Best Dining in Bangkok?
 

We love all cuisines----Thai of course but also love frencg, Italian etc.. Any suggestions?

China House at the Oriental Hotel--the Peking Duck is heaven

Seafood Market for great seafood and a unique experience

There are many lists of Bangkok restaurants posted here. Just do a search for Bangkok restaurants on the board and you'll find more places to eat than you can imagine!

Try the Bed Supper Club for a unique dining experience and very unusual but gourmet dishes.
You can good Italian at .... you'll be shocked... Bumrungrad Hospital lobby, 2nd floor. It's an amazingly good place to eat!!
Another good Italian place would be at the Intercontinental Hotel (ChitLom skytrain station) at the street level, front of the hotel. It's called Matteo. We also like Guisco on soi 23 for Italian.
A good Thai place is Vientiene Kitchen. The atmosphere is like a big outdoor hut. There is a bit of entertainment with Thai instruments and Thai dancers.
Bangkok has some great dining places!!

I would also suggest Bed Supper Club. And I agree with Laurieco about the Peking Duck at China House -- it is fabulous. I also love the new Lord Jim at the Oriental. Fabulous decor now and the food is much now terrific. The lunch buffet is great but so is the dinner.

China House - GREAT!
I second the China House at the Oriental Hotel. Thanks to the advice on this forum, the Peking Duck is no exaggeration...tried and tested to be fabulous! The skin is so crispy and with very minimal fat. However, we were informed that they will be closed for renovation for a few months, so you might want to give them a call to check when that is. I think they said June-August.

BISCOTTI@Four Seasons - GOOD
Food is great, although quite pricey for the size of the portions. True as with all gourmet restaurants i.e. the fancier it is, the smaller the portions. But otherwise, the food is good. Will definitely go back again.

BED SUPPER CLUB - Average
We also tried the Bed Supper Club. I think we were unlucky with the main course. It was sword fish which tasted just like Wienerschnitzel. Quality?...NOT! Truly a disappointment. However, the other 3 dishes were good tho. I gave them feedback regarding the disappointing main course, so hopefully, it will never be served again. :) For us, this is a place to go once and never again. It's just a gimmick, IMHO.

Two thumbs way up for Biscotti. I eat there regularly. happy Travels!

Thank you for your replies so far! Just wanted to know how the restaurants are at the Penn? I don't know---- if the Oriental has such great dining maybe we will stay there instead of the Penn. Also, can you get other foods at the seafood market?? My husband doesnt eat any fish. Where is the market?Is it safe to eat there? WHat is it like? Thank you, my friends

The Peninsula has one excellent outdoor Thai restauant -- I don't know about their other restaurants but others will.

As for the Oriental -- they have wonderful restaurants and they have a lot of them: 1) China House; 2) Lord Jim; 3) Normadie -- french and according to many one of the top restaurants in asia; 4) Verandah -- their casual dining spot where you can eat inside or outside and get anything from a sandwich or hamburger to pad thai to indian food; 5)Riverside buffet -- a large and very good outdoor buffet; 6) Ciao -- outdoor Italian; 7) Sala Rim -- terrific thai buffet lunch-- dinner inside is mediocre food with a dance show. Dinner outside is very good thai food.

The Penn's restaurants are great! I can't speak for the Thai restaurant as it's new and wasn't there when I was in BKK last. But Jesters is wonderful. We stay at the Pen when in BKK and have eaten at several of their restaurants. Jesters was one of the best meals I have had anywhere. It's a beautiful place too, very high tech with a two storey glass window looking out onto the river. the food is best described as fusion. The Chinese restaurant at the Pen is fabulous as well. The dim sum lunch is a real bargain and it's delicious. I have to tell you though, we ate the Peking Duck at the Pen's restaurant to compare it with the China House--no comparision, China House wins that one hands down.

By the way, don't worry about the "commute" to the Oriental's restaurants from the Pen--it's a two minute boat ride and the boats leave all the time.

Just came back from a short trip to Bangkok. Two restaurants that I think are a must do:

Blue Elephant (thai cuisine) - in a colonial looking building, with gorgeous deco and service was friendly. Food - excellent!
http://www.blueelephant.com/bangkok/index.html


Sirroco at the Dome (Italian)
The Dome is on the 65th floor of the State Building on Silom Road. Has the most spectacular views of Bangkok at night. Sirroco - excellent Italian restaurant. There is also an open-air bar on a terrace.
http://www.thedomebkk.com/home.asp

Oops correction - Sirroco is the terrace bar.

Mezzaluna is the Italian Restaruant at Dome.

I thought Sky Bar is the name of the outside bar, Mezzaluna is the inside bar under the dome, and Sirocco is the Italian restaurant...

(I Love Sky Bar!!!)

How does Mezzaluna rank compared to Biscotti? The menu on the website looks great! Is Sirocco (the Meditteranean restaurant at the Dome worth a look?)

I'm planning another trip to BKK next week my 4th!
I left Sirocco out becasue of the mixed reviews, not everyone had a good experience and the wind apparently turns the food cold quickly.
Oriental hotel Le Normandie does a wonderful set lunch (prix fix) for 850BHT ++ that's USD$ 30 all in, not a bad deal for the top french restaurant in the country.
I will be trying the new D'Sens at the Dusit Thani, a new restaurant opened by 2 michelin star chefs. Tell you guys about it when I return.
http://www.wallpaper.com/restaurants/330
Also I will be paying C'yan at Metropolitan a visit once again, their tasting menu at USD 60 without wine is well worth the excellent first rate food.

