Life In Bangkok

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Xing Fu Chinese Restaurant In Bangkok, Thailand

The Xing Fu Chinese restaurant in the Novotel Lotus Hotel on Sukhumvit 33 in Bangkok, Thailand has always maintained a different outlook on Chinese food than its many contemporaries in this city. Instead of the predictable menus that most other Chinese restaurants have in this mecca of Cantonese cuisine, Xing Fu has marched to the beat of a different drummer, mixing traditional Cantonese dishes with a few Indian/Chinese combinations and the odd Szechwan-inspired dish as well.

Over the years I have visited the restaurant on a number of occasions and have had refreshing experiences by being able to order dishes that were not available anyplace else in Bangkok. My most recent visit (January, 2009) confirmed that this is still possible and the Szechwan dishes proved to still be my favorites. The hot and sour soup is still the best I’ve had in Bangkok and the spicy bean curd in a Szechwan-style sauce is also unique.

I also sampled some very good dim sum dishes – the restaurant has about 30 varieties – with the crab claws and radish cakes among the best of the bunch as far as my tastes are concerned. Another great dish, which I have had elsewhere on occasion but which is very well done here, is the deep-fried prawns with a creamy sauce that almost is like a mayonnaise in texture and taste. This is definitely worth ordering any time you are here.

A sizzling prawn dish with black pepper sauce is another favorite and there are many others as well. As far as traditional dishes there are both Hong Kong and Beijing versions of roasted duck and also a Hong Kong barbecued duck as well as beef and bean curd hot pot dishes, fried pork spare ribs "Hong Kong" style, sweet and sour pork and a sizzling fillet of beef with black pepper sauce. The menu is not enormous like many Chinese restaurants in the city, the chef instead concentrating on offering a representation of a variety of styles with only a few dishes of each.

The end result is certainly a confirmation of his philosophy as each dish is well thought out and presented and many different styles and flavors are covered. I even did something that I hardly ever do: at the urging of Food & Beverage Director Mr. Chatree I ordered a mango pudding for dessert. It was a wise decision as it was a simple yet excellent and delicious way to end a fine meal.

In this comfortable room with its finely brocaded furniture, mauve décor and Chinese artifacts you will discover both traditional Chinese cuisine and also some food that is a bit out of the ordinary, with the combination of the two making for an enjoyable dining experience, one that you will probably not be able to duplicate anywhere else in Bangkok.

See http://bangkokdining.ning.com/profiles/blog/list for info on Bangkok restaurants.

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Xing Fu Offers Non-Traditional Chinese Food -- Bangkok, Thailand

Butler's American Restaurant In Bangkok, Thailand

There are a not a lot of accomplished American chefs (to my knowledge, anyway) plying their trade in Bangkok, Thailand nowadays but a recent lunch at Butler’s, an American restaurant in the upscale Gaysorn Plaza shopping center, brought one to our attention in rather dramatic fashion. Tim Butler, a pastry chef actually during most of his American cooking days, has named a small yet interesting space in the basement of this shopping center after himself and is creating some interesting and delicious dishes in an unpretentious manner, raising the profile of American food in this city.

With a compact menu, plus a few off-menu specialties, Tim is presenting a short tour of what is happening in some of America’s best kitchens and what should probably be happening in more kitchens here in Bangkok. Using relatively easy-to-find ingredients that he combines in slightly unusual ways Tim gives diners dishes that taste great, can’t be found elsewhere and make a very small dent in your pocketbook.

If value for money is something that makes you stop and think occasionally then Butler’s would be a good place for you to visit. Even though Tim has the kind of resume that would cause some chefs to need a larger toque size he remains refreshingly unpretentious and seems committed to providing his guests a great dining experience and one that they can afford to repeat on a regular basis. His prices, in other words, are a reflection of what he considers to be fair based on what he puts on his plates and not on what his newpaper reviews and awards might justify.

The delicious pasta dish of creamy garganeli and pancetta that also includes green peas is a healthy-sized serving priced at 205 baht, for example. The fabulously simple Japanese tuna salad with a creamy dressing and melt-in-your-mouth fish will set you back another 205 baht. Even the perfectly cooked foie gras, seared and presented in a club sandwich format (or alternatively with carmelized apple and red wine syrup), is only 600 baht.

It may be slightly déclassé to put such emphasis on prices but these days you must admit that it is certainly in the backs of at least some of our minds. How else to explain the dearth of diners at some of Bangkok’s higher-priced eateries as of late? You can spend up to 700 baht here if you insist and that will get you a ribeye steak with sautéed mushrooms and polenta. Drop another 210 baht for a glass of the house shiraz and you’ll round out the taste of the steak beautifully and still be under 1,000 baht.

