Bangkok: What type food?

Old Sep 12th, 2012, 09:14 AM
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Bangkok: What type food?

What type of food do you usually have in Bangkok? When I first started visiting, I stuck to major hotels and international food, then ventured out to Thai restaurants, then progressed to a wider variety of food and restaurants. In addition to Thai, I now find myself eating, Italian, French, and looking to try Japanese fare.

What are your favorite restaurants that you always visit? I consider the Monsoon on soi 8 a real gem. Also find myself repeatedly drawn to Basil in the SGS, and L'opera on soi 39.
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 12:17 PM
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I like Thai, the wife likes Japanese (Shrimp tempura) and we both like Dim Sum (Penninsula)
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 12:46 PM
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I like all kinds of food, but I'm not a foodie by any means. One of my favorite places in Bangkok is Via Vai (directly across soi 8 from Monsoon) where I can get the best pizza in the city IMO.

I like Thai food when I'm shopping with my Thai friends and we stop for lunch. I eat whatever my friends bring to the table. It is usually at a food court, such as the one at Platinum Fashion Mall or MBK.

I will eat whatever my Danish friend Lars is cooking! He is a master chef at all kinds of dishes.

I like a good ahi sashimi and most dim sum. I also like Lebanese food from the restaurant (forget the name) in the basement of Phloenchit Center (by the JW Marriott).

I really like the Food by Phone book. You can get delivery from anywhere!!
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 01:36 PM
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Mostly I like to eat Thai in Bangkok (no surprise). An old favorite place I've been eating at since my first trip to Bangkok back in the 1980s is Lemongrass, just down the soi from Emporium. I have lots of Thai places we eat - Lana Thai at FACE is another favorite. There is also a Northern Thai restaurant in Siam Paragon that always gets good reviews... sorry, I can't remember the name. I find the food court food at the various malls to be mediocre, at best.

We have also eaten at Gaggan - wonderful for molecular cuisine! And we ate for the first time at Biscotti last trip - the Italian place in the Four Seasons that is one of Bob and Karen's favorites.

I avoid the hotel restuarants that serve "international food." We love Indian food, and I have gotten a couple of recommendations from people that we will try next time.

For the first time in years and years we won't be in Bangkok this year, as we'll be using Singapore as our gateway to SE Asia, Fortunately, lots of wonderful food in Singapore!
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 01:48 PM
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I love Thai food, so in Thailand I eat Thai - fairly spicy Thai, not dumbed-down-for-foreigners Thai. My favorite place is Taling Pling, on the same street as the Myanmar Embassy (which is how I found it). Plenty of locals, not expensive.
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 01:57 PM
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Kathie, if you like Indian food, you really should try a place called Mrs Balbirs on Sukhumvit soi 11/1. It is just steps inside this soi, on the right. An Indian friend took us there for dinner, and it was really great!
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 06:00 PM
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we eat it all in bangkok: Thai (harmonique, tongue thai, lanna thai at face, gallery cafe, jim thompson restaurants, among others); Italian: Biscotti (our all time fav), L'Opera, and others); Indian: Rang Mahal, Himili cha cha, Face; French; American; Swiss: Crepes and co; Bakery: anantara basement, emporium, jw marriott, and others; all the big hotel breakfast buffets; dim-Sum: Liu at the conrad, Peninsula; japanese: Fuji...
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 06:30 PM
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lol - do you get the feeling Bob goes to Bangkok to eat?
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 07:31 PM
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and swim, and shop, and relax, and see friends, and EAT....
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Old Sep 12th, 2012, 07:32 PM
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trip 16 in less than a month!!!
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 09:36 AM
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Thanks for the feedback. Lots of great places mentioned.,have not been to lemongrass or Face in quite a while. Taling Pling sounds interesting.

kathie: have never heard of Gaggan, but will do some research on it.


Quizz: Thai restaurant on soi 8, down about fifty yards on the left? Thai restaurant on soi 23 close to a Vietnamese restaurant?
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 09:58 AM
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There was a rumor a while back that Chote Chitr had re-opened. Anyone know?

rayong, there have been lots of comments here about Gaggan. Do a search.
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 05:04 PM
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Earlier this week I tried out "The Local" a new Thai place on Suk. 23. It's by the second generation of the family that runs Oamthong and Naj. They do an interesting mix of old revival recipes and a few new innovations. It's all ala-carte dishes so not a place to eat on your own.

