Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The Kitchen Table @ W Bangkok Hotel, Sathon Nuea Road - เดอะ คิทเช่น เทเบิ้ล @ โรงแรม ดับเบิ้ลยู กรุงเทพ ถนนสาทรเหนือ

Cuisine: Bistro Food
Price: THB480 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)
Visited: 25 June 2014
Food: 6/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Value for money: 5/10
Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Launched in 2013, The Kitchen Table @ W Bangkok Hotel is a bistro style restaurant with the concept of chic and urban. The venue is sure a place for casual dining, not really a place for business talk unless you would not mind a casual lunch meeting. To us, it looks more like a canteen but a posh and chic canteen. We happened to be at The Kitchen Table during mid week and the place was kind of quiet. Not really if the place would be more packed during Friday night and weekend when people tend to hang out. Walking into the place, the bar is on the right hand side and is right at the front of the room. The open kitchen with a counter of around 10 seats can be found in the middle of the room. The dining room itself is pretty large with many tables for 4 to 6 guests. There is also a large table right all the way inside the room which is good for more than 10 people group.

The Kitchen Table @ W Bangkok Hotel

spacious dining hall

beverage bar

large table for big group

Selection of dishes in the menu ranges from Western style to Easter style. However, we were there for burger at that night. The "My Burger, My Style!" offer comes with a choice of your own burger, a side dish, and a soft drink. You basically choose what to be put for your burger: choice of burger, bun, sauce,  cheese, and toppings. Then choose your favourite side dish like coleslaw or fries. Lastly, have a soft drink or beer and in our case, we had Wild Berry Iced Tea and Pineapple Iced Tea. The wild berry iced tea was simple and nice but pineapple one was rather strange for me, it was kind of minty and fizzy which did not taste well together for me. Anyway, this combination comes at the price of THB480 which was not a bad deal. By the way, the bread basket was just ok.

bread basket

My Burger, My Style menu

pineapple iced tea + wild berry iced tea

There were 2 type of burgers tonight for us.

The Kitchen Burger #1: grain fed Australian ground beef + brioche + truffle mayonnaise + tomato, cucumber, lettuce, soft fried egg + cheddar
The Kitchen Burger #2: grain fed Australian ground beef + squid ink bun + truffle mayonnaise + tomato, pickle, semi-dried cherry tomato, lettuce + brie

Both were beef burger which was rather nice. It might be a little overcooked to my liking but still ok. I particularly like the truffle mayonnaise which went pretty well with beef burger. If I have to choose again, I would not go for squid ink bun but brioche. Buns here at The Kitchen Table are big which is the obstacle when eating. Squid ink bun is tougher and chewier than brioche bun which adds another level of difficulty of consumption. Overall, there were not bad all. Of course, nicer than average burger but still not amazing. Perhaps 6/10 should do it right. Oh, by the way, we both had coleslaw as the side dish and it was delicious in fact. Anyway, it was a satisfy burger meal. Not really sure how other dishes would be. We may try it out some other time. But flipping through the menu and wine list quickly. We found that pricing of dishes is not too high but not cheap. In contrast, the wine list has rather high marked up with the range of both new world and old world.

The Kitchen Burger #1

The Kitchen Burger #2


The Kitchen Table @ W Bangkok Hotel, Sathon Nuea Road - เดอะ คิทเช่น เทเบิ้ล @ โรงแรม ดับเบิ้ลยู กรุงเทพ ถนนสาทรเหนือ
106 Sathon Nuea Road
Silom, Bang Rak
Bangkok 10500
Thailand

Open Hours: 06:30am - 10:30pm daily

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Proprieta Sperino Lessona 2007

Date of Tasting: 17 March 2014
Wine Type: Red
Grape Varieties: ~ 95-100% Nebbiolo and a dollop of Vespolina
Alcohol: 13.5%
Origin: Piedmont, Italy
Appellation: DOC
Expect to Pay: ~ THB2,000
Web: http://www.proprietasperino.it/
Chubby Score: 93/100
Value for money: 8/10
Professional Rating: AG - 94/100, ST - 93/100, CT - 92/100



Appearance: medium garnet
Aroma: rose petal, cherry, minerality and smoke
Palate: sweet and sour dark cherry, silkily fine tannins with big bodied. long, bright, and lingering acidity. earthiness as the secondary palate.

This is really a great food wine. The northern property with no big name of Paolo de Marchi produces terrific wine range with impressiveness. Stunning and delicate bottle. This is good for at least until the end of this decade. Pair with red meat and heaven is there. Stock up and raise many many glasses.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Cream Studio @ The Mercury Ville, Bangkok - ครีมสตูดิโอ @ เดอะ เมอร์คิวรี่ วิลล์ กรุงเทพ

Cuisine: Ice-cream
Price: see menu below
Visited: 19 June 2014
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Value for money: 7/10
Services: n.m.
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

The Mercury Ville is the new concept of Mercury Tower that was refurbished after years of failure. The lower floors of Mercury Tower was lauched in 2014 as dining destination and named Mercury Ville. Cream Studio is an ice-cream boot that is located on the 3rd floor of this Mercury Ville. It is a rookie of ice-cream industry in Thailand. The place is tiny with only ice-cream counter and a few of tiny tables.

Cream Studio presents daily just less than 10 flavours of ice-cream. I believe that this gets changed from time to time. At my first visit, I was rather impressed with this place. Their ice-creams were smooth, thick and flavoursome. I had Sapporo Brownie (6/10) and Honey Purple Sweet Potato (7/10). The Sapporo Brownie tasted like ordinary chocolate but Honey Purple Sweet Potato was an interesting one. The sweet flavour of honey did not overwhelm the overall picture, that was what I like. My only concern was the texture of ice-cream. Though it was smooth and creamy, I still found some icy bits. My guess, this could be because of wrong temperature during process or storing. Well, let see during future visit how they would manage this.

Pricing wise, it is in the same range as Swensen's but the scoop size is a bit smaller. You may see in a picture below for range of other menu and beverage. To me, this is a good destination for ice-cream for those in Chidlom area like me. I won't be surprise if I find myself visiting this Cream Studio often.

Sapporo Brownie + Honey Purple Sweet Potato

Cream Studio @ The Mercury Ville, Bangkok

tiny spaces for eating in

the creamy menu

less than 10 flavours but changed occasionally

the contact

Cream Studio @ The Mercury Ville, Bangkok - ครีมสตูดิโอ @ เดอะ เมอร์คิวรี่ วิลล์ กรุงเทพ
Floor 3, Mercury Ville
540 Phloen Chit Road
Lumpini, Pathum Wan
Bangkok 10330
Thailand

Open Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm daily
Tel: +66 (0) 2658 5556
FBhttps://www.facebook.com/creamstudiofanpage

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Zyme La Mattonara Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva 2003

Date of Tasting: 5 June 2014
Wine Type: Red
Grape Varieties: ~ 40% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 15% Rondinella, 10% Oseleta, 5% Croatina
Alcohol: 16%
Origin: Veneto, Italy
Appellation: DOP
Expect to Pay: ~ THB9,000
Web: http://www.zyme.it/
Chubby Score: 95/100
Value for money: 5/10
Professional Rating: n.a.


Appearance: dark luminous ruby
Aroma: blossom of flowers, black fruits, cinnamon, and earth
Palate: big and full with complexity. so silkily fine texture. smooth and lingering tannins. dry but with a touch of sweetness. eternal fruit bomb on the palate with cherry and dried fruits as the primary scent. endless and elegant finish.

This is a magnificent bottle of Amarone indeed: rare and unique. Tasted during Grand Italian Wine Dinner at the Tables @ Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok on 5 June 2014, it was sure the leading star of the night. So much of harmonious sensation. Ones can fall in love with this exclusive subtlety and beautiful finesse at the first sip. If you are lucky to have this in possession, cheers and enjoy for many more years to come.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Greenhouse Restaurant @ The Landmark Bangkok, Sukhumvit Road - ห้องอาหารกรีนเฮ้าส์ @ โรงแรมแลนด์มาร์ค กรุงเทพ ถนนสุขุมวิท

Cuisine: Chinese / Asian / International / Coffee Shop
Price: THB550 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)
Visited: 14 June 2014
Food: 6/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Value for money: 4/10
Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Needless to mention much, The Greenhouse Restaurant at The Landmark Bangkok has been well-known destination for Bangkokian congee lovers during the last few decades. I, personally, do visit this restaurant from time to time. The Greenhouse Restaurant is like a coffee shop of the hotel that operates twenty seven. The menu range is not just Chinese but also mix of Asian, international, and coffee shop style food. The atmosphere is an old style hotel's coffee shop but comfy enough.

Greenhouse Restaurant @ The Landmark Bangkok

the old school coffee shop style

Of course, congee was my main target for the meal. Nevertheless, we did also have 2 choices of roast: crispy pork and roasted duck - เฉโปสองชนิด: หมูกรอบกับเป็ดย่าง (5/10) to accompany. This was enjoyable but, comparing to the one at Imperial Duck we had a few days earlier, not so much impressive though. I would say it is on par with many other places. I found that the dish was somewhat too fatty and both duck skin and the pork were not crispy enough to my liking. At the price of THB520 for a portion, it is definitely expensive. Well, the venue is a coffee shop of hotel, so no complaint.

2 choices of roast (crispy pork and roasted duck (THB520)

crispy pork

roasted duck

For congee, the ones we had were congee with special meat balls - โจ๊กลูกชิ้นหมู (7/10) and congee with beef - โจ๊กเนื้อสด (7/10). At the price of THB195 and THB200 respectively, these were considerably expensive for congee. Additional of preserved egg - ไข่เยี่ยวม้า or boiled egg would cost THB50 or THB30 extra. Congee here is almost as good as those in Hong Kong. It is extremely smooth with mild flavour. Pork ball and beef are tender and come in generous portion. This is sure a perfect compliment for breakfast or light dinner. No wonder why people keeps coming back here even the high price tag.

our congee trio

congee with special meat balls with preserved egg (THB245)


Imperial Duck @ The Up Rama 3, Bangkok - อิมพีเรียล ดัค @ เดอะอัพ พระราม 3 กรุงเทพฯGreenhouse Restaurant @ The Landmark Bangkok, Sukhumvit Road - ห้องอาหารกรีนเฮ้าส์ @ โรงแรมแลนด์มาร์ค กรุงเทพ ถนนสุขุมวิท
Floor G, The Landmark Bangkok
138 Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Toei
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: 24 hours

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Achaval Ferrer Finca Altamira Mendoza 2008

Date of Tasting: 31 May 2014
Wine Type: Red
Grape Varieties: 100% Malbec
Alcohol: 13.5%
Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
Appellation: La Consulta
Expect to Pay: ~ THB3,000
Web: http://www.achaval-ferrer.com/
Chubby Score: 95/100
Value for money: 8/10
Professional Rating: WA - 97/100, WS - 94/100, WE - 90/100, ST - 93/10, CT - 93/100



Appearance: bright and deep purplish ruby
Aroma: cassis, dark berries, exotic spices
Palate: big and broad with sublime smoothness. long and lush with violet fruit forward and graphite note. excellent balance with fine acidity. subtle aftertaste.

Excellent bottle of single vineyard at the altitude of 3,400 feet and low yield (12 hectoliters/hectare) by Achaval Ferrer. This is a kind of power and opulent that combines with elegance as well. So rich on the flavour and so smooth on the texture. It showed fabulously throughout the 2 hours period of drinking. It gives so much pleasure right now and should be impressive for a decade to go. Looking forward to revisit in a few years.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Imperial Duck @ The Up Rama 3, Bangkok - อิมพีเรียล ดัค @ เดอะอัพ พระราม 3 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Chinese / Cantonese
Price: THB450 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)
Visited: 12 June 2014
Food: 5/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Value for money: 3/10
Services: 6/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

It was during early June 2014 that the UP Rama 3, a new community mall around Rama 3 area, just started to welcome visitor. If you were familiar with this area, the UP is only a few hundred meters from Central Rama 3 and is right on the corner turning into Naradhiwas Rajanakarindra Road. We were passing by the UP and did not hesitate to pop by for a survey. Spotting on this restaurant "Imperial Duck", so why not at all to give a try.

Imperial Duck is a Chinese restaurant that serves Cantonese style dishes. Staffs at Imperial Duck claimed that roasted duck here is unlike other restaurant in Thailand that its style is similar to the famous roasted duck in London (in which I assume it to be Four Seasons at Bayswater). What make me laughed about Imperial Duck was the logo which comprises of 5 ducks. However, when observing in more detail, I recognised that the big duck in the middle looks pretty similar to Jemima Puddle Duck of Beatrix Potter!!!!!!!!

Imperial Duck @ The Up Rama 3, Bangkok

Isn't that Jemima Puddle Duck??????

the open kitchen

The first to be mentioned was Imperial Crispy Belly Pork - หมูกรอบอิมพีเรียล (6/10). This is sure a good one. I do like the crispy skin part a lot. Flavour wise was also enjoyable. Texture was also soft and tender. Only if it was thicker, this should have been a better dish. The sauces that came along were the simple dark soy sauce and mustard. I wish they would have their own home-made sauce. Nevertheless, for the price of THB200 for a small portion of this dish, I would say it was expensive though enjoyable.

