Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts

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

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Quince Eatery and Bar @ Soi Sukhumvit 45, Bangkok - ควินซ์ อีทเทอรี่ แอนด์ บาร์ @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 45 กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: International / Pub / Cafe / Wine Bar
Price: THB750 per person without alcohol (what we paid for)
Visited: 25 January 2014
Food: 3/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 3/10
Services: 5/10
Scale: [ 1=poor ----- 5=average/standard ----- 10=outstanding/exceptional ]

Quince Eatery and Bar is located shortly within Soi Sukhumvit 45, right next to Casa Pagoda (furniture shop) which is at the entrance of the street. At first impression, the place is lovely and it seems to be a brilliant joint for brunch and chitchatting amongst friends. The ambient is friendly with decoration of wooden furniture in a seemingly retro style. The high ceiling coupling with long glass windows give such reviving and relax touch. Honestly, I do like the way sunshine glazing into the dining room, it makes photo capturing so natural. The al fresco can also be great here but fingers crossed in case of hot weather.

Quince Eatery and Bar on the day with Booza Wooza

simply relax ambient

I like the wooden table

In the middle of the hall, there is a bar which can probably accommodate around 8 guests. Again, I do like its classic look. Menu of Quince ranges from salads, to cannot-be-missed pasta variety, to classic beef steak, and even high end kurobuta pork and lamb shoulder. In brief, expect to see those menus in typical bistro joints but may be served in its own way. Menu is seemed to be adapted every now and then. For wine list, it does comprise of decent range and at just acceptable marking up.

the bar

classic flatware

bread to go with olive oil

For us, we happened to pop by this place because we were joining the Booza Wooza event which was organised at Quince Eatery and Bar. We only had quick starter and main course today. For starters, we had Albondigas, pork meatballs, spiced tomato sauce (5/10) and baked champignons, chorizo, manchego, leaves (4/10). These were menus by guest Chef Mario Hekke from Restaurant Sa Sal, Mallorca, Spain, which was visiting Quince from 17 to 25 January. We say they were just on average home cooking standard. We do not fancy these dishes at all. They seemed to be plain and flat and didn't get us excited. Meat ball tended to lack flavour and spice, whilst baked champignons tended to be too mild.

albondigas, pork meatballs, spiced tomato sauce (THB250)

baked champignons, chorizo, manchego, leaves (THB280)

We then had pasta for the mains. Spaghettini, blue swimmer crab, chili, garlic, tomato, basil (2/10) was not so impressed. Spaghettini was just soft and far away from what Italian call "al dente". The flavour of crab overwhelmed tomato and spices. We were not sure if it was meant to be like that. But we were sure not impressed. The other one was pappardelle, slow cooked duck, portabello mushroom ragu (2/10). You know what, I thought this was a Chinese stir-fry noodle dish when eating. Duck and mushroom did not seem to balance in this case. The overall picture was a bit soaked. At least, they get the pappardelle right texture for this one.

At the end, we both mutually agree that Quince is sure a restaurant with fabulous ambient but lack eagerness in culinary term. We would not called those pasta dishes, "pasta", and just off THB400 for a dish. You must be really funny. As for service, they were not excellent nor poor. Staffs might not be attentive even the place was less than half full but at least not too slow to service. The little tingy problem that annoyed us was a minor adjustment in price in the menu and no warning until we found out ourselves in the bill. Another wise, ok service.

But to go back for another experience, probably allowing us to skip would be kind. We do look for yummy food rather than just cool ambient.

spaghettini, blue swimmer crab, chili, garlic, tomato, basil (THB380)

pappardelle, slow cooked duck, portabello mushroom ragu (THB400)

Quince Eatery and Bar @ Soi Sukhumvit 45, Bangkok - ควินซ์ อีทเทอรี่ แอนด์ บาร์ @ ซอยสุขุมวิท 45 กรุงเทพฯ
Soi Sukhumvit 45
Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 11:30am - 01:00pm

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Maverick Restaurant and Bar @ Asoke 3, Bangkok

Cuisine: French
Price: THB700 per person (what we paid for)
Visited: 30 December 2013
Food: 7/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Value for money: 7/10
Services: 7/10

Maverick Restaurant and Bar at Soi Asoke 3 is another joint that I have just recently discovered, though it has started since early 2013. I kind of like the multi purpose character of Maverick: hanging out with friends, entertaining clients, dating, or even a family meal. The setting is more of casual like. There is a bar and a pastry counter right next to the entrance. The place is also spacious with capacity to hold more than 50 clients comfortably.

Maverick Restaurant and Bar at Ocean Tower 2


chill atmosphere

the open kitchen

lunch menu

Apart from decent French food that they serve, pricing is also not too excessive. I would like to draw a particular attention to weekday lunch menu which costs THB350 for 2 courses and THB450 for 3 courses. We think this menu is a really value for money. The beverage range is also fabulous for hanging out. Even the wine list is also splendid: reasonable mark up and rather wide choices of wine by glass.

bar and pastry corner

the bar

the pastry

wine by glass range

wine display

We popped by Maverick for lunch and decided to have 2 courses lunch. For starter, we had soup of roasted pepper, garlic croutons (7/10) and beetroot salmon, pickled beetroots and walnut salad (6/10). The soup was a pleasant one for me. But if you do not like pepper that much, this might not be the choice for you. It gave really strong aroma and scent of roasted pepper but with fine touch. As for beetroot salmon, it really was beetroot everywhere. Salmon was well marinated to give beetroot character. The colour of salmon was in fact red. It was served with chopped chives on top. Nevertheless, I felt a bit raw fishy scent from salmon though.

bread

soup of roasted peppers, garlic croutons

beetroot salmon, pickled beetroots and walnut salad

For the mains, there were grilled steak, herbed polenta, roasted tubers, Sangria red wine sauce (7/10) and beef bourguignon, smashed potatoes, braised pearl onions (6/10). Both were really nice, I have to admit. Beef was tender and well prepared. The grilled steak may be an ordinary dish but it was delicious. I love the herbed polenta which was fine and smooth. Beef bourguignon was also enjoyable to have with its rich flavour.

All in all, lunch set here was indeed splendid with value for money. A really good place to have a quick fine lunch and hanging with friends at night.

grilled steak, herbed polenta, roasted tubers, Sangria red wine sauce

beef bourguignon, smashed potatoes, braised pearl onions

Maverick Restaurant and Bar @ Asoke 3, Bangkok
Floor G Ocean Tower II
Soi Asoke 3 (Sukhumvit 21 Soi 3)
Khlong Toei Nuea, Wattana
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: Mon-Fri 08:00am - 11:00pm and Sat-Sun 05:00pm - 11:00pm (lunch from 11:30am to 03:00pm, dinner from 05:45pm to 10:30pm, and all day coffee and pastry)
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