King's Palace: Congee & Noodle Bar @ K-Village, Bangkok

Cuisine: Chinese

Map: King's Palace: Congee & Noodle Bar @ K-Village, Bangkok - คิงส์พาเลส คอนจี่แอนด์นู้ดเดิ้ล @ เควิลเลจ กรุงเทพ

Price: THB520 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 13 February 2011

Food: 5/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

Value for money: 4/10

Services: 3/10

Overall: 4/10

King's Palace: Congee & Noodle Bar @ K-Village is a branch of restaurant from Hong Kong. It is famous for its Hong Kong style congee. It is located conveniently on the 2nd floor of K-Village right opposite Katsu King. The decor is in contemporary Chinese with glass decoration around the restaurant which gives rather comfy feeling. There are many types of table suiting different groups of client, range from a small table to a large round table that can hold more than 10 guests. The restaurant is big so there is no worry about over crowded.

The Menu

Roast Pork & Barbequed Pork (หมูกรอบและหมูแดง) was great, juicy and tender. There was hint of sweetness lying within. Nevertheless, I found the skin of roast pork not crisp and cracked enough. Good point was very little fat bit (6/10).

Roast Pork & Barbequed Pork (หมูกรอบและหมูแดง)

Roast Pork (หมูกรอบ)

Roast Goose (ห่านอบ) was also juicy and tender and had crisp skin. This would be very delicious if it was cut a little less thick and no bone. Additional of sauce would create greater scent to the dish (6/10).

Roast Goose (ห่านอบ)

Steamed Vermicelli Rolls with Deep-fried Dough Stick (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวหลอดปาท่องโก๋) was always one of my favourite Chinese dish. The dough was cracked. Sauce was a little sweet. A must-order dish, I should say (7/10).

Steamed Vermicelli Rolls with Fresh Shrimps (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวหลอดไส้กุ้งสด) was not as superb as the one with deep-fried dough stick. Vermicelli was too thick comparing the portion of shrimps. However, the quality of shrimp was good (5/10).

Steamed Vermicelli Rolls with Deep-fried Dough Stick (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวหลอดปาท่องโก๋)

Steamed Vermicelli Rolls with Fresh Shrimps (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวหลอดไส้กุ้งสด)

When it came to congee, I found them all tasted similarly. It was just a matter of stuffing choice, egg or no egg, preserved egg or salted egg: choices are yours. We did try three different types of congee. All congee were thick and tasty. However, the choice of filling does give the difference in taste considerably.

Scholar's Congee (โจ๊กหมูต้นตำหรับ) was the signature congee of King's Palace. It filled with shredded pork and a choice of preferred egg (6/10).

Dried Oysters & Barbequed Pork Congee (โจ๊กหอยนางรมใส่หมูแดง): barbequed pork was delightful when having with congee but dried oysters had fishy smell and I don't think it matched well with the congee (3/10).

Bamboo Pith & Chinese Mushrooms Congee (โจ๊กเยื่อไผ่ใส่เห็ด) was better than the dried oysters one (4/10).

Scholar's Congee (โจ๊กหมูต้นตำหรับ)

Dried Oysters & Barbequed Pork Congee (โจ๊กหอยนางรมใส่หมูแดง)

Bamboo Pith & Chinese Mushrooms Congee (โจ๊กเยื่อไผ่ใส่เห็ด)

Overall, this is a nice restaurant to try out and suit a family meal. However, I do not find the congee here so special but still pleasant. One thing to notice is the service. Many of staffs here cannot speak Thai and hardly understand English, including the owner. This should really be improved for better communication.

King's Palace: Congee & Noodle Bar @ K-Village, Bangkok

Unit A215, Floor 2F K-Village

93, 95 Soi Sukhumvit 26

Klongton, Klongtoey

Bangkok 10110

Thailand

คิงส์พาเลส คอนจี่แอนด์นู้ดเดิ้ล @ เควิลเลจ กรุงเทพ

ยูนิต เอ215, ชั้น 2 เควิลเลจ

93, 95 ซอยสุขุมวิท 26

แขวงคลองตัน เขตคลองเตย

กรุงเทพ  10110

Open Hours: 11:30am - 10:00pm daily

Tel: +66 (0) 2661 5042 and +66 (0) 2661 5049

Web: http://www.kingspalace.com.hk/

Triplets Bistro @ Thonglor, Bangkok

Cuisine: French

Map: Triplets Bistro @ Thonglor, Bangkok - ทริปเพลทส์ บิสโทร @ ทองหล่อ กรุงเทพ

Price: THB900 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 12 February 2011

