| It’s amazing how the world has discovered Thai food. In Los Angeles recently I met with friends and the first thing they wanted to do was taking me to a Thai restaurant for dinner. They were so proud and boasted L.A. has 253 listed Thai restaurants.
That being the case, imagine Bangkok. Visitors who come to the City of Angels go wild with the number of restaurants available here, not counting the endless food stalls and open-air eateries—all with good food.
But there’s another side to dine in Bangkok. Being the cosmopolitan city that it is, and the capital of the country, embassies from every country around the world are represented. What results are ethnic restaurants that spring up representing these countries and many with the strangest, and often exciting, native cuisines. For those of us who live in Bangkok, dining out can be an adventure. Even for visitors.
In the last month, for example, my wife and I, with friends, explored four restaurants: Lebanese, Mexican, Vietnamese and Filipino. The Lebanese restaurant was my friend’s choice. I was sure I wouldn’t like it. