Kobe Wine Beef at Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G - เนื้อโกเบไวน์ ร้านสการ์เลตต์ ไวน์บาร์แอนด์เรสเตอรองท์

Cuisine: International

Map: Kobe Wine Beef at Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G - เนื้อโกเบไวน์ ร้านสการ์เลตต์ ไวน์บาร์แอนด์เรสเตอรองท์

Charged Price: n.a.

Visited: 8 June 2016

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 8/10

Value for money: 5/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

It has been long since my very last visit to this wine bar, Scarlett. I, personally, admire the atmosphere of this place: the view of Bangkok is wonderful and the ambient is friendly. Food is as well decent and enjoyable. It is not those so-damn-good joint but nice enough to fulfill your casual Friday night with your party. If you like al fresco, they do have spaces for you too. Selection of food is varied from AOC cheese range to Iberico ham to classic pasta dishes and to everyone favourite steak cuts. By the way, their choice of wine and beverage is quite good as well, both in term of range and pricing. If you are to visit this 37th-floor-restaurant of Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, I would recommend advance booking to avoid disappointment.

Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G

entrance

wine pleaseeee!!!!

excellent wine bar atmosphere

This time we had been invited to try dishes made from Kobe Wine Beef which is available until June 30th 2016. Just a bit about Kobe Wine Beef. It is called Kobe Wine Beef because these cattles (Tajima Gyu) are fed with grapes pomace (marc) in addition to typical corns, oats, and wheat and are raised in Hyogo Prefecture. During the night, Takeshi Yamada, who is the guy behind these little good things, also presented the insight of his production himself. In my humble opinion, Kobe Wine Beef gives excellent texture as in other Japanese wagyu but with a little firmer texture and sweet juicy palate.

cheese selection

ham station

Kobe Wine Beef month

dry aged refrigerator

the crowd favourite

The very first one to arrive was not beef but it's something to boost appetite: Paleta Iberica de Bellota (6/10) (I think I heard it rightly, fingers crossed). It came along with pickles. I do like the texture of this iberico ham but the flavour was somewhat too salty to my liking. Then it came the first Kobe Wine Beef dish: Kobe Wine Beef Carpaccio, Imperial Caviar and Turnip Mousse (6/10) from rump. The flavour of this carpaccio was excellent and when combined with spiciness of the mousse and saltiness of carviar, it came out balance nicely. The bit that let this dish down was the choice of beef part in my opinion. The rump was the choice instead of tenderloin. Thus, it was a little chewy on the part connected with fat lines. Kobe Wine Beef Tartare with Soft Quail Boiled Egg (7/10) was next from the raw range. I, personally, particularly like this one. It brought out the natural flavour of Kobe Wine Beef in a lovely way. Tender and rich on the palate. The seasoning was not too sumptuous that it would overwhelm beef flavour. Nevertheless, the boiled egg did not keep up with the overall picture. I would prefer it raw in this case.

Paleta Iberica de Bellota (THB650 for 100 grams)

Kobe Wine Beef Carpaccio, Imperial Caviar and Turnip Mousse (THB660)

Kobe Wine Beef Tartare with Soft Quail Boiled Egg (THB680)

Next one was a disappointment in my view. It was Kobe Wine Beef Sate with Peanut Sauce (3/10) and this was the chuck part. When thinking of satay / sate, the very first 3 words that would pop up in my mind would be tenderness, spices, and peanut. Here it lacked tenderness. With beef, it simply has to be medium / medium-rare. When it is overcooked, it would utterly be chewy. As for flavour, beef flavour here seemed to play a bigger role than spices. Oh yes, the juicy fatty thing that ran out tasted wonderfully but it didn't answer the character of the dish. Lastly, the peanut sauce lacked texture and a bit too sweet. On the other hand, Kobe Wine Beef Burger (6/10) was rather nice. This came with red wine caramelised onions, roasted garlic aioli, Cheddar cheese, and served alongside truffle fries. Love the juiciness of the patty. Only problem for me for this burger would be the bun. It was too fluffy as though it was not the typical brioche, which should be soft and buttery. Otherwise, a nice one.

Kobe Wine Beef Sate with Peanut Sauce (THB990)

zooming kobe sate

Kobe Wine Beef Burger (THB1,100)

Shabu-style Kobe Wine Beef, Double Boiled Beef Consomme, Porcini, and Baby Roots (6/10) was next and it was made with rump. This looked definitely like Japanese but it didn't taste as expected. If I were asked whether this was nice. I would say enjoyable but confused. The flavour that exploded out extremely was mushroom and this overshadowed beef taste. Nevertheless, the texture of rump with this Japanese shabu style was lovely. As for the last one, it surely must be steak. Tasting beef without steak, there surely must be something wrong. For this case we fortunately had a chance to try Rib-eye Kobe Wine Beef Steak (7/10). Tender?, yes. Juicy?, yes. Full of rich flavour on the palate. The smokiness technique of the chef added another dimension of aroma. Nice one. Ones would not deny about deliciousness of this steak. For me, it would still be US beef as the top choice for steak. This type of beef gives too fattily tender kind of texture and exhibits too much oil. The part that would be just right for steak is perhaps tenderloin in my humble view. By the way, they have many choices of salt and pepper to go with steak. Excellent indeed.