However, you’ll want to try a soup as well – the asparagus and grilled corn are especially recommended – although the chilled shrimp gazpacho looked equally tempting. And most of the other items on this 23-dish menu looked the same way, tempting, that is. There are certainly more that my lunch companion and I would have liked to try given the chance and the interior space. There are salads, sandwiches, pastas and a few meat and seafood dishes.

And although not a dessert person per se, my curiosity got the best of me when I read about his black truffle ice cream sundae in an online article. Somehow he managed to take the richness of the truffles and harmonize it with the vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup so that it enhanced the flavors of all the ingredients without any of them being overpowered. This is one of his must-try dishes.

We hope that Tim’s stay in Bangkok will be a long one. Apparently he has personal ties that will help to keep him here as well as professional ones and anyone that can cook this well and treat his guests so respectfully should certainly be welcome here for as long as he cares to stay.

See http://bangkokdining.ning.profiles/list/blogs.com for more information about Bangkok restaurants.

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Information about Indian Host Indian restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand.

more about "untitled", posted with vodpod

Biscotti Italian Restaurant In Bangkok, Thailand

more about "Biscotti Italian Restaurant In Bangko...", posted with vodpod

Thursday, February 12, 2009

New York Steakhouse Still On Top In Bangkok, Thailand

One of the top restaurants in Bangkok, in any cuisine category -- not just steakhouses, is the New York Steakhouse in the JW Marriott Hotel right on Sukhumvit Road at soi 2. This place opened about seven years ago and for the first five or more years of its existence it was full every night as in make a reservation or don’t eat. I haven’t checked to see if it’s completely full all the time but it’s a good idea to reserve anyway.

There may have been a little drop-off in business over the years but if that’s the case it certainly won’t have been because of the quality or service here, or value for money for that matter. Quite simply, there are more top quality steakhouses in town than there were back in 2001. New York Steakhouse was the first place to open in a major hotel that committed itself to putting out a top quality product. They were the first restaurant to import chilled (not frozen) Angus beef from the U.S. It is now not uncommon to find it in other places but New York Steakhouse was the pioneer in serving premium quality beef in Thailand.

They also created the model from which many other steakhouses in the same class approach a lot of other things like formulating a menu or creating a décor. The New York Steakhouse, by the way, is pure New York from the 1950s. At least it looks like I would envision a place from back then when the average American family, when polled on their dining preferences, chose steak as their top main course. The restaurant has heavy, almost ponderous, furniture, lots of dark wood and plenty of artwork depicting the New York of 50 years ago when Sinatra ruled supreme and the martini was the hippest drink around.

That’s another distinguishing feature of this restaurant – its giant martinis served in a traditional stemmed martini glass. And these aren’t those fou-fou designer martinis that have been the rage the last few years. These are real martinis: gin or vodka with a little vermouth and large olives. One is enough to start your meal here because you’ll want to leave plenty of space for a nice rich cabernet or shiraz to go with your steak. Of course, you don’t have to order steak here as there are some seafood choices like tuna, salmon or shrimp that are done very well, also in a classic style, but why come to a steakhouse and not get the specialty?

Before you get to the main course, however, there is some seafood that bears tasting here and that’s the oysters. They are a bit of a specialty here just as they would have been 50 years ago at a New York steak house. They have both Fine de Claire and Barron Point varieties here and you can also get them as part of the Seafood Market which is a selection of Phuket lobster tails, shrimp, oysters and mussels served on crushed ice. The main event is the steaks, though and there are several types to choose from. The certified Angus steaks are available in a tenderloin, ribeye and N.Y. Strip.

You can also get a Wagyu Australian prime rib or steak tartare, both of which are prepared tableside. Then there are the filet, ribeye, strip, T-bone and porterhouse from Australia. And if you really want to spend some money try the Kobe beef from Japan. This is the high-priced spread although beware of the larger sizes unless you have a very healthy appetite. This meat is so rich that you will be filled up for hours afterward. There are also some surf and turf combinations and other meat dishes as well.

To accompany the main courses are an array of side dishes that are tried and true steak house favorites like creamed spinach, onion rings, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and several more as well as a number of potato choices. Just like the appetizers of French onion soup, smoked salmon and lobster bisque, these dishes have all been around forever and are still favorites in this type of establishment. This is not the easiest place in town on your wallet but you know one thing if you come here: you’ll always get what you expect and that’s the mark of a great restaurant.

See http://bangkokdining.ning.com/profiles/blog/list for info on Bangkok restaurants.

