Cassia Cafe & Tearoom @ Soi Sawatdi, Bangkok - Kaao Chae (ข้าวแช่)

Cuisine: European

Map: Cassia Cafe & Tearoom @ Soi Sawatdi, Bangkok - แคสเซีย คาเฟ่ แอนด์ ทีรูม @ ซอยสวัสดี กรุงเทพ

Price: THB400 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 24 March 2011

Food: 5/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: 6/10

It is Summer and Summer always comes with Kaao Chae (ข้าวแช่). This year Cassia Cafe & Tearoom also has Kaao Chae set as a choice for visitors. At THB350 a set, I must say that the portion was huge and perhaps too big for some person. It may not be one of the best in town but still delicious, especially well cooked Rice in Iced Jasmine-Scented Water. Condiments were enjoyable (6/10).

Previous Review: Cassia Cafe & Tearoom @ Soi Sawatdi, Bangkok

Cassia Cafe & Tearoom @ Soi Sawatdi

ข้าวแช่ - Kaao Chae

Rice in Iced Jasmine-Scented Water

ไชโป๊วผัดหวาน - Chai Pow (Chinese Radish)

เนื้อฝอยกับหมูฝอย - Shredded Sweetened Beef and Pork

พริกหยากสอดไส้ - Pork-stuffed Green Pepper Drizzled with Egg

หอมแดงทอด - Deep-fried Red Onion

ลูกกะปิทอด - Deep-fried Kapi (Shrimp Paste) Ball

พริกแห้งสอดไส้ - Sun-dried Chili Stuffed with Pla Naem (Powdered Dried Fish Meat)

Kra Chai (Chinese Ginger), Spring Onion, and Raw Mango Strips

Cassia Cafe & Tearoom @ Soi Sawatdi, Bangkok

20 Soi Sukhumvit 31 (Soi Sawatdi)

Sukhumvit Road

Khlong Toei Nuea, Vadhana

Bangkok 10110

Thailand

แคสเซีย คาเฟ่ แอนด์ ทีรูม @ ซอยสวัสดี กรุงเทพ

20 ซอยสุขุมวิท 31 (ซอยสวัสดี)

ถนนสุขุมวิท

แขวงคลองเตยเหนือ เขตวัฒนา

กรุงเทพ 10110

Open Hours: 09:00am - 10:00pm for Tuesday - Saturday and 10:30am - 10:00pm on Sunday

Tel: +66 (0) 2662 0325

Web: http://www.cafecassia.com/

Phuket Town Restaurant @ Thonglor 6, Bangkok

Cuisine: Thai (Southern)

Map: Phuket Town Restaurant @ Thonglor 6, Bangkok - ภูเก็ตทาวน์ @ ทองหล่อ 6 กรุงเทพ

Price: THB320 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 26 March 2011

Food: 7/10

Atmosphere: 6/10

Value for money: 8/10

Services: 4/10

Phuket Town is surely a Hidden Diamond of Thonglor, in which many of restaurants in Thonglor area are either European food or Japanese/Korean food. This tiny restaurant, accommodates ~ 40 guests, serves variety of fantastic Southern Style Thai authentic food. It is located conveniently at the corner of Soi Thonglor 6 Entrance. Parking along the road is permitted. The nearest BTS station is surely Thonglor Station, which is within the walking distance; ~ 5 minutes walk. Though the place is small, it is still easily spotted with Southern Thai-Chinese decor at the entrance with triangular arch gate and wooden doors and windows. Inside restaurant is furbished to give atmosphere as though you are eating in Phuket: retro style wooden tables, chairs, and floors, wall painted of Phuket Town. Many of Phuket food are in Hokkien (Fujian) Chinese style, which have been adapted and blended with local food. Hence, it would contain both richness of taste while some is also spicy.

Phuket Town @ Thonglor 6

Retro Southern Thai Decor

We started with Pork Belly Stew in Chinese Phuket Style (หมูฮ้องภูเก็ต - Moo Hong Phuket). This may look similarly to typical Chinese pork stew with soy sauce. Here, it tasted a little sweet while maintaining its saltiness. Delicious though not so tender: good with a nice bowl of boiled rice (6/10).

Deep-fried Belly Pork with Salt and Garlic (หมูคั่วเกลือ - Moo Kua Gleua) was crisp on the outside and had some thickness. Some may prefer it to be thin rather than thick though. It tasted little salty (7/10).

