Bangkok - Issaya Siamese Club

The Garden

With the rapid urbanization of cities, especially in populous Asia, it is a sweet rarity to be able to enjoy dining in places like the Issaya Siamese Club.  Set in a 1920s villa, stepping in through the gates and  onto the walkway leading up to the beautiful black-and-white structure transports you back in time where there was little else to worry about except the one telex you got earlier in the afternoon instead of the 200 emails in your inbox..  and the things to be done about that one telex had to wait till the post office opened for business the next day, instead of having to get on 2 conference calls and do recap emails later the same night after dinner.

Times have changed drastically but at Issaya, you can almost feel the time machine had been set for 1925 and is going to stay there on that chillaxing pace, till you finish an enjoyable dinner with good mates.

The table is set

Decor is an all important part of making the time machine experience real and at Issaya, the ground floor dining area is a welcoming room of bold colors that miraculously come together .  The lush garden on the outside is a lovely setting to look at through the big square windows.

The bar

Smiling faces at the bar serve to open up your imagination as you cruise the menu for the concoctions these wizards can whip up for you.

Club grown produce

As you step outback, varieties of plants are grown and harvested onto Ian Kittichai's creations.

Private dining

The upper level of the villa can be reserved for private parties.  A beautiful setting sure to impress guests.

TV area

When not dining, you can even "watch TV" in the living area, although no one stopped to test if the TV still works in 2013.

Tangerine ice tea

After the grand tour, we sat down and had drinks while we pored over a pretty long and comprehensive menu.  Nothing like a long ice-cold drink to beat the heat and humidity of the city.  Instead of pondering over what to order, the 4 of us ultimately decided on splitting the 2 tasting menus since each menu required a minimum of 2 persons to execute.

Here are some highlights:

Amuse Bouche

Banana blossom and heart of palm salad, crispy shallots and roasted peanuts in a chili jam dressing

This is the much talked about salad by Ian K although I would have preferred a more delicate dressing.  I love banana blossoms but feared that they were overpowered by everything else, which thankfully happened to be decent.  I was almost tempted to ask for a second helping of banana blossoms just to balance the dish out.

Grilled imported tender beef, fresh herbs, organic vegetables in a charred bird's eye chili vinaigrette

This was extremely well executed, with enough heat to stimulate but not to overwhelm.  And the beef although quite a big piece for a mouthful, was so tender, that no effort was required to break it down, so you can still keep it elegant while savoring all of the components in one mouthful.  Good news, we each get 2 mouthfuls each.

Spiced rubbed pork baby back ribs glazed with Issaya house-blended chili paste

This didn't look like much when it was served despite the cute Japanese inspired stone stove it came on.    As it heated up at the table, the aroma started to open up the senses, and biting into it, it was not reminiscent of anything Thai but was could be any piece of world class pork rib from any cuisine and of course, melt-in-your-mouth tender.

House made shellfish sausage with Hua Hin style seafood broth

Since we shared, I didn't get any shellfish sausage, but the broth was unbelievably tasty for the thinness of the consistency.  Sea sweet but without the usual heat of a Tom Yum Goong, this was addictive and pretty in the use of paper as a serving device.  My only complaint was that it couldn't contain more given its limited size..

Tamarind glazed crispy duck leg, pan-seared foie gras, sauteed red okra leaves and crushed cashew nuts

No doubt French-inspired and techniques unmistakably so, but it still fit right into the menu without confusing.  Again well executed and despite the heaviness of the ingredients, did not wear us down at all.

Grain fed Australian veal cheek simmered in house-blended spices, hand-pressed coconut milk, and kaffir lime leaves

This and the next were perfect for the rice fiend since you can go on forever eating rice if you had these 2 dishes.  Again, a tender cut of veal that you can break down with your tongue and keeps the focus on the slightly spicy sauce made that much richer with drizzles of coconut milk.

Boneless lamb shank simmered in Mussamun curry served with pickled cucumber

A little anomaly since the boneless lamb came bone-in.  They might have meant it was fall-off-the-bone which was nothing but accurate.  I actually liked the spices in this curry even more than the previous and can prove it based on the spoonfuls of rice I had with this one over the other.

Seasonal vegetables

Likely to have been plucked from the garden too.  I would have liked less sauce with this one since the vegetables were so good since the slightly salty sauce distracted from the natural goodness of the vegetable (almost like flower buds) which I did not recognize.

Asian multigrains, Chiang Mai mushrooms, and garlic sprinkled with a mushroom-scented oil

An Asian play on a truffle risotto, just fluffier and lighter even though it was a little too well-oiled.  Aromatic from the herbs and oil and if not for the amount of food already on the table, I would have had more.

