Bored of eating the same thing twice? Fear no more, here's a list of restaurants that have shuffled things up to make sure you're never bored or short of choices while dining out!
♦ Burapa Eastern Thai Cuisine & Bar by Sri Trat on Sukhumvit 11 is taking diners on a culinary journey throughout the wonders of Thailand’s east coast, on a luxury train. The restaurant and bar are fashioned on the famous luxury train, The Orient Express, with the ground floor housing a quaint bar in classic vintage style. The upper floors serve as the dining carriage, adorned with velvet drapes and boudoir shade lamps. The eastern region of Thailand is characterised by its mountain ranges, beaches, rivers, mangroves and forests, all which contribute to the abundant produce of the land. Although Burapa shares the same DNA as Sri Trat, co-founder Wongwich “Ack” Sripinyo explains, “The root of the cuisine at Burapa comes from my mother’s eastern Thai cooking teachings and many are new and my inventions, so I don’t think you will not find them anywhere else. The ingredients come from private farmers and fishermen from Trat, where I’m from, or Rayong and some are from the northeast.” The menu uses a lot of fresh coconut water, wild oysters, jellyfish, nuts, native fruits, roots and herbs, sugarcane and even the roots of mangroves. An a la carte menu and a tasting menu (advance booking and only for 10 people or more) is on offer. Call 02-012-1423 or Line: @burapa.
♦ Larder is Bangkok’s newest artisanal bakery and charcuterie house on Sukhumvit 39. With a delicatessen by day and a changing small menu of dishes to share by night, the dinner pop-up offers comfort food, according to co-owner and chef Adrian Klonowski. “It is the same concept as during the day. We do a few Polish dishes [both chefs-patrons are Polish] but also we do what we see around the world, the main idea being comfort food. We also have wines by the glass so people can choose to taste natural wines with their meal.” The dinner pop-up format will change in January when it moves upstairs to a more comfortable but still casual setting. The menu is small, offering sharing platters, with the most expensive dish being B660. Yes, you read that right. The menu consists of charcuterie and cheese boards, and shared plates with a selection of 10 natural wines, offered by the glass, carafe or bottle. The charcuterie at dinner is different from those offered during the morning, because everything here is made in-house and in small batches for quality control. The Oyster vol.2 (B130) comes with a blood orange dressing and a housemade rose jam, of which I would have liked more. Even though the Polish classic paprikash is only on offer during the day, if you can charm the chef enough (guilty!), you can request it. Other Polish classics on the dinner menu are the Golabki aka “pigeon” (B200), which is a cabbage roll with minced pork in tomato sauce. The Fasolka (B350) are Breton beans cooked with organic tomatoes and charcuterie. The Polish potato pancake is served with a huge serving of slow-cooked beef (B650) and can easily feed four. Desserts are a choice of two, for now: Pavlova with nutmeg Chantilly (B180) and Lemon tart with a Swiss meringue (B200). Dinner at Larder is served only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with 25 seats per day and bookings can be made by calling 093-009-4494. Visit bio.site/larderbkk.
♦ Maze Dining under the helm of Chef Phattanant "May" Thongthong on Setsiri Road, Samsen Nai, has launched a "Street Food Creations" menu. Inspired by street food from around the world, the 16-course (B3,900++) menu is a seasonal creation journeying to Spain, South Korea, Malaysia, Brazil, amongst other countries. Taste Dadinhos de Tapioca, which are Brazilian snack and comes from the Portuguese words dados, which means dice. The Indian street food stable of Pani puri is also on the menu, as is grilled eggs. Enjoy nasi lemak, yentafo and satay, before diving into ice kacang for dessert. End the meal with kopi and a corn dog. Of nothing catches your fancy, the "Flavours Of The North" menu can still be ordered. Call 092-295-1915, Line @mazedining, mazedining@gmail.com or visit FB.com/mazedining.