Pork Belly Stew in Chinese Phuket Style

Deep-fried Belly Pork with Salt and Garlic

Pak Miang in Coconut Milk with Fresh Prawn (ผักเหมียงต้มกะทิกุ้งสด - Pak Miang Tom Gung Gati Sot) is one of the well-known Phuket dish. Sweet scent came from coconut milk, which was really fresh. Prawn had big size and Pak Miang (Local Southern Vegetable Green Leave) was splendid. A must try dish indeed (8/10).

Next was Stir-fried Pak Miang with Egg (ผักเหมียงผัดไข่ - Pak Miang Pad Kai). This dish may not earn creative point but delightful surely. The highlight was super crisp dry prawn. Personally, I would prefer to have more egg (7/10).

Pak Miang in Coconut Milk with Fresh Prawn

Stir-fried Pak Miang with Egg

Coming along was Stir-fried Sa-Tor with Shrimp with Curry Paste (สะตอผัดเครื่องแกงใต้ - Sa-Tor Pad Kreuang Gaeng Tai). Sa-Tor is Stink Bean, which grows in the South of Thailand. Another of my favourite dish though it was a little spicy. It also had hint of sweetness from shrimp paste (กะปิ - Ga Pi). I think this dish here may not be spicy enough for those from local Southern (6/10).

Stir-fried Pork with Lemon-grass Slice (หมูผัดตะไคร้ - Moo Pad Ta Krai) was not really a Southern dish from my opinion. However, this dish was full of pleasant. Freshness from lemon-grass with a hint of coconut milk. If pork was more tender, it would be more enjoyable (6/10).

Stir-fried Sa-Tor with Shrimp in Curry Paste

Stir-fried Pork with Lemon-grass Slice

Next was another famous traditional Thai dish: Red Curry Pla-Mong Fish Suffle Served in Banana Leaf (ห่อหมก - Hor Mok). It had strong scent of curry paste. It was not spicy but rich in taste. The texture was soft, however, the traditional Hor Mok in Southern style is more watery (7/10). 

Red Curry Pla-Mong Fish Suffle Served in Banana Leaf

Egg Noodle Stir-fried with Seafood in Oyster Sauce (ผัดหมี่ฮกเกี้ยนซีฟู้ด - Pad Mee Hokkien Seafood) was a disappointment here. Too sweet and had no consistency in the texture of noodle: some was too soft while some was undercooked (3/10).

Egg Noodle Stir-fried with Seafood in Oyster Sauce

Last was Rice Noodles with Steamed Crab Meat in Spicy Curry (ขนมจีนน้ำยาปู - Ka Nom Jeen Naam Yaa Bpoo). Another all time famous dish from Phuket. Soft rice noodle combined with thick crab paste curry and condiments was really tasty. At Phuket Town, the curry was thick but the taste of curry was not rich enough (6/10).

Rice Noodles with Steamed Crab Meat in Spicy Curry

Condiments

Crab Meat Curry

I personally appreciate with this tiny restaurant "Phuket Town". A rare gem in the modern era of Thonglor. While many places are European food and Japanese/Korean food, this authentic restaurant brings back charm and fascination of Thai food back to Thonglor area. Overall taste may not be as strong as those in Southern Thailand, but it does suit both local Bangkok and Foreigner from my point of view.

Phuket Town Restaurant @ Thonglor 6, Bangkok

160/8 Soi Thonglor 6

Sukhumvit 55 Road

Klongton, Vadhana

Bangkok 10110

Thailand

ภูเก็ตทาวน์ @ ทองหล่อ 6 กรุงเทพ

160/8 ซอยทองหล่อ 6

ถนนสุขุมวิท

แขวงคลองตัน เขตวัฒนา

กรุงเทพ 10110

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

Tel: +66 (0) 2714 9402

The Reflexions @ Hotel Plaza Athenee, Bangkok

Cuisine: Modern French

Map: The Reflexions @ Hotel Plaza Athenee, Bangkok - เดอะรีเฟล็กซ์ชั่นส์ @ โรงแรมพลาซ่า แอทธินี กรุงเทพ

Price: THB2520 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 15 March 2011

Food: 8/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: 8/10

A sudden return to The Reflexions @ Plaza Athenee Bangkok within 2 months was spectacular. Not to mention great food and friendly services as I have mentioned in the previous review, this time there were a few more items in the menu in which they all were Game Menu. We decided to go for that and were not disappointed at all. We actually noticed improvement in both taste and consistency of food created by Che Thibault.