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

Value for money: 5/10

Services: 5/10

Overall: 5/10

Triplets Bistro, a revolutionary French cuisine, is located on 6th floor of Parnjit Tower in Soi Thonglor, Bangkok. Before I go any further, from 14 February 2011, Triplets will be shut down temporarily for about 3 months in order to allow them to move to a new location in Soi Luangsuan. Triplets has a concept of using the best of local ingredients for food preparation to combine with French cooking technique of Chef Nate. The bistro is decorated casually with a drizzling open kitchen in which customers can enjoy cooking skills of Triplets' chef. Although, the restaurant may look small, it can comfortably serve up to 40 guests. The atmosphere is comfortable and friendly with quality services from the owners, though my first impression was not so great due to clueless staff who knew nothing about my booking.

Our meal started with 2 choices of soup. The first one was Mushroom Cappuccino. This was indeed a gorgeous cup of mushroom soup. Creamy mushroom soup on top with silky foam of the soup. Texture was not light but not thick. A spoon of chopped tomato went splendidly well with this luscious soup. All I needed to do was just drink it up (7/10).

Mushroom Cappuccino

The other soup was French Onion Soup. This extraordinary well-known French soup was really tasty. Very cheesy top with soft onion and aromatic soup. Authentic indeed, I like it (7/10).

French Onion Soup

Next in line was Mushroom Steak. Though, the tenderloin was really tender and juicy and mushroom demi-glaze was delightful and mashed potato was creamy and delicious, I still think that the taste of this dish needs more complexity (5/10).

Mushroom Steak

Duck a l'Orange looked really savoury from the first sight. However, I found the meat a little tough and I would prefer to have the orange sauce more tangy. Otherwise, this would be an enjoyable dish (5/10).

Duck a l'Orange

Dessert of the night was Crepe du Jour. This simply was banana crepe with caramelised sauce. A great dessert but the banana was not ripe enough (5/10).

Crepe du Jour

Triplets Bistro does deliver delightful dishes of wide variety with quality local ingredients.  Price is reasonable except the charge for water which was rather ridiculous from my view. It would be even better if there is more choices of wine, liquor and drink. I would definitely revisit Triplets when it is reopen at Soi Luangsuan in mid May and would recommend anyone who has passion in French food to try this out.

Triplets Bistro @ Thonglor, Bangkok

6th Floor Parnjit Tower

Soi Thonglor (Soi Sukhumvit 55)

Sukhumvit Road

Vadhana

Bangkok 10110, Thailand

ทริปเพลทส์ บิสโทร @ ทองหล่อ กรุงเทพ

ชั้น 6 อาคารปานจิตต์

ซอยทองหล่อ (ซอยสุขุมวิท 55)

ถนนสุขุมวิท

เขตวัฒนา

กรุงเทพ 10110

Open Hours: Wednesday - Sunday from 06:00pm - 10:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 2712 8066, +66 (0) 81 833 6096

Web: http://www.tripletsbangkok.com

Brasserie Europa @ Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok

Cuisine: International (A la Carte - Buffet)

Map: Brasserie Europa @ Siam Kempinski Hotel, Bangkok - บราสเซอรี่ ยูโรป้า @ โรงแรมสยามเคมปินสกี้ กรุงเทพ

Price: THB975 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 19 February 2011

Food: 3/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 3/10

Services: 6/10

Overall: 4/10

Brasserie Europa is one of restaurants serving international food in the luxury 5 stars Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok. The hotel is located right behind the famous shopping center, Siam Paragon, on Rama I Road. It is pretty easy to find Brasserie Europa; walking out of Siam Paragon from the North exit of Floor G and going into Siam Kempinski from the entrance opposite, Brasserie Europa is situated right there. The restaurant decors in contemporary style and comprising of sofa, normal tables, and outdoor seats. It is not large but not small and can efficiently serve more than 50 customers at once. The lighting is in soft tone but bright. The ceiling is high, which gives a comfortable feeling. There are also a number of window seats in which hotel garden and pool can be sighted.