Desserts (bottom up) - Jasmine flower panna cotta, Sticky rice mochi filled with black coconut ice cream, and with fresh coconut, Saree cake (jackfruit semifreddo, Thai miso and mulberry sorbet), macaron

These were all very decent and the panna cotta and Saree cake were standouts for me in terms of creativity and in keeping with the Thai theme, despite the use of western techniques.

An awesome meal to remember for a while and definitely worthy of repeat visits.  Word of caution, the tasting menus are more than generous so make sure you are hungry especially if you go for the more expensive one.  Despite our hearty appetites, we ended up packing up leftovers which we passed to our happy drivers.  Otherwise, the a-la-carte menu has most if not all of the items you might like from the tasting menus.

4 Soi Sri Aksorn
Chua Ploeng Road
Sathorn, Bangkok
Tel: +66-2-672 9040/1

Hong Kong - Mango Tree

Mango Tree is probably the most talked about Thai place in town after most people slammed the Greyhound Cafe at the IFC.  I've not yet made the Greyhound but the 2 menus are distinct, of course.  While Mango Tree offers traditional Thai dishes perhaps modernised for the international palate, Greyhound's menu is modernity with Thai influences.  So between the 2, their only common denominator is that they are exported concepts from Thailand.

Mango Tree is possibly one of the more comfortable places in Hong Kong to enjoy Thai cuisine.  It's bustling (mind you, it is still difficult to get reservations) but you don't feel the squeeze of Hong Kong in the dining room.  Tables are decent sized and there is adequate distance between tables so you don't feel compelled to eavesdrop on your neighbors.

Lychee Smash

I loved that they had a wonderful drinks menu with something for everything.  But whatever it was, it provided the perfect Thai resort feel and backdrop as you peruse the menu.

Crispy Rice Crackers - served with minced pork, peanuts and fresh coconut dip

Pomelo Salad

Starters were very competent and everything just came across as very fresh.  Sometimes, with Thai food, the authenticity is sometimes marred by the imagination of a dirty street kitchen, which while adding to exoticism, tends to just disrupt the joy with a touch of concern - just a touch.  But here you got the sense that the kitchen was just pristine, especially with the salad that was chilled right.  And the starters did well to suppress hunger pangs while we waited to complete the party.

The rest of the food was again, internationalized Thai cuisine.  Extremely competent and I will not hesitate to bring guests again.  

Tom Yum Goong

 If you like the prawny version ie. packed with a lot of shrimp roe, you will like this.  It is spicy though.

Roasted Duck Curry

Can't go wrong with roast duck in the land of Cantonese roasts so the duck was actually well done.  A little "wasted" in the curry, which was ok.

Thai Egg Omelette

This was a surprising wow.  The perfect egginess and fluffiness combined and oh so fragrant.  Given more substance with the minced pork but even a plain omelette of this quality would have made me happy.

Phad Thai

This did not have the usual Wok Hei (breath of the wok) which I like in my phad thai.  The "dirtiness" of a well used wok would have given it the x-factor but I came away from this one imagining that it was stir fried in an ultra clean virgin stainless steel pan.

Barbequed Fresh Jumbo Squid

This was another very well executed dish.  Perfect bounce of a squid just barely cooked but with slight crisp bits from being over a charcoal fire.

Homemade Ice Cream - Young Coconut

Homemade Ice Cream - Fresh Mango

Ice creams were creamy - in a good way.  Definitely home made.  The party liked the young coconut, which if you are a fan of coconut, you would lap up pretty easily.  The fresh mango was tangy sweet, and made for an easier finish for me since I was pretty full from the meal.

Overall, a satisfying meal in decent surrounds.  There is no rush even if you wanted to tarry after the meal.  And there is enough of a drinks menu to make people happy and almost forget they're in HK.

5/F Cubus
1 Hoi Ping Road
Causeway Bay
Tel: +852-2577 0828

Hong Kong - Best of Thai Food Restaurant 泰之選泰國菜館

There's nothing fancy about Kowloon City.  It's really about getting down and "dirty", at least most of the time, and enjoying honest, good grub.  And since this really is Little Thailand, you get a very nice selection of Thai eateries serving up goodies from their hometown that is down south.  Best of Thai is one such eatery, with authenticity oozing.  Thankfully, communication isn't such a big problem since all the servers speak more than a smattering of street Cantonese, and some even enough to crack a joke or two.  

Tom Yum Soup

The Tom Yum is a winner here.  It's not the refined clear version.  This is a robust shrimpy version but is not as spicy as it looks, unless you happen to win the draw and bite into the hidden potent Thai chillies.  The orange is suspected to be mostly the essence of all the shrimps, complete with heads, they load the old-style "steamboat" pot with.  Well balanced with Thai spices such as lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves and of course, sinisterly given heat with hidden Thai chillies lurking beneath, this is a wonderful tummy warming soup to start any meal here with (well, unless you're in the deep throes of summer, in which case, you better hope they have a working air-conditioning system).

