hi james; remember our first encounter concerning the beaches of langkawi and penang? well, i am requesting your recommendation of a good thai restaurant. i see from your postings that you once was in the restaurant business, so i have confidence in your recommendations. yes, yes, i have read alot of the postings on bkk restaurants, and there are the list of usual suspects such as condoms and cabbage, that place where you eat in bed(i do that at home), various italian/french/american type places, but i want to go where you would take your friends/family for dinner. i prefer my thai food, thai hot. i will be in bkk during the week of 5/16 for a week, and do intend to try a few of the popular restaurants posted here, but i want to concentrate my gastronomic endeavors to thai food. a thai lady next to me on my flight to nrt a few weeks ago recommended spice market(highly rec. on this site) and mangoes. welcome your thoughts as well from other fodorite foodies. thanks.

i'm not james and he will probably answer you but i have a couple of suggestions if you haven't seen my postings...

spice market is very nice and in a lovely hotel but i think it is "westerniized" in many ways...

try harmonique on soi 34, new road...very nice...

try the thai family restaurant in the marriott mall behind the marriott resort and spa---full of thai people...it is on ground level and has green awnings--is in the back right hand corner of the mall overlooking the parking lot...
lemongrass is popular...

i thought the cabbages and condoms food was only fair...

probably westernized but highly reccomended is Ruen Thai on the 5th floor of the grand hyatt hotel

but some really like Baan Khanitha with two locations: one on soi 23, soi Prasanmit,sukhumvit rd and the other near the american embassy...
Lemongrass on soi 24, sukhumvit rd is favored by many but we did not like it too much--reservations essential

these should get you started

Actually I'm not the right person to ask about restaurants! I am sure Bob has given you some great tips, I can't remember the last time I went out for a meal!! Ask me about restaurants outside of BKK and yes, that is when we 'do' go out for meals..

MK Restaurants are actually very good if you like Asian Food and it is relatively cheap and easy, can be fun too if you are in a group.

yep MK has oficeily been OK'd.. I'm in the same boat as JamesA MK sucki restourants are basicaly as fine dinning as it gets for me around here.

if you realy want some lagit thai food eat at a stall and make sure it's next too a bussy street. Im not jokeing the Fumes give the food a great hickory taste...

if you like it hot try sam tom (papaya salid) the street vender with the morter and pestel are you source. and it goes for about 20 baht. just check you collen at the hote...


if you want something more upscale. (thai style) Soi Rang Nam is known as one of the best streets for restaurants. yes most places just offer plastic patio chairs and toulet papper on the tables for ambianse. but the food is great and the prices are better. you can feed 4 for less then for $5 too $10. and Im talking about a pot full of steamed mussles. tam yam khun soup and a table fool of dishes.

I like tuda isuna (sp) it has vast menue in english and the food is spicey as hell and good. the chicken and cashew is one of my favorits at 80 baht.

my favorite sea food place is kuang sea food. the food is fresh and a great value.

these places my be too thai for most fodorites. but many expats and busness men go too these and other restaurants on soi Rang Nam

I know the poster mentioned takeing frainds.. well these would be the types of places I'd take frainds even in the states. I just preffer informal MOM an POP places.

thanks for all your comments.

bob: you are very astute in realizing my trying to avoid thai restaurants that are "westernized". yes, i am not interested in going to a thai restaurant whos recipes have been altered to accomodate the less tolerate palates. i like your suggestion of the thai family restaurants in the marriott mall. i will definitely go there, as well as baan khanitha.

jamesa; i can understand now why your comments have been noticebly absent in the restaurant posting on this site, but thanks for the lead on mk restaurants.

orgy7: where is mk restaurants? not a great papaya salad fan, but not afraid to try roadside food. i will go to soi rang nam(is it accessible via skyway?)and kuang seafood.

with all these great places to go, looks like a 10 pound trip for me.

anyone else with any recommendations? kathi?

Hi kuranosuke...I've been to Spice Market it is in Regent Hotel and the food is very nice .However it is not the genuine stuff . If you want hot and spicy you go to have what my Thai fiends call "footpath food". Can't recommend any specifically but having tried several myself what they say is true.

Soi Rang Nam pronounces lang nam is next to the victory monument sky train. take the exit on the right side of the station, then left staircase, rang nam is the next streen down Phaya thai. Better yet check the map at the station

Kuang is on the left side of the street way up the road maybe a 3 minut walk or more.

the probe is getting a seat. All these places are jammed from 7 to 10 :30 PM

If you walk aound at 6:30PM maybe take a strole in the local Park.. it is one of the best in town it is smallish but full of action. PLENTY OF PHOTO OPPS.


