AskOksana

Just go an email from D'Sens & they are having private parties the two nights we can eat at there.

We depart next week, so I have to nail this down rightaway.

I'm allergic to chili pepper, so do not recommend C'yan or Thai restaurants.

We'd ideally like French/fusion haute cusine in a beautiful setting, preferably w/ a skyline view.

Considering HARVEY'S but there's no view. Does LE NORMANDIE have a view?

We're already eating at Aubergine on Sunday & Jester's on our in-between Jerry tour days... any other ideas?

Anyone eat at LE PRE GRILL or LEMONCELLO?

The menu at Le Banyan sounds very old fashioned French, we want French w/ an experimental chef...

At D'Sens, besides the view, we were so looking forward to the sea urchin (uni) & lobster with cavier appetizer... I am so disappointed.

We were going to order 4 appetizers, 2 desserts plus the French Set Dinner w/ wine w/ each course.

BradinBangkok

Le Normandie would be the best choice. Yes it has a view that overlooks the river.

AskOksana

Thanks, I think we may bite the bullet ($$$) and eat there... although the chef/menu is not as experimental as D'Sens.

AskOksana

I just visited Le Normandie's website & they require a jacket for men for dinner. My husband is bringing silk shirts but in no way is he going to bring a suit jacket.

Any other ideas?

AskOksana

It's between Cy'an vs. Harvey's?

Opinions?

BradinBangkok

The best combination of food & view is Mezaluna at the top of State tower. But its Italian.

glorialf

Normandie has a wonderful view.

rhkkmk

we ate at cy'an last year....the food was quite good, but nothing exceptional....i don't remember chillis at all....

normandie will have a view of "the other side" of the river....looks out at the penn....

remember this is thailand, not france, belgium or luxembourg....you have to expect things not to be pure continental...most often there is a mix on menus...

glorialf

I would email Normandie and ask if silk shirts are acceptable. I ate at lemoncello once and would never go back. Mezaluna will certainly have the view-- never eaten there so can't speak about the food or ambiance.

However, avoiding chili peppers should not be difficult in any upscale restaurant in thailand. My mother can't eat chili peppers and ate in many upscale thai restaurants (where english was widely spoken so her problem was understood) and she never had a problem.

Just remembered that State Tower restaurants also has some sort of dress code for men (or did) because when I was there some men were turned away because of dress so if you go to any of their restaurants you might want to double check.But maybe that's just for Sirrocco.

Hanuman

You will need a jacket for dinner but not for lunch. If you don't have one they will have a "standby" jacket in their cloak room.

The food is classic French, unless there's a visiting chef.

Hanuman

Oops.. the above reply is for the Normandie.

I've seen people walk in wearing a polo shirt and dress pants and they, the manager, just gave him a jacket to wear and that was it.

AskOksana

My husband will not fit into their jackets. He's a 46 LONG... w/ long arms. He/we refuse to be forced into a jacket, his or otherwise. He looks wonderful in leather dress shoes, dress slacks & a silk shirt. IMO jackets are archaic, it's not the Oscars!
;-)

A lot of the dishes on Cy'an's menu have curry or chili as it's Mediterranean cuisine.

Thinking about Harvey's... or Le Banyan. Don't want to eat outside at Cy'an.

Thanks for Lemoncello tip.

Anyone eaten at Le Pre Grill? Their domain expired, I can't get a response via emai.

glorialf

Oksana-- where are you from? if it's a major US city you probably have better italian and probably french food where you are. Thus, I'd look for a place that has a pleasant and unique atmosphere. Anything at the state tower will provide that (but check the jacket situation) although I find the food WAY OVERPRICED. You could also go to an upscale thai/fusion restaurant and easily avoid chili peppers or go to China House and have pekin Duck-- no chili peppers there and you definitely don't need a jacket. Another possibility would be the riverside buffet at the Oriental.

AskOksana

We live in Los Angeles... we will have spent a week in Khao Lak & one in Siem Reap, so I don't want to think about Thai food or any Asian food, we live in an area where there are literally thousands of Asian cuisine restaurants...

We are interested in fusion because we're foodies & we love to try the cuisine of new chefs... French is safe because they just don't cook w/ peppers or curries.

I've read the menus of many of the restaurants & Harvey's sounds very interesting. Cy'an is too Mediterranean & I'm not into expensive Italian... we'd rather eat what is not affordable here in L.A.; French, haute cuisine fusion & of course seafood.

I had our hearts set on D'Sens because of their uni (sea urchin)/lobster/caviar appetizer. We love uni... and a few other appetizers; their Fig Symphony dessert & the Trio of (three colors) Grapes dessert. The new chef there sounds like a real artist. I admire that.