Warm Minced chicken salad

While we're on the topic of deceiving looks, this is the one where danger lurks.  Yes, it is spicier than it looks and you have to ask them to take it down a notch if heat is not your thing.  But if you can, this is addictive since the lime/fish sauce/Thai chillies combination is excellent when lightly tossed with the minced meat (you can choose chicken, pork or even innards).

Lettuce leaves

So take a fresh crunchy lettuce leaf, spoon in the minced meat concoction, wrap into a little pocket, bite and enjoy the burst of flavours.

Other dishes that I've tried here are between a fair to a good.  While you won't be blown away, you are still likely to still leave satisfied..

Yellow curry stuffed in a bread bowl

This unfortunately looked better than it tastes.  The curry is not as flavourful as I would have liked, and the bread was too soggy by the time it sits at the table for about 5 minutes.  The dish would have fared better if a bread bowl of a baguette quality was used but I guess that would be a tad costly for what they charge here.  Such potential though...

Pad Thai

This is a pretty credible version of the quintessential Thai street dish.  The plus point is that it is a lot less oily.  The chef does a good job of stir frying the noodles with the ingredients to a point where you feel they are all at unison.  No more overt rice flour taste from the noodles but transformed into a firm platform for different tastes and fragrances from the eggs, shrimps and chives.

Steamed Mullet

I generally dislike this dish for the fact that I've never enjoyed the texture of the fish being continually steamed at the table with the little flame underneath.  What I do like however, is the very appetising soup that the fish sits in, flavoured by the minced pork, preserved plums, ginger, and a lot of spring onions.  In this version, I stuck to the soft underbelly of the fish and was generally happy enough.  No elation though.  

Assorted appetisers

I left this appetiser to the last as it was my least favourite.  The only thing I really like here are the shrimp cakes which were well deep fried to a crisp, encasing a bouncy shrimp colloid on the inside.  The other things like the spring rolls and Satay, were ordinary.

If you're in the vicinity or are in the mood for some Thai with "street cred" without having to fly to Thailand, this could be your place.  

37 Fuk Lo Tsun Road
Kowloon City
Tel: +852-2127 7348

Hong Kong - Arun Thai

E's birthday, Friday, all bosses away...  alright!  So we take a longer walk and try something totally new to celebrate over lunch.  We get there to an almost empty restaurant and start getting worried.  Surely it can't be that bad?  How bad can Thai food be?  But having committed by the 3 of us crossing the threshold of the entrance, it was too late to make an about turn.  Shoot!  So we ordered and hoped for the best.

The food took a long time coming.  The restaurant still did not fill up much more...  But once the food came and we started tucking in, all our worries went away.  

First up, the beef brisket yellow curry.  None of that "Hong Kong style" curry that we get in the city.  This was the real thing.  You can make out the numerous spices that went into this and all coming together nicely through the coconut cream.  Just like old friends.  The beef brisket was also well cooked to be firm but soft and juicy on the inside.  Superb with rice.  This was easily E's favorite.  

The chicken with lemongrass sauce had a lot more heat but it was addictive heat.  The more spicy, the more rice I took and then the more gravy I wanted.  The chicken was tender (we liked that they used dark meat chunks) and the long beans were crunchy.  Every mouthful was textures at play and caused the heat to linger a little more..  at which point, we were begging the waiter to refill our water glasses.

The crab and vermicelli pot was probably the piece de resistance.  Very fresh crab stir fried with a predominantly white peppercorn spice mix and crunchy vegetables, mushrooms and fresh chillies, soaked up by the al dente vermicelli.  It was also a male crab so apart from the fall off the shell flesh, we also enjoyed the chewy creamy consistency of the sperm sacs, instead of the usual orange roe found in female crabs.  I like both but find the males more difficult to get.  Superb execution.

Not to be outdone, even our stir fried water convolvulus with preserved yellow bean, garlic and chillies were excellent.  This was easily the best I've had in Hong Kong.  Un-greasy and still retaining crunch and green, this one packed a little heat as well and was also great with the rice.  

Moral of the story: one of these is barely enough for one person.  Don't share.  If you don't like rice, you don't know what you're missing.  This is perfect Jasmine at its best, capable of withstanding any amount of curry you douse it with - soaking up the flavors but never disintegrating.  

As I tweeted, this is definitely Thai cuisine fit for royals.  And after a leisurely lunch, I certainly felt like a queen.

Shop G22, K11

18 Hanoi Road

Tsim Sha Tsui

Tel: +852-31881239

Los Angeles - Chaba

J and I decided to chill.  And so, she introduces me to her local hangout, with a Thai twist.  We got a seat at the bar and had a wonderful time, with Ken helming the bar.  She loosens up with a Cosmo and I stick to tried and tested Coke, coca cola that is.