KURA. honestly I think you'll be able too find some good places on your own by just walking around your hotel.. a tip is take a walk at about 7 pm durring one night and just see what establishments are full and check out the clientel and dishes being eaten..


MK is a huge chain. they are in every mall, in town... it's basically a suki resteraunt where you pick your ingreediants from a menue and you boil your own soup.

Diodonon (SP) is also a suki place but has a litle gril on the table where you can grill small meats and shrimp.. they are usualy located right next too MK's


NOTE i am verry aprehentious about giving advise on resteraunts. I'm no food conisaour. this is the first time I've mentioned anything on the matter in 6-7 years postng.. I just did so cuz the persen posting seemed too be willing too try anything.

by the way the tab for a meal for two at the marriott family style restaurant with a couple of beers usually runs us about $12-15...

i'm glad that you saw the line i was drawing about restaurants...

baan K on the other hand is quite expensive but from all reports a great experience....i tried to get there last time and ran out of time...this time i have it plugged into two meals...lunch and dinner...hope to try both locations...

we never eat at roadside places...we do not want to risk any potential problems which will slow down or ruin part of our vacation... my wife is a nurse, need i say more....

Not sure if you are nervous about the roadside eating places but if you are you might also consider marboon kong (no idea how to spell it). It is a huge eating area above the Princess (I think) Hotel Many little stalls, all types of food, spotlessly clean and reasonably priced. Very frequented by Thais. You buy vouchers and take them to the spot of your choice and any left over vouchers are cashed in when you are ready to leave.

korp khun mahk for all the contri. i will have five full days in bkk, and i hope to fill them with merriment, adventure, mischevious dalliances, martini happy hours, tour to ayutthaya, eating, tour to the palace, washing down the hickory flavor with beer, martini happy hour, eating, and twice daily massages. plan to dine at spice market, lord jims, mk suki, thai family food in the marriott mall, lemongrass, try to get lucky on soi rang nam, and might even try the footpath food. if time and zipper expansion permits, might try tara tharong, kuang seafood and indian hut(although i read somewhere that the mutton in the curry might come from another animal that goes baaa, baaaa). anyway, did i say this was a 10 pounder, i may have been lowballing. . off in 2 weeks. cheers!

Sounds great ..you will enjoy. Dont forget to put krup (if you are male) or kha (if you are female) at the end of Khob Khun Maak...The Thais are very impressed with farang politeness ( as they are with their own of course).

got back a week ago, and thougt i'd report on my trip since james, bob, orgy7, and peter were nice enough to offer suggestions to make my trip to bkk fun. well, even the best laid plans turn to .......... last minute business obligations required me to shorten my trip to bkk to only 3 full days, from 5. first day went to blue elephant cooking school for half a day to learn to cook chicken green curry, tom yum kung, padthai, and green papaya salad. next day went to bumrungrad for a few hours, so only one full day open. of all the restaurants suggested, i only went to mk in big c. it was very good. ironically, the only thai curry i ate was the one i cooked at blue elephant. in all modesty, it was quite good, although my alotted 3 chillis did not provide sufficient fire for me. also went to the japanese buffet in the emerald hotel. very good with good value. cost around us$11. if you go, go early so you can get the fresh prawns in the tank and have the chef bar-b-q it for you. also went another night to eat sharkfin soup with abalone. i think the shark got to the abalone first, as the soup had only a few morsales left when it came to the table. on another night, went to a seafood restaurant and had my best meal, crab curry. if anyone is interested in the name of this restaurant, let me know, and i will find it in my notes. i did a few hours listening to nice and easy music at the ambassador hotel which was next to the grand president(where i was staying)while i consumed a bottle of wine. great evening, good music and a nice bottle of wine. the skytrain is fantastic, and stops at all the major shopping areas. never had a problem with the taxi, as we ignored the "hang around the hotel taxis" and got one on the street. everyone, no matter what color the taxi, used the meter. but depending where you are going, and what time of the day, you should always tell the driver where you are going, as he might not want to go there for obvious reasons. regretfully, only had one thai massage. will be booking for another trip next april for 10 days, so hope to do all the things i wanted to do on this past trip. again, thanks for all the suggestions. ps. bob, hows it going in bkk?

Thanying Restaurant...There is one in the World Trade Center Mall in Bangkok and also a free-standing one somewhere in Bangkok.

We went to the restaurant at the marriot mall( Im sure I have the name somewhere) and it was excellent.