During lunch time from Monday to Saturday, Brasserie Europa will be serving what it calls "Buffet - A la Carte", in which starters and dessert are in buffet form and main course is to be picked from the choices given. While dinner and Sunday, only a la carte menu will be served. This time I had a chance to try the Buffet - A la Carte. There are 4 options to be chosen from: 1. Starters + Main Course + Dessert, 2. Starters + Dessert, 3. Starts + Main Course, and 4. Main Course + Dessert. One thing to notice is that, even it is called buffet, drinks are not included in the price.

Lunch Buffet Menu Price

Lunch Buffet A la Carte Choices

The restaurant is laid out into section during lunch for ease of choosing. There a counter of starters (cold starters, e.g. smoked salmon, beef carpaccio, and seafood on ice), soups counter, variety of cheese tray, salad and bread corner, and dessert counter.

Counter of Varieties of Stater

Salami on Slicing Machine

Choices of Cheese

Salad and Bread Counter

Assorted Dessert

Chocolate Fondue

Our choices of main course today were Osso Bucco with Tomato, Baby Carrot and Thyme Polenta, and Spaghetti with Saffron and Seafood. Both had very light flavour and tasteless from our sense. Though Osso Bucco was soft and tender, Spaghetti was way under performance and quality of world class hotel. Regardless of taste, the spaghetti was too soft and seafood was indeed overcooked (2/10).

Osso Bucco with Tomato, Baby Carrot and Thyme Polenta

Spaghetti with Saffron and Seafood

Examples of starters can be viewed as per below photos. However, I am particularly not impressed with variety and taste of starters here. Enjoyment could not be found during this meal at all. Nevertheless, quality of ingredients was good and fresh (3/10).

Selection from "Seafood on Ice"

Pumpkin Soup

Prawn with Mango

Smoked Salmon

Beef Carpaccio

Marinated Artichokes, Serrano Ham & Black Olives

Smoked Duck, Nicoise Salad

Brasserie Europa @ Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, from my perspective, does not deliver the standard quality of this luxury 5 stars chain at all. Apart from good services, taste, presentation, and variety of food must all be improved. However, this was judged base on lunch meal experience only. Dinner a la carte menu shall further be sought. But a return journey for a lunch meal at Brasserie Europa is perhaps not in my list for a long while.

Brasserie Europa @ Siam Kempinski Hotel, Bangkok

991/9 Rama I Road

Bangkok 10330

Thailand

บราสเซอรี่ ยูโรป้า @ โรงแรมสยามเคมปินสกี้ กรุงเทพ

991/9 ถนนพระราม 1

กรุงเทพ 10330

Open Hours: Buffet Breakfast 06:30am - 11:00am, Lunch Buffet 12:00am - 03:00pm (a la carte only for Sunday), Afternoon Menu 03:00pm - 06:00pm, and Dinner 06:00pm - 11:00pm

Tel: +66 (0) 2162 9000

Web: http://www.kempinski.com/en/bangkok/Restaurants%20and%20Bars/Restaurants/Pages/BrasserieEuropa.aspx

Wine I Love You: Bar & Bistro @ Crystal Design Center (CDC), Bangkok

Cuisine: International (Bar & Bistro)

Map: Wine I Love You: Bar & Bistro @ Crystal Design Center (CDC), Bangkok - ไวน์ไอเลิฟยู: บาร์แอนด์บิสโทร @ คริสตัลดีไซน์เซ็นเตอร์ (ซีดีซี) กรุงเทพ

Price: THB530 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 18 February 2011

Food: 4/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value for money: 6/10

Services: 4/10

Overall: 5/10

Wine I Love You, another fast growing and trendy bar & bistro, is located in Building E of Crystal Design Center, Bangkok. The decoration is in pub and restaurant style with soft lighting with jazzy music in the background. As the night has come, lighting is dimmed to create a more touched atmosphere: it feels like you are not sitting in a restaurant in Thailand at all. There are also balcony seats available. One point to bear in mind is there are quite a few numbers of mosquito at night, which can be irritating. The restaurant is rather large and accommodates more than 70 people. At the entrance of Wine I Love You, there are shelves with collection of good wine with reasonable price. There are varieties of food being served here, ranging from Thai food to European food. Travelling here can be hassle without car as there is no BTS or MRT around CDC.

Wine I Love You: Bar & Bistro

Caesar Salad (สลัดจักรพรรดิ์) was the first one to arrive. Good point was really fresh lettuce. But dressing was too light (4/10).