For northern Thai, nothing really compares to Gedhawa. Vegetarian Thai - Tham Na. Mexican - La Monita. French Cafe - Cafe Tartine. Bagels - Bangkok Bagel Factory. Cupcakes - Sparkles. Cookies - Sparkles and Bangkok Baking Company.
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 07:34 PM
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MichaelBKK, I ate there a month or so ago. positive comments from some Thai friends after the meal - not much talking as everyone dug in! Good service, and the prices seemed okay. I picked a dish that was much more spicy then I was used to.
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Old Sep 13th, 2012, 09:41 PM
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>>>What are your favorite restaurants that you always visit? I consider the Monsoon on soi 8 a real gem. Also find myself repeatedly drawn to Basil in the SGS, and L'opera on soi 39.<<<


Greetings to the OP and thanks for mentioning the SGS; brought back fine memories of pleasant stays at that former BKK business travel hotel. (For the past ~ 16 months, another Starwood property, the St. Regis, has been my primary Bangkok work hotel. And that's soon to change, with some even lower corporate rate packages being offered by the Four Seasons. As some of you frequent Bangkok business travellers may already know, quite competitive corporate fare wars presently going on between select hotels; good luck with your BKK business bookings.)

Like the esteemed Carol, have never been much of a foodie, but can't resist giving the highest praise to a sweet little place called Chon Thai, located at a rather dear property called The Siam. Dined at the locale this past July, during a 'soft opening' river view pool villa weekend at the resort.

What a great collection of diners at Chon Thai that evening. The significant majority consisted of Thai couples, perhaps taking advantage of the soft rates and a new BKK place to experience. (The esteemed Hanuman and his lovely family would have blended in beautifully.) Chance had it, I happened to know one diner, a manager with the Aman property group, who was with his lovely Singaporean wife for a weekend at The Siam. Since the early mists of time, yours truly has truly savoured being in the presence of attractive, petite, and well-dressed Asian women. That evening was, well, heavenly. (Indeed, at one point during dinner, the loved one quietly commented that the scene was out of one of those Thai 'hi-so' magazines, such as Thailand Tatler.)

Time will tell with The Siam and her Chon Thai. We're already booked for a celebration dinner with her this coming November. If nothing else, will always have the sweetest memories of this past July. (And a truly wondrous friend who works at the property.)

Can't resist mentioning my all-time favourite Thai cuisine : Book the Cook at ~ 36,000 feet, flying from SIN to BKK with Singapore Airlines. I love kicking off Bangkok business trips with a 'touch of Thai' in the air.

Signing off from San Francisco, soon to fly the all-time cherished SQ1 J tonight to Hong Kong. Early and warm weekend wishes to all,

macintosh (robert)


... Singapore Girl, You're a Great Way to Fly ...
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Old Sep 15th, 2012, 06:07 PM
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Wow - Gaggan sure has a Wide range of reviews. Some of the negative ones are quite brutal! Seems like you either love it or hate it!
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Old Sep 15th, 2012, 06:26 PM
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Well I LOVE Gaggan, and am really looking forward to going back there with Pook this evening.
I also like to eat Thai ( surprise surprise) in BKK. Found a cute place last time. Soul food on ThongLor. Nice little thai sharing plates.
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Old Sep 15th, 2012, 06:37 PM
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Hi, give us some feedback on your evening. I know some of the reviews can be misleading in tripadvisor.
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Old Sep 15th, 2012, 07:00 PM
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Not all cuisine or restaurant are suitable for everyone hence I don't make recommendations or suggestions on a public forum unless I know the person who is asking the question. Appreciation of food is subjective to what you are used to or how wide your dining experiences are. Some food are just too sophisticated to be appreciated by non gourmet.
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Old Sep 15th, 2012, 07:09 PM
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Yeah, sounds like a large number of non-gourmet types got disappointed at Gaggan. I will give it a try since I have a wide range of dining experiences. I can deal with simple or sophisticated
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