for great Thai food. This includes tamarind duck — slices of grilled duck breast, served medium rare on a bed of seaweed topped with exotic sweet- and-sour tamarind sauce. This dish often gets noted in restaurant reviews worldwide and is in and of itself worth making a special trip to Bangkok for. Blue Elephant will give you all of the old favorites you may have tried abroad plus also allow you an opportunity to try some new things and new flavors that are less common overseas. The restaurant also is not stuck into only old favorites but is willing to try new fusion flavors such as nam tok tuna (seared medium-rare tuna ] served with spicy Thai sauces) and foie gras with tamarind sauce. Also, if you or your spouse has more time and inclination to learn more, the Blue Elephant Thai Cooking School is linked to the restaurant and has a scheduled timetable of when different dishes are demonstrated.
One of Bangkok's great attractions is that you still can sit comfortably in restaurants set in quaint freestanding houses with their gardens reminiscent of Bangkok’s past and Thailand’s more rural restaurants, particularly if you are tired of the "mall culture" of high-rise Asian cities, such as Tokyo, Shanghai or Singapore. A restaurant known to most locals and virtually all expats with two branches – both equally good - is Baan Khanita. Please be warned here that although you can forego reservations elsewhere, here you really need a reservation. Also remember which of the two restaurants you booked because they are separated by a lengthy cab ride. The original Baan Khanita and my personal favorite is set in a beautiful old house with leafy gardens in Sukhumvit Soi 23, and has plenty of intimate corners for quiet conversations. The newer Baan Khanita & Gallery, meanwhile, on fashionable Soi Ruamrudee, is more modern and open, and has a gallery upstairs. Food and service are excellent in both locations and each has quite an extensive and relatively reasonably priced wine list. Virtually everything on the menu is superb, but the soft-shell crabs, cooked in a variety of ways, are luscious and must be tried. Both restaurants have a variety of excellent salads on the menu. Two standouts, the Yum Som-o, a pomelo salad served with shrimp and bits of chicken. It provides a wonderful combination of sour, sweet and spicy flavors. The other standout, Yum Nuea or beef salad: a mixture of sliced warm beef, chili, lime, and fish sauce that is garnished with sliced grapes. Seafood gets a lot of attention at both Baan Khanita’s. The restaurant also has tried to make the eating less difficult for foreigners while keeping the unique tastes. Two standouts here are the “Seabass Steamed with Limes” which is a piquant and easy to eat and the “Stir-fried Seabass with Chili, Hot Basil Leaves and Eggplants.” Known as “Pla Krapong Phad Khee Mao” in Thai, the fish in this popular dish is usually served in a single piece but inn the Baan Khanitha version, it is cut into cubes, making it easy to eat and easy to mix with the other ingredients.
Another restaurant that immediately comes to mind in this category is Thanying, which despite being located not so very far from the less savory areas off of Patpong Road recreates the graceful and less hurried ear of a private hideaway. As the name suggests by the name which roughly translates as the royal title “Lady” Thanying specializes in "Royal" Thai cuisine. The distinction here is more in presentation and service than in taste. Dining at Thanying, you get the feeling that you are the invited guest of a welcoming elderly, aristocratic and wealthy aunt. Thanying has a second branch inside the World Trade Center that serves the same food but doesn't have the atmosphere and is less worthy of a visit. Another restaurant long known to expats and visitors alike and now in its third incarnation, is the quaintly named Once Upon A Time. Most of the restaurant is set in the gardens, so it can get a little steamy, especially in April and May. Verdant gardens are dotted around an old timber house and old oil lamps light the tables. It is less imposing than Baan Khanita or Thanying, but has a calming feel and is great for a restful dinner in beautiful surroundings. The restaurant is owned by a white-haired Frenchman, Pierre Delalande, who has long been a fixture in Bangkok and is known to many Thais because of his work in TV in the capital.
Two other reliable quirky favorites are Mango Tree, which is wedged between Silom and Suriwongse roads down a small alley called Soi Tantawan. The restaurant is a quaint little place, with all sorts of small corners and a quiet upstairs. Food tends to be on the spicy side and rather traditional, but it's always good quality and good value. This is a great venue to begin a night on the town. They also stock plenty of the Thailand’s less memorable Thai- produced table wine, Chateau de Loei. Another old favorite, is Lemongrass, a charming spot for modern Thai cuisine which is a more spectacular antique-filled, converted house in the city center, where the bedrooms are now private dining rooms and the garden tables are often so closely space that you can’t help but become the best of friends with your neighbors at the next table.
Name
Address
Telelphone No.
Approx.
dinner for 2
excluding wine
(in US$)
Celadon
The Sukhothai Hotel, 13/3 South Sathorn Road
66 2 287-0222
$45
Benjarong
Dusit Thani Hotel, Rama IV Rd.
66 2 236-0450(-9)
$40
Basil
Sheraton Grande Hotel, 250 Sukhumvit Rd.
66 2 653 0333
$30
Blue Elephant
233 south sathorn Road, Yannawa
66 2 673 9353
$30
Thanying
110 Pramuan Street, Silom Soi 17-19
66 2 236 4361
$30
Thara Thong
Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, 2 Capt. Bush La., Siphaya Rd
66 2 266-0123
$30
Lemongrass Restaurant
5/1 Sukhumvit Rd., Klongtoey
66 2 258-8637
$20
Baan Khanita
Baan Khanita & Gallery
36 Sukhumvit Soi 23
49 Soi Ruamrudee 2,2 Ploenchit Road
66 2 258 4181
66 2 253 4638
$20
$20
Mango Tree 37 Sol Tantawan, Suriwongse Road
66 2 236 2820
$18
Anna's Cafe
118 Soi Saladaeng, Silom
66 2 632 0619
$15
Once Upon A Time
32 Petchburi Sol 17, Petchburl Road
66 2 252 8629
$15
Kaloang Home Kitchen
2 Sri Ayutthaya Road
66 2 281 9228
$10
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