The Reflexions @ Plaza Athenee

Entrance of the Reflexions

Chef Thibault Performing Magic in his Kitchen

As usual, we were firstly served with warm Assorted Breads and a complementary from Chef. Seared Salmon with Eggplant Caviar was delicious. Sweetness from fresh salmon was outstanding, however, the taste was too light to me (6/10).

Assorted Breads

Seared Salmon with Eggplant Caviar

Porcini and Wild Chestnut Ravioli, Oyster Guinea Fowl Fricassee with Jus and Truffle Emulsion was spectacular. Attractive presentation, feather like truffle emulsion with charming scent with tender guinea fowl and smooth filling ravioli, another great creation I must say (8/10).

Pocini and Wild Chestnut Ravioli, Oyster Guinea Fowl Fricassee
with Jus and Truffle Emulsion

Being a fan of soup created by Chef Thibault, we decided to have Forest Chestnut Veloute, Wild Boar tortellini, Baby Mushroom and Black Truffle Oil to try out. Without disappointment, the soup was creamy and pleasant. Smoothness and sweetness from chestnut were splendid (8/10).

Forest Chestnut Veloute, Wild Boar Tortellini, Baby Mushroom
and Black Truffle Oil

Wild Boar Tortellini

This time Entremets was Yuzu Sherbet. Tangy aroma brought back freshness with balancing with sweetness and flavour of vanilla. Only let down was sweetness which gave razor cut feeling after taste (7/10).

Yuzu Sherbet

Fillet of Venison with Mushroom Crust, Autumn Vegetables and Cabbage Chartreuse with Fruits was one of our main course. Venison gave sweet flavour from its flesh and very tender. It was well equipped with herbs. What spectacular was the sauce which had chocolate as one of main ingredients. Cabbage was sour which was strange in the first place but after a few bits, this went really well with venison (9/10).

Fillet of Venison with Mushroom Crust, Autumn Vegetables and
Cabbage Chartreuse with Fruits

Last one was Honey Peppered Glazed Wild Colver Duck Breast, Roasted Baby Turnip and Beetroot in Foie Gras Fat. Tender meat of duck with delightful gravy. Light turnip and beetroot with sweet figs (8/10).

Honey Peppered Glazed Wild Colvert Duck Breast,
Roasted Baby Turnip and Beetroot in Foie Gras Fat

Roasted Baby Turnip and Beetroot in Foie Gras Fat

The Reflexions @ Hotel Plaza Athenee, Bangkok

3rd Floor Hotel Plaza Athenee

61 Wireless Road

Lumpini, Pathumwan

Bangkok, 10330

Thailand

เดอะรีเฟล็กซ์ชั่นส์ @ โรงแรมพลาซ่า แอทธินี กรุงเทพ

ชั้น 3 โรงแรมพลาซ่า แอทธินี

61 ถนนวิทยุ

แขวงลุมพินี เขตปทุมวัน

กรุงเทพ 10330

Open Hours: 06:00pm - 11:00pm Tuesday - Saturday

Tel: +66 (0) 2650 8800 ext 4338

Web: http://www.plazaatheneebangkok.com/thereflexions

SaNguan Sri Restaurant @ Witthayu Road, Bangkok

Cuisine: Thai

Map: SaNguan Sri Restaurant @ Witthayu Road, Bangkok - ร้านสงวนศรี @ ถนนวิทยุ กรุงเทพ

Price: THB220 per person (what I paid for)

Visited: 14 March 2011

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 3/10

Value for money: 7/10

Services: 3/10

Overall: 5/10

SaNguan Sri has been a long time famous restaurant for those who work around Ploenchit area. It is situated right next to Plaza Athenee Hotel, which is pretty close to Ploenchit Junction. The closest BTS station would be Ploenchit Station, otherwise Lumphini MRT Station could be an alternative with further distance. The restaurant is decorated in an old fashion style, just like granny age, in which I believe it has been like this for more than 20 years. SaNguan Sri serves varieties of traditional Thai dishes with authentic flavour. During lunch time, SaNguan Sri is always packed with those who work around this area. Hence, reservation is highly recommended for those who wish to come during lunch time on weekdays.

