Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 06-12-2010
Dean & Deluca, a deli from New York, have recently opened their first branch in Bangkok so I thought I’d go and check it out. Dean & Deluca Bangkok is located in the new Mahanakhon building right outside of Chong Nonsi BTS on Naradhiwas road (even number side).
The design is very modern and quite minimalistic with a high cling. The decor doesn’t really give the place a very warm and cosy feel and comes across as being more clinical than a Starbucks. There is one sofa area to sit on with the rest of the seating being hard plastic tables and chairs. There is also an outdoor searing area. We went to Dean & Deluca at lunch time on a public holiday and the place was packed with HiSo looking Thais and the odd upmarket farang which probably helped to give the place a bit of an atmosphere it might be lacking at less busy times.
The food on offer is deli-style with lots of different types or bread based snacks and a good range of salads and I even saw a Thai green curry there too. Its pretty hard to find a good sandwich in Bangkok and I was very pleased to see the array of sandwiches on offer. In the end I opted for the Meat Ciabatta and a banana shake.
As it was pretty busy in there the ordering system was a bit complicated with table numbers to collect and no one near the food on display to take your order. In the end someone came over to the crowd huddled around the sandwich display and took our orders on the customer side which we then passed onto the cashiers who we paid. Now were we supposed to go and sit down or wait for our food at the counter? In the end we took some of our food to sit-down (and our order number) and the rest was brought over. It was a little confusing to say the least. So far so Thai!
Once all our food had arrived I was pleased to discover it was all very nice although the ham in my ciabatta was a bit Thai rather than Western ham. Normally I wouldn’t order ham in Thailand as its quite different but I must’ve been confused by the Western décor of the place!
The food at Dean & Deluca Bangkok is pretty good value considering what it is and the bill for two drinks and two sandwiches came in at around 500 baht (£10). They also have UK newspapers too.
I’ll be going back at some point as I want to try the Greek salad and maybe the Beef and Horseradish sandwich.
Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 06-12-2010
Sambuca is an Italian restaurant in Bangkok, near Silom. The décor is pretty up market although not in the realms or Opus or Eat Me but still very nice and it’s clear you are in Thailand rather than Italy. This is reflected in the prices also as although it’s not cheap it’s not as expensive as the other two aforementioned Italian restaurants. A pizza is about 300-400 baht and a steak is no more than 800 baht. It is a ++ restaurant so make sure you factor this in when picking your dishes if you are on a budget! There is a good drinks menu which as the name suggests includes Sambucca, although the wine list does not come close to Opus or Eat Me.
The pizzas are cooked in a big oven which is on view from the restaurant so you can see the chef freshly preparing your pizza to order. They are stone backed and served in a thin crust and are pretty big. You can double the size of the pizzas to 40 cm but the standard ones are big enough!
A meal for two with non-alcoholic drinks came to about 1,800 baht so it’s not cheap but it’s not going to break the bank either and you could probably get away with sharing a pizza between two if you weren’t that hungry.
The service is really good and there was no trouble getting the attention of a waiter/waitress when we wanted to order dessert of check the bin. There is also outdoors seating with beer Sing on tap.
Sambucca is definitely worth a visit if you want something nice but a bit cheaper and more casual than the other high end Italian restaurants in the area.
The exact location off Sambuca in Bangkok is on Naradhiwas Soi 7 or Sathorn Soi 7 depending on which way you come. It is also within walking distance or a short motor-taxi ride from Chong Nonsi BTS on the Silom line.
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Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 06-12-2010
Opus is an Italian restaurant in Bangkok, near Silom. It also doubles up as wine bar and has a massive wine list. A few bottles are served by the glass but the majority comes by the bottle.
The menu is pretty big too with all the Italian classics present like pastas, pizzas, salads and steaks. The décor is very nice and posh and there are no clues that you are in Bangkok. It’s not cheap though but if you are looking for somewhere special then I definitely recommend it. The food and service were great and we will definitely be coming back when the occasion arises!
Opus Wine Bar and Restaurant is located on Thanon Pan which is off Silom road and close to Silom Soi 11. Thanon Pan is harder to pronounce than it looks and the Taxi driver didn’t know what I was trying to say until I said it more like Thanon Bun. The nearest BTS is Chong Nonsi but is probably too far to walk from there on a humid night so jump in a Taxi or on Motorbike from the station.
There is no dress code but you will probably feel more comfortable in a shirt or at least a smart t-shirt as the place is quite posh!
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Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 06-12-2010
Eat Me restaurant in Bangkok is located on Soi Pipat 2, just off Soi Convent which in turn is just off of Silom road. The nearest BTS is Sala Daeng although not really a walking distance away. Eat Me is open every day from 3pm to 1am with a full kitchen and bar until closing time.