If you go to this site you will see some awesome photos of Sky Bar and Sirocco.
http://www.blissim.com/weblogpix/tri...iland/sky_bar/

Sorry it's a long one. Just copy and paste and ENJOY the view!! (Wish these were my photos... I've got a few from up here, but not this good)
Carol

OK, I'm at a different computer and I tried my "link" on the previous post. It didn't work...!!! But, if you do a google search for sky bar bangkok, the first link is the photos. They really are gorgeous!! Hope you'll try.

And Bob... I hope you remember to visit this place while in BKK now.

Carol

kilofoxtrot: i went to the sky bar this past april, but i sat in the sirroco dining area. the wind blew out the candle at least 5 times in 45 min. you are absolutely correct, your food will be cold in 15 min.

however, do go there, as the view is fantastic, and good jazz. i would go again, but this time, stand at the sky bar.

The dim sum at the Penn is really fabulous and a great bargain given that you are dining at a 5 star hotel.
We looked at China House- and found the prices to be way too high- great food as others have said- no doubt- just be aware of the pricing and if that is not an issue then go and enjoy!

I thought the dim sum at the China House was very reasonable as is their Peking Duck -- I think it's about $22 or perhaps even less for the two of us. What is very expensive is their wine. But you can eat there quite reasonably by U.S. standards -- obviously anything at the Oriental is high for Bangkok but I've never had a meal that I didn't think was a bargain for what I got.

Ok we can agree to disagree- on the pricing at China House- IMHO by US standards this place is high- that is for good chinese food. By Bangkok standards its really high. Maybe Gloria is from Boston or some other high priced US city and so maybe China House is still a bargain. I'm from Houston and we get outstanding Chinese food (as good as what you get in SF).

I find that the Peking Duck at the China House is cheaper than here in NYC, and much, much better.

There is another open air roof top restaurant other than sirocco. This is Vertigo at Banyan Tree, 61 Floors up and open to the elements. I used to get confused which is which. I think all visitors to BKK must go to either Sky bar at Sirocco or Vertigo for the drinks and enjoy the sunset!

The Thai restaurant at the Penn is superb - ask for a table by the river. The atmosphere is really special and although I have eaten better Thai food elsewhere (they do westernise it somewhat) I would rate it for the overall experience. It wasn't really that expensive either, although the wine is a bit steep.

kilo
Sky Bar is much more dramatic in its ambiance with that grand gold dome and the wide staircase (IMO). Vertigo is just a "rooftop" after Sky Bar.

$22 for two people for Peking duck? That is inexpensive by Seattle standards (for real Peking duck). Gloria, do you know if they serve Peking Duck at lunch time or only at dinner?

biscotti in 4 seasons--uitalian
face soi 38 sukhumvit--thai and indian--seperate restaurants
hoarmonique--thai next to PO on new road soi 34>??
crepes and co soi 12 sukhumvit
jesters in peninsula hotel--asian fusion
lord jim in oriental--lunch seafood buffet
dim sum in liu rest. in conrad hotel

I think they only serve the Peking Duck at dinner but I won't swear to that. I always have their dim sum when I go there for lunch but they may also offer their regular menu. I do know that you don't have to preorder it as you so often do in America.

Just provide another non-hotel Itialian option:

Calderzzo, 59 Soi Langsuan, Tel: 252-8108

The restaurant is on Langsuan Road (street behind Four Season Hotel) and 3-4 minutes walk from BTS Chitlom station. The chef used to work at 5-star hotel.

Check out the following comments for Calderzzo as well as other restaurants:
http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/Nacws/2002/3/996
http://www.chicasia.com/res_italian.php

Yes, go on chicasia.com. Happy Travels!

I am fairly certain that China House has Peking Duck for lunch. We had heard so much about the Peking Duck (best in the world) that we ate our first BKK meal there (last October).But I thought I read somewhere that the restaurant was going to be closed for renovations.

just got back from our 3rd trip to bangkok. loved the blue elephant...it was probably my favorite. salathip at the shangri-la was also good, as was the chinese restaurant at the pen (peking duck was great!). While I did not like the ambience or the service at the harmonique, the food was good....but not good enough for me to go back.

Is it not bird flu that is carried by ducks and chickens?
They have not yet irradicated the problem by far from what I read.I realize the cases are isolated but some 40+/- in Thailand alone in past 12 months, right?
I realize it is cooked but at what temp does it kill all the bacteria?

In reply to the question about avian flu in Thailand, here is what the CDC web site has as its most recent statistical update: "As of May 19, 2005, there have been 97 human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in Vietnam (76), Thailand (17), and Cambodia (4) resulting in 53 deaths." Although a very small number of human-to-human cases of transmission are suspected, this is almost always a disease that affects individuals exposed to poultry farms or otherwise working with live animals. Since the disease is caused by a quickly-mutating form of the influenza virus, there are no bacteria involved at all, and there is no indication whatsoever that eating Peking Duck or any cooked poultry would have even a remote risk of a person's becoming infected. Birds that are infected become visibly ill -- and die --very quickly and it's extremely unlikely that they would be sold as food.

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