Saguan Sri on Wireless Road

Old School Ambient

Menu Cards

During Summer in Thailand Khao Chae (ข้าวแช่) has always been one of the famous dish and would be regarded as prestige and classic. Khao Chae at SaNguan Sri is exquisite and delicious. It consists of rice, which is just right and not hard in the texture like other places but represented chewiness, in iced jasmine-scented water and a variety of side dish. Here, there are 5 side dishes to come with: deep-fried kapi (shrimp paste) ball, green pepper stuffed with minced pork and drizzled with fried egg, shredded sweetened pork, powdered dried fish, and deep-fried red onion. This is a truly lovely dish to have during hot weather of Summer (7/10).

Side Dishes of Khao Chae

Khao Chae (ข้าวแช่)

Moo Phalo (หมูพะโล้) at SaNguan Sri reminded me of those dishes back in school time. It tasted rather sweet than salty. Pork was not so tender and egg was fully boiled (4/10).

Pork Pra Ram Long Song or Blanched Pork with Peanut Sauce and Chinese Water Convolvulus (พระรามลงสรงหมู) was somewhat similar to Pork Satay. Flavour of peanut paste was strong. A little sweet it was but enjoyable (6/10).

Moo Phalo (หมูพะโล้)

Pork Pra Ram Long Song (พระรามลงสรงหมู)

Clear Soup with Look Rok (แกงจืดลูกรอก) is another dish that is difficult to find nowadays. Look Rok may look like macaron but it is made out of egg and pork intestine. This dish was refreshing. Look Rok was really tender and delicious (7/10).

Clear Soup with Look Rok (แกงจืดลูกรอก)

For dessert, we had a chance to try 3 choices: Coconut Ice-cream with Jelly (ไอติมกะทิเยลลี่), Chau Guay (Grass Jelly) & Ginkgo in Syrup (น้ำแข๊งใสใส่เฉาก๊วยและแปะก๊วย), and Boiled Banana in Syrup (กล้วยไข่เชื่อม - Gluay Kai Cheuam). They were all delightful but too sweet for my appetite. One thing to notice was the coconut ice-cream, the texture was not really smooth but it had a strong scent of Rauwenhoffia siamensis Scheff (นมแมว) (4/10).

Coconut Ice-cream with Jelly (ไอติมกะทิเยลลี่)

Chau Guay & Ginkgo in Syrup (น้ำแข็งใสใส่เฉาก๊วยและแปะก๊วย)

Boiled Banana in Syrup (กล้วยไข่เชื่อม)

Our bill came out to be around THB220 per person which was fairly low from my opinion. Those who wish to have an authentic old style Thai food with an affordable price, SaNguan Sri is surely a heavenly choice.

SaNguan Sri Restaurant @ Witthayu Road, Bangkok

59/1 Witthayu Road (Wireless Road)

Lumphini, Pathumwan

Bangkok 10330

Thailand

ร้านสงวนศรี @ ถนนวิทยุ กรุงเทพ

59/1 ถนนวิทยุ

แขวงลุมพินี เขตปทุนวัน

กรุงเทพ 10330

Open Hours: 10:00am - 05:00pm for Monday to Saturday, and 10:00am - 02:00am for Sunday

Tel: +66 (0) 2251 9378, +66 (0) 2252 7637

Coffee Beans by Dao @ Paradise Park, Bangkok

Cuisine: Thai & Western

Map: Coffee Beans by Dao @ Paradise Park, Bangkok - คอฟฟี่บีนส์ บาย ดาว @ พาราไดซ์ พาร์ค กรุงเทพ

Price: THB600 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)

Visited: 13 March 2011

Food: 4/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

Value for money: 3/10

Services: 3/10

Overall: 3/10

This time I had a chance to visit the newly opened branch of the famous chain "Coffee Beans by Dao" which is situated on the 3rd floor of Paradise Park (formerly known as Seri Center). Like the other branch Coffee Beans serves varieties of Thai and Western food as well as choices of cakes and dessert, in which many are chiffon base. Also the decor of this branch is nothing different from the other branches: there is a line of  cake refrigerated cake displays at the entrance, moderately furbished, fairly bright with yellow light, and a chandelier in the middle of the room. The restaurant can accommodate up to 100 guests.

Coffee Beans Menu

We had a chance to pick a few selections of soup to taste. Mushroom Soup (ซุปเห็ด), the texture was considerably thick but rather salty and had unpleasant scent. I doubt for the consistency of quality (4/10).