Food is served on the first floor with a bar on the ground floor. The majority of the tables are inside and there is also outside terrace garden area with seating and overhead fans to keep you cool. Thanks to its 1am closing time you can come later in the evening when it is not as hot and dining outside becomes a bit more comfortable.
The menu at Eat Me, Bangkok, is described as ‘Modern International Regional’ and is quite varied with a good selection of French, Italian and Thai dishes. There is a good wine list with a few wines served by the glass and the rest by the bottle. Although different to Opus it is probably in the same league and our meal for two with one glass of wine came to around 5,000 baht.
The décor is sleek, modern and minimalist and has less of a wow factor than Opus although both are good in their own way. If you want to impress guests then I’d probably go for Opus over Eat Me but if you want something more contemporary and stylish then go for Eat Me.
Booking a table is recommended and was easy enough to do by phone (02 238 0931). There is no dress code but smarten up a bit to avoid feeling out of place (jeans and shirt).
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Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 21-11-2010
PM Abhisit at Bangkok British Fair 2009
This Saturday (27 November) is the annual Ploenchit Fair AKA the Bangkok British Fair. It is being held at Shrewsbury Internationl school again which is down by the river near Silom and easy to get to by the free boat service from Saphan Taksin BTS station. Just get on the free boat to the Chatrium residence and you will be at the school in a few minutes. There is also lots of parking at the school.
The fair is a good laugh with lots of Birtishness going on. Some might find it a bit much but if you want your yearly dose of pork pies, fish and chips and warm bitter then its worth going along. There is lots of stuff for kids with a large fun fair out on the playing fields and there will be a live band performing.
Last year the PM, Abhisit, opened the fair so it might be worth getting there early to see who is doing it this year. I think its about 100 baht to get in but is for a good cause.
Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 21-11-2010
This Friday (26 November 2010) is the 3rd Bangkok Fight Night at the Bangkok British Club. I’m told there will be about 10 fights on the night with fighters from around the world taking part. Quite a few of them are training at the Fighting Spirit Muay Thai gym in Silom, Bangkok and there is a mixture of Thais and farang fighting on the night.
Tickets start at 800 baht and there is an optional sit down meal on the night too.
There is also the Ploenchit Fair AKA the British Fair the following day at the Shrewsbury International School down by the river near Silom. So if you are feeling home sick or want a thoroughly British weekend then this one’s for you!
Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 14-11-2010
I love Thai food but can’t eat it 24/7. I probably ate Thai food for most meals when I first came out to Bangkok but after a year or so out here I eat more Western food alongside the Thai dishes. Back home I used to love cooking a Sunday roast for my friends or going down the pub for one. In Bangkok cooking a roast dinner is not really practical due to the expense and the hassle of finding all the required components.
But thankfully there are lots of places in Bangkok that offer a Sunday Lunch. Some do an all you can eat carvery and others do a standard meal. Out of the many pubs in Bangkok that serve a Sunday Roast I’ve only been to two but both have been very good. The pubs I have been to that do a Roast Dinner are Molly Malone’s on soi Convent, just off Silom road near Sala Daeng BTS and the Londoner Brew Pub on Sukhumvit soi 33 near Phrom Pong BTS (opposite the Emporium mall).
Both pubs serve the main Sunday Roast staples which include:
- Meats: Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb & Ham
- Potatoes: Roast & Mashed
- Veg: assorted veg including carrots, peas and cauliflower
- Cauliflower Cheese
- Yorkshire Puddings
- A full range of Sauces and Gravy
- Dessert
- Soup & Bread
As well as all this The Londoner also does a big range of salad, fish and cheese and crackers for afters.
Although The Londoner does have a bigger selection including lots of dessert options my award of the best Roast Dinner in Bangkok goes to Molly Malone’s in Silom. There meat is nicer and for me that is the corner stone of a good Sunday Lunch: nice meat!
Although both pubs are mock Irish/Ye Olde English pubs the atmosphere in Molly’s is a bit better although if you can get a booth in The Londoner it is probaby more comfortable.
There is not much to separate these two Bangkok Sunday Lunches and they both cost between 400 and 500 baht so I recommend you try them both out and decide for yourself.
If you know of any other good pubs in Bangkok that do a Sunday Lunch please leave a comment and I will check them out!
Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 16-09-2010
Seeing as Thailand is the home of Muay Thai and Bangkok is the capital of Thailand you’d be forgiven for thinking the place would be over run with Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing gyms. But from my experience in the city this is not quite the case. But if you are looking to train in Muay Thai in Bangkok there are a few decent options available to you.