All in all, it is a good experience if Kobe Beef is something you crave for. A good opportunity indeed to compare another type of Kobe Beef that has been fed somewhat differently from the standard one.

Shabu-style Kobe Wine Beef (THB720)

Rib-eye Kobe Wine Beef Steak (THB2,800 for 200 grams portion)

selection of salt and pepper

Kobe Wine Beef at Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant @ Pullman Bangkok Hotel G - เนื้อโกเบไวน์ ร้านสการ์เลตต์ ไวน์บาร์แอนด์เรสเตอรองท์

37th floor, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G
188 Thanon Silom Road
Bangrak
Bangkok 10500
Thailand

Open Hours: daily from 06:00pm - 01:00am

Tel: +66 (0) 2238 1991
Web: http://www.pullmanbangkokhotelg.com/restaurants-bars/scarlett-wine-bar-restaurant/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/scarlettwinebarbangkok/

Cantina Follie @ Tremezzo, Como, Italy

Cuisine: Wine Bar

Map: Cantina Follie @ Tremezzo, Como, Italy

Price: EUR18 per person (what we paid for)

Visited: 6 October 2014

Wine Range and Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value for money: 8/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Have you ever encountered a situation that you don't want much food but just a place to sip wine (and some bites of food) with friends while travelling or you just want to try different varieties of local wine? This is a kind of situation I have always encountered. If you are perhaps one of a kind and need to find a place for wine around Cadenabbia, Lake Como, here is one for you: Cantina Follie at Tremezzo.

Cantina Follie is tucked in a small alley in Tremezzo commune. It may just be a small little cave-like place but it is full of wine, Italian wine. The selection of wine here comes from many different commune in Italy, from North to South. There are also good selection of wine by glass: around 5 to 6 choices of red and white as well as a few choices of sparkling.

Cantina Follie @ Tremezzo, Como, Italy

nice and cosy wine bar

more wine

sparkling corner

As said, this is a place to enjoy sips of wine. Hence, food is just the secondary thing. I only ordered platter of hams and cheese (EUR10) to go along with wine. Nevertheless, Deadly Bunny also had Ghiottone Panini (EUR4), which was Parma ham, mozzarella, and tomato, just to taste and it was not bad at all. For wine, I had three from different regions: Trentino-Alto Adige, Valtellina, and Tuscany.

Trentino-Alto Adige - J. Hofstatter Mazon Riserva Pinot Nero 2010

Valtellina - Plozza Grumello Riserva DOCG 2009

Tuscany - Ruffino Urlo IGT 2006

Of the three, Hofstatter Mazon was not bad at all for its price for pinot noir. Plozza Grumello Riserva, on the other hand, impressed me with experience of nebbiolo out side Piedmont region. Lastly, Ruffino Urlo is a rare modern blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alicante, and Petit Verdot that showed a rather fascinating aroma. I wouldn't say it was excellent but pleasurable.

More or less, my evening at Cantina Follie did satisfy me enough. I would not hesitate to recommend this place to anyone around Cadenabbia at all. Cheers!!!!!!

tagliere misto di salumi e formaggi

J. Hofstatter Mazon Riserva Pinot Nero 2010 (EUR7)

Plozza Grumello Riserva DOCG 2009 (EUR4.5)

Ruffino Urlo IGT 2006 (EUR8)

in wine, there is truth

here is the name card

Cantina Follie @ Tremezzo, Como, Italy
14/16 Via Alessandro Volta
Tremezzo 22019
Como
Italy

Open Hours: daily except Tuesday 11:00am - 11:00pm

Tel: +39 0344 42311
Web: http://www.cantinafollie.it/

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

Cuisine: Italian

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

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

Tel: +66 (0) 2261 2056
Web: http://www.appia-bangkok.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/appiabkk

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

Cuisine: International / Pub / Cafe / Wine Bar

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

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

Tel: +66 (0) 2662 4478
Web: http://www.quincebangkok.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/quincebangkok

Maverick Restaurant and Bar @ Asoke 3, Bangkok

Cuisine: French

Map: Maverick Restaurant and Bar @ Asoke 3, Bangkok

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)

Tel: +66 (0) 2665 2772
Web: http://www.maverickbkk.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/maverickrestaurant