jpatokal

Here's a place you go for the ambience, not the food:

http://www.bedsupperclub.com

Quite simply the most jaw-droppingly decorated club on the planet. Reservations obligatory (book at least a day or two in advance) and a single serving daily, the course starts at 9 PM but you have to show up before 8.30. The food is a daily changing surprise menu, generic but very well executed international cuisine with a few Thai touches. Weekends are B1200/person for 4 courses, weekdays B1000/person for 3 courses, floor show included but drinks and service excluded.

For a nightcap, head to Vertigo / Moon Bar atop the Banyan Tree on Sathorn Rd. The drinks are overpriced and service isn't that great, but the absolutely stunning views of Bangkok are worth it. The place is aptly named, so don't go here if you have a fear of heights -- the only thing between you and a 60-floor drop to the street is a metal railing...

007

Not sure about Chinatown but you can get really good chinese food the Grand Hyatt and "Plaza Athene???".

Sunday brunch at Four Seasons is pretty good.

Trajan

Some of my Bangkok favorites so far are:

Supatra River House (absolutely fabulous , with shows on weekends, right on the Chao Phyra River). I had dinner there too with friends when the Royal Thai Barge Procession passed for the benefit of the 2003 APEC summit heads of states (President Bush, President Putin, Chinese President, Thai King, Canadian PM, Japanese PM and 15 other heads of state present very near riverside watching the procession). You can only imagine the security.
WEBSITE <http://www.supatrariverhouse.com/riverhouse/riverhouse.html>

Zanotti....my absolute favorite Italian place in Bangkok ^ (in my opinion, better than Angelini at Shangri-La or Biscotti at the Four Seasons (formerly the Regent). Located on a small street (called Sala Daeng or "Red Pavilion" in English) right off of SilomStreet/Patpong Area. Also Zanotti is across the street from "Anna's Cafe." which is also recommended.
WEBSITE <http://www.zanotti-ristorante.com/restaurant.html>

Mahanaga for stunning ambience and decoration (and food not bad too))
WEBSITE <http://www.mahanaga.com>

Sirocco (havent tried yet, but mentioning it because friends say it has good Mediterranean food and views are stunning from 64th floor!!)
<http://www.hotelthailand.com/ezine/2004/issue4/zine5.html>

Face Bar, Lanna Thai and Hazara (Indian) complex on Sukhumvit St (Soi 38) is currently talk of the town (but I have not tried yet).

jtrader

I thought Ta Yang Grou (see my post above for further details) was superb Chinese. Not in Chinatown though.

transpac

Lunchcounter at Foodland, Sukhumvit Soi 5 (opposite Amari Boulevard hotel)
This is open 24 hours and has just about everything; Thai, western. They have an American breakfast for 41 baht, until 9:00 AM. Excellent, inexpensive fare.

Pizza, Bella Napoli, Sukhumvit Soi 33 (halfway down, opposite Monet club)
Good pizza.

The Food Center (6th floor) at Mah Boon Krong (MBK) shopping center (National Stadium stop on the BTS). This is a big food court, maybe ~ 40 “stalls”. You buy coupons in 20/10/5 baht denominations at booths near the entrances, and use these to buy food/drinks at the various stalls. You redeem unused coupons before you leave. Typical dishes are 30/35 baht. Go to the stall with the longest line!

I mostly ate street food this week, great hamburger from a cart on the right of the entrance to NEP on Sukhumvit Soi 4, excellent satay from a barbeque cart just to the left of the entrance to NEP. Great Issan (barbequed pork, spicy salad, etc.) food from a cart down Soi 4 on the right, just opposite Soi 6. The sheer number of street food vendors in BKK is staggering. The same spot on a street might have three different vendors throughout the day.

Land-of-Miles

Just noticed this thread. i would second the recommendations for the Blue Elephant and Celadon (at the Sukothai). It is a tough call between these 2 places for the best Thai food I have ever eaten.

For Sunday Brunch the Four Seasons does a great spread, and martinis (a variety of types) are included. I also like the Cafe Conrad for Sunday Brunch.

La Dalat (the original branch) has great vietnamese food and I thought the prices were very reasonable. For a different experience the food court at MBK is also worth a try.

The Banyan Tree does an excellent Dim Sum lunch at their chinese restaurant whose name temporarily escapes me. It is supposed to be a buffet but is served at your table, and the restaurant has awesome views (being at the top of the building, just underneath Vertigo).

For sushi/japanese I have seen the recommendations for Zen, I however much prefer Fuji which has a better menu and tastier food IMHO at very reasonable prices. On the subject of local fast food, no trip to BKK is complete without at least trying the Suki Yaki at MK. It isnt the best suki in the world, but is very popular with the locals (as the queues will show).

