Best restaurants in Bangkok?

[Snick]

(JaiDee @ Jul. 30 2008,11:45) I lived on soi 39  Suk for a winter a few years back ..... around the corner, which somehow became soi 49 right away, there is an amazing Japanese restaurant;  Lord knows the name, Snick may know as he has been there a few times, Monkeyman as well,  and myself I have taken at least 10 different people there and walked over probably once a week that winter.

  Snick, help please...... that is easily the best Japanese place I have ever been in any country, even Japan ... and much cheaper!

  DO check this place out, a table of 4 people can eat well and sample 15 different dishes for peanuts

Soi 49, walk down the Soi from sukhemvit it will be on your left, if you reach a little shopping area with a Starbucks and Baskin-Robbins then you have gone too far, turn around and walk 100 feet back towards Sukhemvit.

Sorry, thats the best I can do for directions.

But as JaiDee said, its really good - and (I think) not as pricey as the Thong Lor ones I mentioned

ps. Not sure if they have the Wagu/Kobe Beef or not. The places I mentioned do have it

[jo712]

Hi, for pizza Basilico is ok very good but if you want eating a good italian dinner for me one of the best in Bangkok is Da Gianni located in 34/1 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Road
Bangkok 10330
Tel 0-2252 1619 very very good

[perth_couple]

(seamus @ Apr. 17 2008,02:56) Thai food is OK ,but Indonesian food rocks. So if you like your food with a kick, Bali indonesian 15/3 Soi Ruam Rudi Phloenchit road. Not the best Indo food in the world, but good enough, rendang was good as was the gado gado & they have wot I would call Padang on a plate, very nice & only a 5 minute walk from Guess bar,if i have the address right LOL
Glen & Nat, will take you there next time I'm over !

Seamus

Hey Seamus,

Yeah we got take away from there last time we were in BKK, got the nasi kuning or maybe nasi gurih (sorry for the spelling).. Wasnt too bad but then again, we get such excellent Indo food in Aus.. at around the same price so it wasnt really fair to the local contender..

Would definately go back though...

[Otho]

About Japanese food - there are a few places called Oishi, part of a chain, around BKK. They're excellent. I've been to a few but usually go to the one on Soi 50, Thong Lor. The girls love it! It has a complicated (well, complicated to this dumb farang) all you can eat deal, with the price varying according to what time you arrive - it goes up and down by the hour, according to popularity. But whatever time you come, it's good value and truly excellent sushi, sashimi, tappanyaki and lots of other stuff, all made fresh and put out on the counters every few minutes. Just help yourself - and go hungry!

I don't think they do wagyu (more of that in a minute) at the Soi 50 place, but apparently there's a deluxe Oishi in the Siam Centre, which is sure to.

About wagyu - as part of my job, I research and write about food quite a lot and I did a piece about this just the other week. If you're a non-foodie, please feel free to skip through this next bit!

Wa-gyu translates, literally and simply, as 'Japanese cow'. So it's really a generic term. Lots of wa-gyu is reared in Australia now and that's where lots of Japanese restaurants around the world import it from. Even top class Japanese restaurants in cities like London or New York will serve Australian sourced wa-gyu without a qualm - and without feeling any need to advertise where it came from.

Its prime characteristic is its marbling, with strains of fat coursing through the sinew of the meat. This calls for a very different cooking style than you might use for other steaks. You need a smoking, smoking hot pan and a lightning hot sear on both sides, so the surface is crisped but the inside stays moist. There's not much opportunity (or point) in asking for it rare, medium, well done or whatever, as there's really only one way to do it.

Kobe is a form of wa-gyu, from (surprisingly) the Kobe region of Japan. The legendary stories about kobe cattle being fed on beer and getting regular massages are true, by and large. But there's a bit of clever PR spin there, as it makes them sound like they're the most pampered, delectable beasts. When really (like most food production) it's down to economics.