I translated their French Set dinner menu for them as the English translation (from the French) was terrible. They thanked me, then they emailed a few days later they had a private party booking, then another, it's just bad timing for us... if we were there one more night, we could do it. I don't want to do lunch, as we want to spa on our last full day.

For me to go to an haute Thai cuisine restaurant, is a waste of time as most of the food I can't eat (any chili means curries & sesame oil too).

I love curry, but it makes me violently sick. My husband loves fois gras & Harvey's has a wonderful fois gras dish (fried served with peach compote on mashed chestnuts)... it also seems that young, hip Thais eat there... so it sounds more interesting than stuffy Le Normandie w/ their silly dress code & I also found their menu very old-fashioned, heavy French food.

I've read a lot of reviews of Sirocco & the food seems over-priced & not great. We also do not want to eat outside of a windy roof. I've been reading reviews in the BKK Post, and two other websites for weeks, downloading menus, etc.

glorialf

I have been staying at the Oriental almost yearly since 1985 and I eat in their restaurants a lot but I have only eaten at le Normandie twice -- once on my first visit and once when I was there with my mother when she turned 75. It is VERY traditional/heavy french which is exactly why I avoid it.

I would forget Sirrocco-- it is very mediocre and overpriced.

Sounds like Harvey's is worth a try. I'll be interested in your experience since I may want to try it. Banyan is lousy in my opinion.

Your husband would not be happy in Chicago where there is a BAN on foie gras.

ekscrunchy

Oksana with your health concerns have you given any thought to avian influenza (re:foie gras)?

I think you are overstating the use of chili and curry paste in Thailand. And sesame oil..is that a staple of Thai cuisine?

There is so much wonderful seafood that you can order simply grilled in many places.

crewe

We are just home from BKK ate at the normandie ,yery over ratedand expensive ,view was fine.

Guenmai

Oksana...I can understand about wanting a different kind of foods as I also from L.A. area and I know that I eat more Thai food at home than when I'm in Thailand. Whenever friends and I go out, it's usually Thai food or another type of Asian food. I can't think of any other French restaurants in BKK as I don't like French food. When I'm in France, I eat Asian or vegetarian. Smiles. Have a great trip. Happy Travels!

AskOksana

ekscrunchy
No, I am not concerned about Avian influenza from fois gras, as I would assume the birds are raised in France or Quebec. I just watched a piece on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, where he visited a Quebecquoise farm where the woman showed the 'forced feeing' technique & explained (my RVT husband verified) that birds have different throats than mammals (the food can't get into the lungs)... And the geese were totally non-plussed by the 'forced' feeding & happy, free range birds... certainly happier than how Tyson (et al) raise chickens in the US, where hundreds of thousands of packed into hot, cages where they never see the light of day or breathe fresh air.

We are animal lovers, he works in biomedical research with animals & his job is being their 'advocate/guardian' and the ban on fois gras in Chicago & elsewhere is fanatical PETA gone wild... encroaching onto personal freedoms. I would rather be a forced fed goose on a farm in France than being free fed for KFC. ;-)

Sesame oil is used as a flavoring in Chinese influenced Thai cooking. That yummy peanut satay sauce has sesame oil in it. So, does the peanut salad dressing, etc. Sesame oil is a flavoring, it's not cooked in, it's a condiment... so to speak.

Guen understands how much Thai food we Los Angelenos eat.

It's a matter of not wanting to go to a restaurant & have limited choices, or worse, have chili or sesame end up in the food & become violently ill during the meal (or the next day) so that I am unable to get out of the bathroom & resume our tour... it's not worth it & unless you have a food intolerance or allergy, you have NO IDEA how STRESSFUL it is to be dependent upon a low-paid stranger to 'guarantee' that there's no allergens in your food.

I've had it happen in Santa Monica, where I ordered Pad Thai takeout & the order taker was a 'farang' American & the Pad Thai had obviously been cooked in a wok where the previous dish was fried w/ chilis, so my noodles absorbed all the oil & the Pad Thai tasted of chili on the first bite.

That's the stress... anything I order would have to be cooked in a wok that was washed w/ soap & hot water, to wash out the chili oil... or my food will absorb the leftover chili oil that lines the wok. THAT is not my idea of a vacation.

ekscrunchy

Yes, but most Thai cooking does not use sesame oil and as you know, satay is actually of Indonesian origin as far as I know. Oh well, besides the point anyway. I hope you enjoy your dinner choices and your entire trip. And by the way, many of us adore foie gras!