About great coffee and ghastly company
"Meet me at E&M Café in five minutes,” the high-pitched, brutish voice tells me. I hang up the phone and stare blankly over the rail of my balcony. I didn’t want to resort to such low methods. Indeed, this was the last course of action I was willing
- Read more
- 14190 reads
Meat-eaters flock to the latest Aussie steak joint
One thing you can’t do with babies, you can’t give them steak” – Flavor Flav.
Given the sage words of Flavor Flav, it was just as well we didn’t have any babies in tow when we visited Black Salt, as steak is what they are fast becoming renowned for in this stylish little eatery.
- Read more
- 12196 reads
L'ami Pierrot Bistro - Doing Food Right
Peter Didier – The owner of the restaurant, has pulled off something quite spectacular here.
His restaurant, L’ami Pierrot, found a little off the beaten track, offers a blend of traditional and contemporary French food where diners can lose themselves in a chilled out, Mediterranean haze.
- Read more
- 15823 reads
Grill Communication - Bamboo Lebanese Restaurant, Bangkok
Wandering into Bangkok’s bustling Arab district (around Sukhumvit soi 3-5, just across the road from the sleazehound mecca of Nana Plaza) really is like entering another country – the shop signs are in Arabic, the smell of shisha smoke fills the air, and you feel rather inadequate for not having a moustache. If you suddenly woke up here with no idea where you were, you’d assume it was Cairo or Casablanca.
- Read more
- 16343 reads
For Duck's Sake - Le Petit Zinc, Bangkok
On his foul-mouthedly entertaining Kitchen Nightmares show, one of Gordon Ramsay’s pet hates is restaurants with overly-complicated or multiple menus. “Keep it fucking simple!” is one of his regular aphorisms, and so I hope Bangkok’s popular French bistro Le Petit Zinc isn’t lined up for an appearance – not that it should be, it’s wonderful, but upon arrival I’m handed two menus, both containing apparently similar dishes at different prices, with no explanation as to what, if any, is the difference between them.
- Read more
- 15771 reads
Pho Real: Vietnamese & More, Bangkok
For two countries so close geographically, there is very little cultural overlap between Thailand & Vietnam, and that includes the countries’ cuisines. Just as it’s nigh-on impossible to find authentic Thai food in Saigon or Hanoi, so it is a real challenge finding proper Vietnamese cuisine here in Bangkok. Which, given the fact that both cuisines use pretty much the same ingredients, is rather surprising.
- Read more
- 16639 reads
Nothing dull about this Common Tiger
I love asparagus. I adore panacotta. It has never occurred to me to combine the two.
Last week I discovered the result: asparagus panacotta, mint-green and wobbling on the plate.
- Read more
- 16125 reads
South of the border: Tex-Mex and the City
It's a rare thing for a dining experience to be one you’re sure you’ll never forget. But this was the case with Cocina Cartel – incidentally not for the food, but for the monsoonal rain that flooded the road, forcing us to stay inside after finishing our meal and knock back the numerous cocktails on offer, before finally giving up at about 11pm and wading knee-high through the flood water.
- Read more
- 13350 reads
Flipping fantastic: the French pancake seller who hit upon an old tradition
On the left side of the pavement on Street 149, across from Baktouk Primary School, where schoolchildren from all over the country come to take extra classes, you can find an unusual couple with a very unusual business enterprise.
- Read more
- 14309 reads
Playground dining at theatrical Ka Ka Suki Soup
Koh Pich dining, in all its barbecued, deep fried, fairy-lit forms, is a fast and shiny experience best enjoyed with as many people as possible. From burger joints and barbecue chicken to Americana-inspired soft-serve salons – once you’re ensconced, the novelty is hard to resist.
- Read more
- 14530 reads