- Boxer Rebellion. This place offers much more than just Muay Thai so it is a good place to go if you want to combine fighting styles or try out a few other disciplines. They also do Western or normal boxing classes here too. Boxer Rebellion, Bangkok, is found in a tower block on one of the streets coming off of Sukhumvit: soi 13 to be precise. They have taken over a few offices on one of the floors which have been converted into gyms with padded floors and all the relevant equipment such as punching bags and pads. Classes run from the afternoon into the evening during the week and on Saturday afternoons and the nearest BTS is Nana on the Sukhumvit line. When I went the instructor was farang and the small class learning Muay Thai were also farang.
http://boxer-rebellion.net/index.php
- Bangkok Fight Club. Like Boxer Rebellion the Bangkok Fight Club Muay Thai gym is also on Sukhumvit but a bit further up on Sukhumvit soi 55 AKA soi Thong Lor and the nearest BTS is Thong Lor. The Bangkok Fight Club also offers classes in MMA and BBJ so you can combine styles and like Boxer Rebellion the gym is located in a tower block with one of the suites turned into a fighting gym. Classes start at 6.30pm throughout the week. When I dropped by the teacher of the Muay Thai class was a Thai fella and the class was a mixture of farang men and women with a few Thais there too.
http://www.bangkokfightclub.com/
- Fighting Spirit Gym. This place is different to Boxer Rebellion and the Fight Club in that it offers accommodation and is outside rather than in an office block. Due to its location it is much bigger and has a full size ring as well as fitness equipment and free weights. You can either chose to stay at the gym or just come for a workout on a drop in basis. When I popped by for a look around I found out the place is run by an Aussie guy and has three Thai trainers on the staff to put you through your paces. Despite being outdoors it doesn’t get unbearably hot during a workout as you might expect in Bangkok and there are showers and changing facilities there for you to use. Fighting Spirit is location on Silom road between soi 9 and soi 11 and the nearest BTS is probably Sala Daeng or Chong Nonsi.
http://www.fightingspiritgym.com/
Some of the Fitness First gyms and California Wow fitness centres around Bangkok also offer Muay Thai classes but I haven’t been able to check any of these out yet. There is also a Muay Thai place near Khao San road called Vorapin Gym Muay Thai School which is popular.
If you know of any more places to train in Muay Thai in Bangkok let me know.
Filed Under (Bangkok, Cambodia) by Farang on 23-08-2010
Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and one of the places I have visited recently on my travels. Whenever I go to a city in South East Asia I always, rightly or wrongly, compare it to Bangkok which has been my home for the last year.
Most of the cities I had been to before Cambodia put Bangkok in the shade but I think Phnom Penh was the first one that made me realise Bangkok isn’t all bad!
I do like Bangkok but it has a lot of bad points, mainly the layout and planning of the city and the lack of outdoor space.
People moan about the state of the pavements in Bangkok but after Phnom Penh they are a relative luxury. Phnom Penh had a seedy vibe to it that Bangkok doesn’t seem to have despite its infamous red-light areas and dubious massages parlours found all over the city. Phnom Penh didn’t seem to have anything like the open sex-trade of Bangkok but there was an air of deviance down nearly every street.
The poor parts of Phnom Penh seem to cover the majority of the city but turn a corner and it is not uncommon to find yourself on a street of walled mansions with security guards manning the gates. When it came to cars and traffic in general most of the population of Phnom Penh made do with old scooters and clapped out cars but there were a significant number of high end Range Rovers and other imported cars on the road which probably cost a few years slaries to the average Phnom Penh citizen.
The main shopping mall in Phnom Penh was a sorry affair that didn’t realy have any western brands in and I didn’t see a a Starbucks or McDonalds on the streets of Phnom Penh. I guess the poverty levels here makes it not worth investing in for the time being.
So Bangkok wins the day for me. It might be noisy, smelly and dirty but it is pretty easy a city to live in with many of the creature comforts from home plus with lots of the local culture still intact.
Filed Under (Bangkok) by Farang on 23-08-2010
Today I woke in Bangkok for the first time for a while after about seven weeks of holidaying. I didn’t bother putting the air-con in the bedroom on last night before bed as I thought the fan would suffice but woke up at about 4am covered in sweat and feeling like I’d been trapped in a green house all night (note to self: always leave the air-con on at night).
When I finally woke up proper I got ready and then went out for some lunch. I’m not sure if it was the jetlag or being back in the humidity of Bangkok or just being in unfamiliar surroundings again but I felt a bit strange walking to the shops. After being in England for a few weeks, being the only non-Thai person and hearing everyone speaking Thai felt quite strange. I’m sure I will get used to it again in a couple of days but I did feel quite out of place. No one was staring at me but I did get a few looks and definitely felt like I was in a strange land. A bit like how I felt when I first moved out here a year ago.