The chicken satay with Thai peanut sauce started us off for the night.  My only complaint, they use chicken breast.  But heck, the whole country generally does.  I don't care much for breasts and prefer the more succulent dark meat cuts.  Oh well.

J's spicy noodle was addictive for the chili-basil combi which I love usually with a heap of rice.  But done with rice noodles, it was more than tasty and I was glad for J to share a little with me.

Especially since my Pad-Thai took a little long to get to me - Ken was apologetic and I was chilled enough not to kick up a fuss.  The Pad-Thai was just what I needed to get a little taste of home, although comparatively speaking, this was a little heavy on the ketchup.  Overall, a nice comfort dish, albeit a little greasy.  But it put me in the right frame of mind, as I prepared to head home the following day.

Do check this out if you're in the South Bay area.  You'll at least have a great time, even if the food can be a little "raw".

525 S. Pacific Coast Hwy
Redondo Beach
CA 90277
Tel: +1.310.540.8441

Hong Kong - Cambo Thai 金寶泰國菜館

Kowloon City is one of those places which is today known for its collection of good quality eateries at prices that are hard to beat - a fact close to the hearts of the locals but best kept secret from visitors, especially so now that the international airport has moved from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok in 1998.

Kowloon City retains its old flavour - with the historical walled city in the neighbourhood, a collection of old-style eateries, and is a great place to explore if you are a foodie. But hurry since I see quite a few sites and magazines have already started to tout these areas as "places of interest" for the HK visitor!

The myriad of Thai supplies shops in the area also means that this is the place to go to if you want some authentic Thai. On this occasion, we pop into Cambo Thai. Don't expect exquisite fine dining but open your mind to some different but tasty and I would believe highly authentic Thai goodies.

Prawns seem to take centrestage here and there is even a caricature of the "boss man" lying on the famous plate of Prawn sashimi, garnished generously with garlic, chillies, on a bed of cabbage and carrot salad, drizzled with fish sauce and lime. Great appetiser!!!

Still on the prawn theme, their take on the usual Thai shrimp cake is fabulous. Here, they mould them into balls (they are not little though) so they can hold a decadent shrimp roe based gravy right in the middle. There are warning signs in the restaurant to bite into them delicately for fear of squirting. Lovely burst of flavours as it is accompanied by a sweetened plum sauce and a must-try for the prawn fanatic.

The Crab yellow curry was very tasty although not spectacular by Thai standards but worth a try if you like an eggy gravy.

Another winner was the rice noodle soup with different parts of the beef, including brisket (which was very tender), tripe (nice crunch but not chewy) and beef balls (bouncy and beefy - tasted homemade). The stock is sweet from the beef, and the generous amount of bean sprouts and spring onions kept it fragrant and light.

It gets busy at peak hours but there are 2 entrances, one of which leads to Cambo Vietnamese. So there is ample seating. Don't worry, they are owned by the same boss. You can tuck into some Viet favourites since they do those as well. I just might get round to trying those soon.

G/F, 15 Nga Tsin Long Road,

Kowloon City,

Hong Kong
Tel: +852-2716 7318

Hong Kong - Thai Simple Kitchen

6 years into business and Thai Simple Kitchen is still reeling in the crowds. They rarely take reservations and you cannot get seated if you don't have half your party with you. Even with generous seating both indoors and outdoors, and in the wake of the financial crisis, WHY?

Thai Simple! Or 泰简单 (a play on the Cantonese sounds which means "way too simple"). But so clever. Good quality hearty Thai food at good value, helmed by a Thai chef who's won many awards. It's not fine dining but it is good.

My favourites:

Appetiser of crispy rice cracker with a light peanut-based sauce. They also do a variation using cold rice noodles and crab meat with the same sauce. Both are great!

Deep fried prawn cakes. Bouncy prawn colloid deep fried to a golden brown and served accompanied with a tangy plum sauce.

Pomelo Salad tossed wtih fish sauce and lime, dessicated coconut and topped with pork floss, is refreshing, even if not spectacular!

Tom Yum Goong with prawns is a rich prawn-based stock, in contrast with the usual clear chicken-based ones. I'm not a huge fan of prawns but I do like a good prawn soup and this is one of them. A tad salty but very tasty and not too spicy.

The pad thai is very competent and is served in an egg net garnished by huge prawns.

What is unique and very good is the "golden pillow". Yellow curry with clams and fresh coconut slices served in a bread loaf that's baked to a crisp on the outside. The combination of textures with the curry is wonderful.

Desserts are also good, my favourites being the pumpkin cake and the layered cake (in green in the background).

If you've never been, it's simply (pardon the pun) worth the wait to try!

Thai Simple Kitchen

3/F President Theatre

517 Jaffe Road

Causeway Bay

Hong Kong