Last but not least Neils Tavern on Ruam Rudee serves the best steaks (and seafood) in BKK. Ruam Rudee also has many other high quality restuarants at reasonable prices.

jonhoram

I will be in BKK in August with my wife during our first wedding anniversary - can anyone recommend a one-of-a-kind restaurant that will really impress her (and me)? I was thinking about the roof of the Banyan Tree hotel.... I know there is a bar there, I assume they serve food as well. Any other suggestions?

jpatokal

jonhoram, there is indeed a restaurant atop the Banyan Tree called Vertigo -- the bar is technically called the "Moon Bar" but everybody calls it Vertigo too. That said, I haven't heard very many good things about the food at Vertigo, it's pretentious, heavy Western cuisine (fois gras, steaks, etc) with extortionate pricing (I've heard 4000 baht per head, ie. around $100 for a meal with drinks!). You might wish to consider doing what I did last year, namely dinner at Saffron (Thai) or Bai Yun (Chinese) downstairs and then an unforgettable nightcap at Vertig... err, Moon Bar.

There's also another new rooftop bar/restaurant in BKK that's actually a bit higher up than Vertigo, namely Sirocco atop the State Tower; it opened very recently and I haven't been here yet, but I have heard good things about it. The food is still not Thai, but Mediterranean though (and it's also very expensive by Thai standards). A report by somebody who did go there: http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/bui...te/state.shtml

adambrau

Heading to BKK in a week with clients and am thinking about these restaurants. I already have a booking at Bed Supper Club and Sala Rim Naam (as we're staying at the Oriental) but I am interested in these 2 places. Just curious if anyone has been there lately, or at all.

Thanks!


Adam

YYZC2

Last time I was at the Siam Center there was a quiet Japanese restaurant where Zen was supposed to be... too bad since I had starved myself all day to purge on sushi and green tea ice cream.

I had no idea it was a chain! Can anyone point me towards the other locations?

Edit: only now do I realize I wrote "purge" instead of "binge"... oops!

jpatokal

There's at least one Zen on the top floor of the WTC shopping mall, just a stone's throw from Siam Square -- and no, I'm not confusing this with the adjacent department store of the same name.

Fuji's also not bad for cheap and reasonably authentic Japanese eats, and there are a lot more of them around. Basement of Silom Complex (connected to BTS Sala Daeng), 1F of U Chu Liang Bldg on Rama IV, 2F Siam Centre, etc.

Morrissey

Yes, Fuji is good if you're looking for good, cheap Japanese food. You can get a complete meal for about $3, and all you can drink iced green tea.

I also the loved the Vietnamese restaurant at the Siam Center (the name escapes me). I had some excellent pho there! ^

Bob7032

I recommend MahaNaga at the corner of Sukhumvit and Soi 29. Outstanding Thai fusion!

www.mahanaga.com

miizzles

Any recommendations for Thai and Italian places where a single diner wouldn't feel out-of-place or awkward? (I'm somewhat self-conscious and no, I'm not looking for friendly Thai companionship )

jpatokal

mizzles, head for the nearest food court for a wide range of quick cheap street eats with air-con and a semblance of hygience. A few of my favorites are...

• the Big C 4th floor food court on Th. Ratchaprarop (just down the street from Gaysorn), cheap (20-50B) and raucous, all Thai food (the som tam guy is pretty good)
• Food Fusion atop the Robinson Silom, pricier and quieter; they have Italian & Japanese food too, but haven't tried them yet

Basically every department store will have these, although some (eg. MBK, WTC) are a little grotty and hard to use if you don't speak Thai. Note that all food courts have some variation of a coupon system. At Big C you buy a stored-value card in advance, at Food Fusion you charge your purchases to a magical stick and pay on exit.

There are also a whole bunch of essentially Thai fast food places geared for the single diner, although most of the logos are in Thai:

• Yum Saap (big yellow smily logo) does yum (salads), curries etc
• Kuay Tiow Something (still can't read the Thai, but their logo is an easily identifiable hungry rat armed with fork and knife) does dirt-cheap spicy noodles (~20B)
• Nooddi does slightly more expensive noodles of all sorts (~50B) and good drinks too
• Hachiban Ramen does good Japanese ramen soup at decent prices (50-100B)
• S&P bakery-cafe-restaurants have a surprisingly extensive menu (<100B) of good Thai food, portions are tiny though

Feel free to drop me a PM if you're in town next week (Wednesday onward).