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New York Steakhouse Still On Top -- Bangkok, Thailand

Tags: Style | Cuisine | restaurants bangkok | steak restaurant bangkok | bangkok steaks

Dive Into Larry's For Wackiness, Food And Fun In Bangkok, Thailand

If you like dive bars you’ll love Larry’s in Bangkok. Real dive bars we mean, not the sleazy, rundown places we all loved to go when we were young and liked the danger, intrigue and mystery that went with going to a dump. After all, when you’re young it doesn’t take as much to make things interesting, does it?No, Larry’s is a REAL dive bar since it has a scuba diving shop attached to the bar and a beachside motif and it also serves food like burgers and barbecued ribs.

In fact, in its earliest days 12 years ago there was actually sand on the floor so it was like walking on a real beach. The owner then, Rob Dennis, is a Canadian with an engaging personality and a decidedly quirky sense of humor. He created the fictional character “Larry,” who supposedly owns the bar and whose image graces the menu and other printed material, as well as the general ambience of the place which could best be described as southern California surf bar meets Tex-Mex sports bar if you can imagine that.

To get an idea of the business philosophy of Larry, this quote kind of sums things up: “If the beer is warm, the women are cold, the service is slow or the food is lousy, please leave a bigger tip so we know you appreciate it”. LARRY. How can you not love a guy like that?

The food, however, is usually quite good and centers around the abovementioned Tex-Mex as well as burgers, ribs and other American casual food staples like steak, nachos, potato skins, chicken fingers and all kinds of sandwiches. They claim to have the best ribs around, although there are places that would challenge that, and they do have a good selection of Tex-Mex food including all the usual suspects: tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos and chili. And they have an ironclad service guarantee: Served in 30 minutes... or it’s cold.“ How can you beat that?

This is definitely one of the more interesting places in Bangkok and is worth the time to check out. It’s right on Sukhumvit Soi 22 also, so it’s easy to get to. We’d like to leave you with one last bit of advice from Larry himself: "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes... That way you're a mile away, plus you have their shoes."

See http://bangkokdining.ning.com/profiles/blog/list for info on Bangkok restaurants.

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Dive Into Larry's For Wackiness, Food And Fun -- Bangkok, Thailand

Log Cabin Pub Has A World Record and More Bangkok, Thailand

The Log Cabin on Soi Thonglor in Bangkok is one of those places that you have to see to believe and not just because it's in the Guinness Book Of World Records. It's in there, by the way, because it's the largest log construction ever built in the world. Why? would be a good question but since this is Thailand there's probably no good answer that will ever be forthcoming.

Suffice it to say that it was once owned by the Mercedes dealer next door and served as a showroom for cars until the economic crash of 1997. It was sold to someone who decided that having four restaurants and a pub in one building would be a good idea so that's exactly what he did. They serve food and drinks and have live music every night including rock music. So now it's home to Grill 'N More Restaurant, Teppanyaki Restaurant, BBQ Shabu Shabu Restaurant, Mori Japanese Restaurant and the Log Cabin Pub and Restaurant which features two bands a night and a large variety of food and drink.

The pub area is like everything else in this complex -- big. It's L-shaped and contains a large stage with lots of equipment. The reason it has lots of equipment is that the bands here like to play loud. So although there's a varied menu containing everything from spicy Isaan food to regular Thai dishes, pastas and even some international entries, this is not a really relaxing dining experience. The music dominates here and it's primarily 60s and 70s hard rock stuff which is fine by me. You'll also hear the odd Eagles or country song as well. This is a real throwback kind of place and you get the feeling that it's a Thai conception of what a real rock and roll bar in America should look like with the 60s posters and ranch-style decor.

From that standpoint there is a certain amusement factor that goes along with the competently played music and the food which is really pretty good if you don't mind having to shout to your dinner companions. Balloon is the house band and there is always an opening act as well. This is a place worth visiting at least once. It does have a world record, after all.

See http://bangkokdining.ning.com/profiles/blog/list for info on Bangkok restaurants.

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Log Cabin Pub Has A World Record and Lots More -- Bangkok, Thailand

Life In Bangkok

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Xing Fu Chinese Restaurant In Bangkok, Thailand

Photos

Xing Fu Chinese Restaurant In Bangkok, Thailand | Photo 05

Butler's American Restaurant In Bangkok, Thailand

Biscotti Italian Restaurant In Bangkok, Thailand

Thursday, February 12, 2009

New York Steakhouse Still On Top In Bangkok, Thailand

Photos

New York Steakhouse Still On Top -- Bangkok, Thailand

Dive Into Larry's For Wackiness, Food And Fun In Bangkok, Thailand

Photos

Dive Into Larry's For Wackiness, Food And Fun -- Bangkok, Thailand

Log Cabin Pub Has A World Record and More Bangkok, Thailand

Photos

Log Cabin Pub Has A World Record and Lots More -- Bangkok, Thailand

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