Cuisine: Thai
Price: THB450 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)
Visited: 17 May 2014
Food: 4/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 4/10
Services: 2/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]
Early December 2013, when we had heard about the goodbye to the oldie "
New Light Coffee House", our hearts just sank with sadness. But things do come and go for reasons. At least, it is good enough that the place has not totally moved but has moved to the second floor of the same building for now.
Only a few months later, there came the new restaurant replacing New Light Coffee House: "Rabbit in The Kitchen". Just by its name, you would not be able to tell that the place serves Thai food. I was even thinking of international cuisine or bistro food. Yes, Rabbit in The Kitchen is decorated in bistro style. Many dishes here are not in the usual style of sharing but individual set instead. Perhaps this is to match the life style of visitors in Siam Square which mainly are teenagers. Menu comes in a simple two pages board.
To illustrate a little further, Rabbit in The Kitchen probably comes from the word "กระต่ายขูดมะพร้าว : kra-tai-kood-ma-prao" meaning coconut grater which is a tool in the kitchen. The word kra-tai or กระต่าย means rabbit in Thai. Rather sophisticate, right?
Getting back to Rabbit in The Kitchen. We would say that the food range is kind of acceptable in term of taste. However, it was the service that is the concern. Staffs seem to be ignorant and do not even know how to explain some dishes. The worst part was when we spilled water all over the place and no staff came to help. We had to ask for a towel to wipe the table ourselves. What the heck???????? Perhaps we are not their target customer!!!!!!!!!
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| Rabbit in The Kitchen @ Siam Square, Bangkok |
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| bistro style atmosphere.....rather comfy |
The first of the night to come along was
Beef Tongue Stew - สตูว์ลิ้นวัว (3/10). Not really the standard stew. It lacks of flavour and the texture seemed to be too light. I, personally, would love to see thicker texture. But the texture of beef tongue was enjoyable with the expected tenderness. Next was Panaeng Curry Pork with Crispy Fish - พะแนงหมู ปลาสลิด (3/10). Panaeng Curry is a type of red curry in Thailand. It is not those really soupy curry but curry is kept a little only, not dry. Panaeng curry here seemed to be like a kind of soup though. Panaeng here did give to the strong curry aroma and was not balance. The only good part was the fried snakeskin gourami or ปลาสลิด. It was well fried to crisp.
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| Beef Tongue Stew (THB180) |
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| Panaeng Curry Pork with Crispy Fish (THB140) |
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| zoom up to Panaeng |
Moving to
Gaeng Kiew Wan Green Curry with Beef Shank and Toast - แกงเขียวหวานเนื้อน่องลาย ขนมปัง (5/10), this was probably on average for green curry. Curry paste was flavourful enough. Somewhat spicy which was a little overpower and not balance with other aroma. The Chicken Coconut Soup - ต้มข่าไก่ (2/10) was the worst here probably. The taste of coconut milk in the soup was weird. I was even think if the coconut milk they used was from a can/tin, not the freshly squeezed one. It was strangely too thick on the palate.
Rice Vermicelli with Sweet Peanut Sauce - ขนาจีนน้ำพริก (5/10) was enjoyable. Those handful condiments were pleasant. The peanut sauce was delicious but a little too sweet for my taste. Lastly, it was a non Thai dish, Grilled Salmon with Lemon Caper Sauce - แซลมอนย่างซอสเลมอนเคเปอร์ (4/10). A typical dish that ones would not be surprise to see in any cafe or bistro. It was on average overall.
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| Gaeng Kiew Wan Green Curry with Beef Shank and Toast (THB180) |
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| Chicken Coconut Soup (THB120) |
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| Rice Vermicelli with Sweet Peanut Sauce (THB150) |
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| Grilled Salmon with Lemon Caper Sauce (THB380) |
Desserts at Rabbit in The Kitchen could be highlight here. Some of them, I have not even heard of. We had a chance to try 3 of the desserts which include
Thai Goodies in Coconut Syrup - ขนมสี่ถ้วยกับน้ำกะทิ (4/10), Steamed Banana in Roselle Sauce - กล้วยตุ๋น (5/10), and Trio Sweets in Syrup - สามแช่ (n.m.). The interesting thing was that we forgot to put syrup for the menu Trio Sweets in Syrup. Thus, we cannot really comment anything on this (T.T)". The Thai Goodies in Coconut Syrup is a basic cool Thai dessert served with coconut syrup in which this case it shall include Lod Chong (ลอดช่อง), Black Sticky Rice (ข้าวเหนียวดำ), Popped Rice (ข้าวตอก), and Sweet Basil Seed (เม็ดแมงลัก). From the picture, it may look a rather big portion. However, large part of the bowl was full with crushed ice beneath. The overall taste was ok. But I personally felt that the coconut syrup was a bit too sweet. Lastly, the Steamed Banana in Roselle Sauce was not at all a bad idea for a dessert to end a meal. The texture of banana was good, not overripe. The balance of sweetness and sour of roselle sauce washes out the taste of main courses pretty effectively. I think if the roselle sauce could come in a thicker version such that the sauce would coat pretty nicely on banana, this would be a nicer dish.
All in all, Rabbit in The Kitchen is an average restaurant in term of taste but fail on the service side. Pricing may be a little over the top for Siam Square area but this compensates with the comfy bistro atmosphere. Not the type of restaurant that is a must visit but not a bad idea to pop by when unsure on dining venue around Siam Square.
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| Thai Goodies in Coconut Syrup (THB90) |
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| Steamed Banana in Roselle Sauce (THB60) |
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| Trio Sweets in Syrup (THB60) |
Rabbit in The Kitchen @ Siam Square, Bangkok - แรบบิท อิน เดอะ คิทเช่น @ สยามสแควร์ กรุงเทพ
Siam Square 11 (next to Hard Rock Cafe)
Phyathai Road
Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330
Open Hours: daily 10:00am - 10:00pm