Feeding them beer is just a very cheap, simple and cost effective way to fatten them. And because Japanese land is insanely expensive, the farmers have to keep a lot of cattle in a very confined space - not quite like battery chickens, but certainly heading in that direction. As a result, the cattle don't get much chance to move around freely, which they need to do in order to develop their meat. So it's actually necessary to massage them, to compensate for their lack of movement.

[marshal]

Cheers snick and jaidee, i'll have a seach online. I found a place the other day selling kobe for 20b a gram. When i find the place online i'll post the name here and see if you guys have eaten there!
cheers

[marshal]

Cheers otho, if you don't mind i'll pm you soon!

[Otho]

Sure mate. I'll be glad to swap notes.

[JaiDee]

(Otho @ Jul. 31 2008,05:05) About Japanese food - there are a few places called Oishi, part of a chain, around BKK.

been to a few of these and yes, always good

Japanese food is great!  it's just not the same in the states, BKK has a large ex-pat community there and they want authenticity and get it.

    all the girls at my fav place on 49 speak fluent JP and Thai, as well as english and it makes the place feel like you are in Tokyo

    Took Eye to an Oishi once, about 2 weeks after she had her tits put in......funny as hell, there was some famous Thai soap opera star in there who everyone knew about, she was sitting across from us at the counter about 4 or 5 feet away, pretty sexy too.    Eye was showing me her new tits, {if you know her, you would know this is not at all abnormal behaviour for this eccentric and cool ladyboy} I mean just pulling her top down to her belly, and the famous chick across from us is looking at us now with her boyfriend with this "WTF" expression.   Eye says "how you like 'em" and I am laughing and nodding and saying "ya, they look OK to me" ..... and by now the counter waitress is over there also, straight-faced and checking them out all over as Eye proudly holds her shirt down, ready to give her honest assessment as well;  "ya, they look pretty good to me also"  as if this type of behaviour is normal and every day-like. This lasted about 5 minutes and everyone around got a glimpse at her new rack.


      Classic..... how often do you go out with a ladyboy and she gets more attention than some famous TV personality?

[reflections]

Jaidee is that girl in your avatar really your wife or girlfriend?

[JaiDee]

yup

[Snick]

(Otho @ Jul. 31 2008,05:05) About Japanese food - there are a few places called Oishi, part of a chain, around BKK. They're excellent. I've been to a few but usually go to the one on Soi 50, Thong Lor.

Thong Lor is the same as Sukhemvit Soi 55. It is a major cross street and has its own side sois. The Oishi is on Thong Lor Soi 10 (i.e. Sukhemvit Soi 55, Soi 10).

Its a buffet and very good, I ate there last week. But the beef is 'normal', you will not find Kobe or any other kind of premium steak.

[Otho]

Hi, Snick. You're quite right, it's soi 55, not 50. Thanks for the correction - it might save someone a wasted journey.

And as you say, it's just regular beef (although none the worse for that) but I'd guess that the deluxe version of Oishi which I seem to remember is in the Siam Centre (but again I could be wrong about that) would serve the premium kind. Anyone know?

It's not just hype about wagyu and kobe beef. It is worth seeking out for a special treat once in a while, as it tastes markedly different to the usual.

[marshal]

Waguya and Kobe are the only cuts of beef that propably live up to the expression "melts in your mouth"
People use this expression quite loosely when describing a steak, these cattle are the real deal!!
Worth trying if only once in your life time.

[reflections]

any other great Thai restaurants in BKK that are cheap and great food and I can eat there alone without looking like a dork like I do when I eat at the Royal High End Thai restaurants? I dont like bringing the ladyboys or gg hookers out to eat because why?

[El_hefe]

Well there's Suda which is near the Sheraton Grande but around a corner a bit on soi 14, haven't been there for a while but it was a cheap locals place.

BTW I read the Johnny Apple's NYT article when it came out & for the life of me couldn't find the Polo Fried chicken place, anyone have the exact directions/location?