Caesar Salad (สลัดจักรพรรดิ์)

Foie Gras Salad with Blueberry Sauce (สลัดตับห่านราดซอสบลูเบอร์รี่) was a combination of rocket salad with balsamic topped with foie gras. Rather sweet in its taste. Foie gras was not of good quality but enjoyable (4/10).

Foie Gras Salad with Blueberry Sauce (สลัดตับห่านราดซอสบลูเบอร์รี่)

Next was Very Healthy Hoodles (ปอเปี้ยะเพื่อสุขภาพ). This dish tasted like a Vietnamese dish. This was basically vegetable wrapped with noodle with chili dip. Very fresh vegetable but larger size of fillings could be more pleasant (5/10).

Very Healthy Hoodles (ปอเปี้ยะเพื่อสุขภาพ)

Cream Mushroom Soup (ซุปเห็ดห๊อมหอม) was not spectacular and light. Perhaps, a tin of Campbell's soup at home could be as satisfied as this Cream Mushroom Soup (3/10).

Cream Mushroom Soup (ซุปเห็ดห๊อมหอม)

Potato Wedges (มันฝรั่งโฮมเมดอร่อยแน่) as well as cheesy Baked Potato Skin (เปลือกมันอบกรอบกับชึสเบคอน) were soft but not crisp (4/10). These two dishes look just like food from canteen in colleges.

Potato Wedges (มันฝรั่งโฮมเมดอร่อยแน่)

Baked Potato Skin (เปลือกมันอบกรอบกับชีสเบคอน)

Spicy Buffalo Wings (เผ็ดแน่กับปีกไก่แซบ) was not as spicy as it sounds. The taste was not any worse than that of famous BonChon Chicken, just less crisp (3/10).

Spicy Buffalo Wings (เผ็ดแน่กับปีกไก่แซบ)

Giant Mixed Sausages (ไส้กรอกใหญ่มาก) served with Sauerkraut (กะหล่ำปลีดอง) was not so giant as it's called. Ordinary sausages with rather poor sauerkraut (2/10).

Giant Mixed Sausages (ไส้กรอกใหญ่มาก)

The only pasta dish of the meal was Spicy Thai Pasta (พาสต้าซีฟู๊ดรสจัด). This was again not really spicy unlike its name. However, ingredients were quite good quality (4/10). I have observed, if not mistaken, that Wine I Love You does not tend to cook any spicy dish, really hot and spicy so that everyone can eat.

Spicy Thai Pasta (พาสต้าซีฟู๊ดรสจัด)

Lemon Salmon Steak (สเต๊กปลาแซลมอนซอสมะนาว) must be called "well done" if this was beef steak. However, lemon cream sauce was not so bad (4/10).

Lemon Salmon Steak (สเต๊กปลาแซลมอนซอสมะนาว)

Last was Lamb I Love You (ซี่โครงแกะเนื้อนุ่ม). Meat was more tender than I first imagined. However, it still lacked of aroma and essence in term of meat and sauce. Mashed potatoes were too mushy. If there was an addition of mint, it would be more delightful (3/10).

Lamb I Love You (ซี่โครงแกะเนื้อนุ่ม)

Although, Wine I Love You at CDC does not serve such great food, great atmosphere and reasonable price can compensate the lack of flavour. It would be even better if the quality of services is improved. List of wine at Wine I Love You is generally at good price and range. Nevertheless, I was disappointed with juice which was not freshly squeezed but from a pack: taste like those from supermarket. Generally, Wine I Love You is similar to Wine Connection at K-Village and is surely better than Salute: Bistro and Wine Bar at Park Lane: better in terms of taste and pricing for both food and wine. This is definitely another great place to hang out for a chill night out, of course, if you do not care much about the taste of food.

Wine I Love You: Bar & Bistro @ Crystal Design Center (CDC), Bangkok

Crystal Design Center Building E

1420/1 Praditmanutham Road

Klong Kum

Bangkok 10240

Thailand

ไวน์ไอเลิฟยู: บาร์แอนด์บิสโทร @ คริสตัลดีไซน์เซ็นเตอร์ (ซีดีซี) กรุงเทพ

คริสตัลดีไซน์เซ็นเตอร์ ตึก E

1420/1 ถนนประดิษฐ์มนูธรรม

คลองกุ่ม

กรุงเทพ 10240

Open Hours: 04:00pm - 01:00am

Tel: +66 (0) 089 141 7000

Web: http://www.wineiloveyou.com/