Next was the must try, the restaurant's proudly presented dish, Imperial Roasted Duck - เป็ดย่างอิมพีเรียล (7/10). Well, I say they were nice and tasty. The quality thick and tender meat. The fatless and crisp skin. These were really savoury. Not as good as those in Hong Kong but great enough for Bangkok without having to fly all the way abroad. It is, in fact, comparable to the Bangkokian's favourite roasted duck of Four Seasons. Pricing wise is as well not the exception. I had just a portion and it costed me THB380. If you were to order the whole duck, that would be THB1,200. Rather expensive I would say. Lastly, we had Stir-fried String Beans with Minced Pork - ถั่วแขกผัดหมูสับ (4/10). The flavour was well balance. Just the texture of string beans that were too soft. Yes, ones would expect this dish to be soft but also it should maintain the crispiness character.

In summary, without having a chance to try other dishes just yet, this is not a bad restaurant at all from my perspective. However, I would not come all the way just to have dishes at Imperial Duck unless I happen to pass by or live around the area. As aforementioned, food were enjoyable but might not be valuable.

Imperial Crispy Belly Pork - หมูกรอบอิมพีเรียล (THB200)

crispy belly pork with dark soy sauce

Imperial Roasted Duck - เป็ดย่างอิมพีเรียล (THB380)

1 portion - THB380 and 1 whole duck - THB1,200

Stir-fried String Beans with Minced Pork - ถั่วแขกผัดหมูสับ (THB180)

Imperial Duck @ The Up Rama 3, Bangkok - อิมพีเรียล ดัค @ เดอะอัพ พระราม 3 กรุงเทพฯ
Floor G, The Up Rama 3
54/5 Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road
Chong Nonsri, Yannawa
Bangkok 10120
Thailand

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

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve IGT 2005

Date of Tasting: 26 April 2014
Wine Type: Red
Grape Varieties: 100% Sangiovese
Alcohol: 14.5%
Origin: Tuscany, Italy
Appellation: IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica)
Expect to Pay: ~ THB3,000
Web: http://www.fontodi.com/
Chubby Score: 92/100
Value for money: 5/10
Professional Rating: WA - 93/100, AG - 94/100, WS - 94/100, JR - 17.5/20, CT - 93/100



Appearance: dark ruby
Aroma: complex forest floor of cedar, spices, and black fruits
Palate: medium-full bodied with beautiful and lingering finish. integrate tannins. it exhibits class and depth. on the palate, it shows integrated cherries, oak, and dried spices. notable acid.

This is a nice bottle that drinks well right now and a decade to go. It possesses some generous perfume of fruits and profound elegance. Not so much of the power. The 2005 is not quite my style but it shows superb with pizza and non-cream based pasta.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Khanom Khrok Bai Toei @ Chan Road, Bangkok - ขนมครกใบเตย @ ถนนจันทน์ กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Thai Dessert
Price: THB20 per box (what we paid for at the time)
Visited: 31 May 2014
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: n.m.
Value for money: 10/10
Services: n.m.
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

Khanom Khrok Bai Toei or Khanom Khrok Singapore is a kind of Thai snack (not really sure where the word Singapore comes from) with pandan and coconut milk as the key ingredients. It would usually come in a bite size. The colour is green with beautiful aroma of pandan and soft texture. Khanom Khrok Bai Toei can be found widely. For Bangkokian, the most famous one would probably be the one at Siam Square.

The one in this blog is at Chan Road (near Soi Chan 44). Khamom Khrok Bai Toei here is delicious. It is a little different from others that the size of each one is really tiny. However, the aroma and texture are pretty nice. This is just a small stall. They do sell Khanom Khrok Bai Toei from morning until run out which can differ from day by day. At the I was there, only 3pm and they were done for the day but sometime they do sell until late evening. There are 3 flavours to be chosen from: the original pandan, chocolate, and melodorum scent (น้ำนมแมว). Apart from Khanom Khrok Bai Toei at Siam Square, I do also like this one at Chan Road. Even when it is cold, it is still nice and soft. Having it with tea is also a complement. If you happen to be around Chan Road, why not give it a try.







Khanom Khrok Bai Toei @ Chan Road, Bangkok - ขนมครกใบเตย @ ถนนจันทน์ กรุงเทพฯ
Chan Road (entrance to Soi Chan 44)
Bang Kho Laem
Bangkok 10120
Thailand

Open Hours: daily around 08:30am till late
Tel: +66 (0) 85 879 6966
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