Two Faced Soup - Spinach & Tomato (ซุปสองหน้า - ผักโขมและมะเขือเทศ): eatable, rather sour taste but the oily layer of the surface made it unfriendly look (2/10).

Mushroom Soup

Two Faced Soup (Spinach & Tomato)

Next was Wrapped Noodle Pork, Shrimp, and Fresh Herbs (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวลุยสวน). The wrapped dough might be  soft but rather thick. Additionally, the portion of the filling was small (4/10).

Wrapped Noodle Pork, Shrimp, and Fresh Herbs

Pork Satay (สะเต็ะหมู): the texture was tender, quite good to be precise, but the taste let down the overall by far (2/10).

Pork Satay

Spicy Winged Bean Salad (ยำถั่วพู), personally I felt it was a dish that easy to eat; not very much spicy. Good point was shrimp was really fresh. On the down side, egg was overcooked (6/10).

Spicy Winged Bean Salad

Thai Rice Noodle with Crab Curry (ขนมจีนน้ำยาปู): I, personally, did not have a chance to try it out but a member of my party mentioned it was a good quality one (6/10).

Thai Rice Noodle with Crab Curry

Crab Curry

Pasta Garlic & Chili, Anchovy & Bacon (พาสต้า แองโชวี่เบคอน พริกกระเทียม): good points were spaghetti was cooked well and it was not oily but nothing special (5/10).

Pasta Meat Balls Marinara Sauce (พาสต้ามึทบอล): nothing spectacular about this dish, it might be a little sour from tomato. Meat balls were really hard though (3/10).

Pasta Garlic & Chili, Anchovy & Bacon

Pasta Meat Balls Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti Ham & Cheese (สปาเก็ตตี้แฮมชึส) was another disappointment. It was really soggy though it tasted ok (3/10).

Spaghetti Ham & Cheese

Last was Ox Tongue Stew with Buttered Rice (ข้าวสตูว์ลิ้นวัว). This dish was a little below standard. Texture was not tender and taste was rather sour (3/10).

Ox Tongue Stew with Buttered Rice

As Coffee Beans is famous for its delicious desserts, we hence decided to order quite a number of desserts to try. Starting with Apple Crumble, which had a cracked dough but was way too thick, comparing to amount of apple, for my appetite. Overall taste including the custard was not too sweet, which was good, but lack of aroma (3/10).

Apple Crumble

Black Forest Cake had rather loose texture and dry with light flavour, could not surely match that of Mandarin Oriental (3/10).

White Chocolate Cheesecake, one of the most famous cake at Coffee Beans, was smooth in the texture wise with strong white chocolate taste. Nevertheless, I felt whipped cream on top was excess, it would be much better with more cheese part (5/10).

Black Forest Cake

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Chestnut Fresh Cream Cake (เค้กเก๋าลัด) was smooth and soft with strong scent of chestnut but a little too sweet (5/10).

Coconut Pandan Cake (เค้กมะพร้าวใบเตย) had great scent of coconut and pandan with coconut filling between layers. Smooth and nice (6/10).

Chestnut Fresh Cream Cake

Coconut Pandan Cake

Baby Boom Strawberry Cake had pleasant taste but strawberry filling was too little. Chiffon base was soggy which could be caused by careless during preparation (5/10).

Coffee Crunch Cake was a disappointment with tasteless butter cream and just a hint of coffee flavour, though crunchy nut was good (3/10).

Baby Boom Strawberry Cake

Coffee Crunch Cake

The bill came out to be ~ THB600 per person, which was not cheap. I found that many restaurants in Bangkok tend to find a way to increase their profit by opening new branches. However, lack of control and consistency do result in worse quality of food and sometime services drastically. I feel that many years back I used to have better chiffon from Coffee Beans though. Not accounting into this, Coffee Beans is still on the top rank for coffee shop serving good cake in Bangkok.

Coffee Beans by Dao @ Paradise Park, Bangkok

3rd Floor Paradise Park

61 Srinakarin Road

Pravet

Bangkok 10250

Thailand

คอฟฟี่บีนส์ บาย ดาว @ พาราไดซ์ พาร์ค กรุงเทพ

ชั้น 3 พาราไดซ์ พาร์ค

61 ถนนศรีนครินทร์

เขตประเวศ

กรุงเทพ 10250

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

Tel: +66 (0) 2787 2395

Web: http://www.coffeebeans.co.th/