I don’t think it is only me who has become a bit lazy when it comes to visiting restaurants that are not exactly in my own area. If you live in the Sukhumvit area, you prefer to stay there and I assume it is the same for people living in other areas, mostly due to travel time.
Living in Bangkok is to live among a mixture of everything. You have been living here maybe for many years, but every morning you wake up, the city has changed in one or another way.
You walk the streets you think you know well, but suddenly you wonder, am I on the right street/soi?
Buildings are taken down rapidly and new buildings are built, also quickly, but maybe not exactly as rapidly as the ones that are gone.
Amarin Plaza at Chidlom has since many years been a well-known shopping mall. Now it has been taken over and totally rebuilt by the sophisticated Gaysorn Mall.
You hardly recognize it anymore.
It has always been reachable from the BTS station Chidlom, but today it looks completely different, very exclusive from when you walk from the skywalk until you get inside the mall.
I have had my facials done at Khun Tee for many years. She is working next to Absolut Yoga on the 11th floor of Amarin Plaza. When I was going to pay her a visit last time, I wandered about for many minutes, before I found the right lift. The mall has gone through a complete change. I had problems finding my way, but with time I will manage.
I must admit it is very beautiful today and the first Louis Vuitton restaurant has opened up on the second floor. Here the Indian Chef, Gagan Annan, is stirring the pots, or at least, overlooking his staff stirring them. On the ground floor Louis Vuitton has also opened a very chic patisserie, Le Café Louis Vuitton, a shop and museum.
In 1854, this legendary label saw the daylight in Paris. “Gagan at Louis Vuitton” is the brand’s first restaurant in Southeast Asia.
When you go for dining there, you should preferably get dressed in Louis Vuitton and carry the outstanding handbag. It’s all about prestige……to see and be seen.
For many local restaurants, time is hard. The choice of restaurants is huge and you will find all famous kitchens here.
One of my absolute favorite Italian restaurants for many years, ABOUT EATERY, has also gone through a change. Now it is named AL GATTO NERO (the black cat) and the former upscaled dishes might be a little more adjusted when it comes to prices. Today e.g., you can order a pizza, which wasn’t possible before.
“We will keep the high standard of our products, but try to make more easy-going dishes that will suit the wallet of the office people working in our area” the owner Guilio Savarino explains. I don’t doubt it. This man knows food and especially wines.
This Italian restaurant is just around my corner on Sukhumvit soi 21 Ocean Tower.
When I was invited to see the newly decorated restaurant and explore the new menu, I immediately felt, by stepping inside, that cozy Trattoria atmosphere. I was spoiled, not only with food. Started with a favorite of mine, a Vitello Tonnato, to be followed by a Roman style pizza that I had the pleasure to share with Guilio and I also got a lesson about Champagne and Vintage wines.
I’m sure, many with me, are eager to learn more about Champagne and old wines and how to treat and drink them in a correct way. The Chef is Signor Lorenzo, a shy man who wants to stay in the background. I couldn’t take a photo of him not even with my warmest smile and lots of begging.
Seminars by Giulio Saverino is the answer if you wish to find out more about wine and Champagne.
I must admit, I very much enjoy going there as Giulio is always present and takes his time to greet and chat with you. You must agree, it’s a nice feeling when you enter a restaurant and the owner, Chef and staff greet you by your name.
I – and not only me – have become a bit lazy when it comes to visiting restaurants that are not exactly in my own area. Sometimes I say to myself, “do I really need to go to Sathorn or the river for a nice meal, when there are so many restaurants nearby?”
I think if you live in the Sukhumvit area, you prefer to stay there and the same for other areas I assume, mostly due to travel time. We are getting more and more like the English people, if you live in Chelsea or Mayfair, Knightsbridge or Notting Hill, you stay mostly faithful to your area.
Recently I have had my first Korean fine dining. When I think about Korean food it’s mostly think Korean BBQ and Kimchi. But this was at restaurant YANG at The Old England Students Association, 1938 Phetchaburi Road.
Here, you can enjoy 24 years old Chef Jordan, creating contemporary, great Korean food. I had the pleasure to be invited to the Grand Opening, of course as I cover for ScandAsia, and to try a 12 dishes menu together with H.E. Ambassador Park Yongmin and his lovely spouse, the Bangkok Post journalist Khun Vorranunt Songjaroen and H.I.R.H H.E. Duke Prince Maharaja Datuk Dr. Jesunvah Choo/Zhu Kingdom of Malaysia and his wife, the singing Princess, educated at the famous school, The Juilliard School of New York. Such an interesting, young couple.
We were served 12 dishes, beautifully presented, accompanied by great wines. Chef Jordan, a very humble, young man, but still with a lot of experience, is now putting the Korean cuisine on the map. I do wish him and his team all the best.
Since the EmSphere mall on Sukhumvit opened up, we have a huge choice of restaurants and coffee shops under the same roof.
I recently had lunch with a friend at Gordon Ramsay’s “BREAD Street Kitchen & Bar” at EmSphere. We were greeted as VIP’s and the food was absolutely delicious. The service was very polite and efficient and to our big surprise, we were offered a great dessert for free. It’s the small gestures that matter so much in life, isn’t it?
I could talk about food and wine for hours, as it is one of my biggest interests.
As wonderful as it is to go out for lunch or dinner, I still also very much enjoy cooking at home, sipping on a glass of wine and eating by myself.
It’s when you have the pleasure of doing both, you are the happiest!