♦ Vesper cocktail bar has launched a new menu, “People Of Vesper”, celebrating guests who have frequented the bar over the years. Conceived and created by bar manager Federico Balzarini and his team, the 14 new cocktails include: “Mango Manhattan” -- a playful twist on the Manhattan but packs the usual punch with a mango bourbon. The “Miami Vice Vesper” is a tributary variation of Vesper’s namesake with coconut gin, vodka and strawberry dry vermouth. The “Black Sesame Presidente” is a black sesame fat-washed tequila mixed with mezcal, sherry, crème de cacao blanc and kaffir lime rum that should please all drinkers. For those in the mood to indulge, Vesper offers Siberian Baerii Caviar with all its traditional servings while the 44-month-aged jamon Iberico is still on the menu. Call 02-35-2777, email bar.foodiecollection@gmail.com or visit vesperbar.co.
♦ Born and raised in the southern region of Italy, the new head chef of Ms. Jigger, Davide Calo, brings a wealth of experience and passion to the popular Italian restaurant at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok on Soi Langsuan. "I focus on cooking traditional Italian flavours with modern twists my way," says the chef. He also gives equal amount of respect to the quality of the carefully-sourced produce as he dishes he creates. Whet your appetite with appetisers like Carpaccio di ricciola servito con semi di finocchio, pomodorini secchi, black olive powder, balsamic caviar, which is amberjack carpaccio, fennel seed, sun-dried tomato, black olive powder, balsamic caviar. Chef Calo has changed 80% of the dishes, keeping the favourites but "I will revise those, too. I will add a touch of modernity to those dishs". For mains, choose between Nasello con crema di topinambur, finocchio e taccole or Toothfish with Jerusalem artichoke puree, fennel and snap peas. Though I liked the Pluma di maiale iberico con puree di gorgonzola, asparagi e salsa all’nduja, which translates as Grilled pluma Iberico with gorgonzola purée, asparagus and nduja sauce. Dessert done right in the wobbly Pannacotta con cioccolato e frutti di bosco or classic Italian pannacotta, with chocolate sauce and wild berries. You'll be rolling outta here! Ms. Jigger is open daily for lunch and dinner. Call 02-056-9999 or visit kimptonmaalaibangkok.com.
♦ If you're looking to escape the city for a few hours (or a day) and don't want to go far, Patom Organic Living, off Sukhumvit 49 is the place to go. Not only has the place got a mini lotus pond, it also gives you mats so you can picnic on the grass and enjoy the cool outdoors. But better yet is that Black King Bar’s pizza is now also on offer here. The difference from the Yaowarat branch is that this Black King Bar outlet is organic (well, most of the ingredients are) and you actually know where the tomatoes and other ingredients come from. The signature uses squid ink for its dough and the sauce. Not very festive, but very tasty. There are other Italian dishes and desserts on the menu, with one of my favourites being the spaghetti alio e olio. Until the end of this month, order a pizza and pasta and get a free dessert. Line: @patom.
♦ The St. Regis Bangkok’s new bar manager Vlkan Ibil has introduced new drinks and a new sundowner cocktail. The bar programme pays homage to the glamor of the original House of Astor, where the traditions around the art of drinking began in 1932 at the famed King Cole Bar at The St. Regis New York, birthplace of the iconic Bloody Mary. Ibil and The St. Regis Bar revisit the origins of The St. Regis New York, with a collection of 40 cocktail recipes. However, the star of the show, literally, is "The Violet Hour”. A daily dedicated ritual at The St. Regis Bangkok, timed to coincide with the purple sky at twilight, begins at 7.30pm. Ibil will be throwing martinis to mark the signature Violet Hour martini, which has gin, aromatised wine, orange and violette liqueurs, and orange bitters into a delicious work of drinkable art served in bespoke glassware. “If you’re not a fan of the 40 cocktails on offer, bespoke cocktails will be the next choice. On Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays we have a live jazz band to add to the ambience,” says Ibil. Call +02-207-7777, email fb.bangkok@stregis.com or visit stregisbangkok.com.
