Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Appia @ Soi Sukhumvit 31, Bangkok - แอพเพีย @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 31 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Italian
Price: THB710 per person (what we paid for)
Visited: 16 February 2014
Food: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10
Services: 7/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

This is the first time for us to visit this Roman trattoria, Appia at Soi Sukhumvit 31, and we have already fallen in love with it. It is not so difficult to locate Appia: going into Soi Sukhumvit 31 not more than 500 metres and it is on the right hand side, just next door to Cassia Cafe and Tearoom. The nearest BTS station is Phromphong station. However, driving is not so bad as well. There are quite a number of parking lots. The place is kept in the casual way of trattoria, no such formality here: the classic wooden furniture, the candle-lit-style chandelier, the local bar that displays variety of food. We love the chillax style that is fabulous for family meal and even friends gathering. I would recommend you to book in advance if you were gonna visit Appia. The place can be packed though it is a comfy venue but it can perhaps accommodate up to around 50 pax max.

Appia @ Soi Sukhumvit 31 - แอพเพีย @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 31

local and chill ambient

simple flatware

The style of food is rustic and local with quality ingredients that offers such joy and satisfaction, created by Paolo Vitaletti who is the chef and the owner. Over the bar counter, guests can see the roasted classic porchetta which looks really delicious and I promise myself to give it a try next time. The wine list comprises of selections of Italian wine as the majority which reflect the Mediterranean character. There are also selections of wine by glass available: I had a glass of Enate Tempranillo and it costed THB250 a glass.

the bar that is full of food

wine by glass selection

We happened to visit Appia during a weekend lunch and they also offer additional menu during weekend lunch apart from the normal menu. The first we had was carbonara with dried paccheri pasta, Paolo Parisi's egg from Tuscany, cured pork cheek, pecorino (9/10). This pasta alla carbonara was really impressive. It is the best you can find in Bangkok perhaps. Instead of using the classic spaghetti, Appia uses paccheri that has the ability to capture the creamy sauce. Paccheri was also cooked to perfection "al dente". The salty and crisp cured pork paired gorgeously well with the creamy texture of the sauce. The secret of this creamy and aromatic carbonara was the special egg created by Paolo Parisi. It is claimed that such egg is laid by hen (galline Livornesi) that have been fed with fresh goat's milk. The result yields in egg that gives a slight taste of almond, softer yolk, and fatty but light. You know what, just order it.

The second dish to arrive was Polpettone: my mother's meat loaf, grilled marinated eggplant, spinach and fried eggs (7/10). This was the unexpected dish for us in the way we did not order. The dish we had ordered was poached eggs, Italian sausage, chicory, n'dujia sabayon, sour dough bread instead. The thing was Polpettone arrived at our table and there were fried eggs on top, it was egg but we didn't notice that it was fried egg and not poached egg. We didn't even hesitate but went ahead to taste. A few moment later the poached egg arrived, both the staff and us were confused. Appia, without hesitation, said the non-ordered Polpettone was the complementary from the restaurant. Really impressive and friendly service from Appia. We are thankful to that. Anyway, the Polpettone was delicious and was a good choice for weekend brunch. The tasty meat loaf was tender and juicy and went really well with eggplant and fried egg. However, the dish can be a little oily and strong in flavour for some people though.

carbonara with dried paccheri pasta, Paolo Parisi's egg from Tuscany, cured pork cheek, pecorino (THB380)

Polpettone: my mother's meat loaf, grilled marinated eggplant, spinach and fried eggs (THB280)

so yum meat loaf

Poached eggs, Italian sausage, chicory, n'dujia sabayon, sour dough bread (8/10) was another tasty brunch dish. Poached eggs, Italian sausage, and n'dujia were served on top of sour dough bread here. They are so generous with the portion of Italian sausage which balanced well with creamy poached egg. The Italian sausage was so flavourful and rich. If sour dough was served separately in crisp style, that would be a perfect dish.

Lastly, we had barley salad with duck leg cont, farro salad and pomegranate (8/10). I personally love this dish a lot. The overall impression was light and fresh. If it was to be an al fresco meal, this dish would be even more delightful. The barley salad was light, when combined with sweet and refreshing pomegranate it was a pleasure to eat. Duck leg was soft, tender, and yet full of flavour. If you like duck, this one cannot be missed indeed.

Simply said, we shall be returning many more times for this trattoria "Appia".

poached eggs, Italian sausage, chicory, n'dujia sabayon, sour dough bread (THB250)

barley salad with duck leg cont, farro salad and pomegranate (THB300)

Appia @ Soi Sukhumvit 31, Bangkok - แอพเพีย @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 31 กรุงเทพฯ
20/4 Soi Sukhumvit 31
Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: Tue - Sun from 06:30pm - 10:30pm for dinner and Sat - Sun 11:30am - 02:30pm for lunch

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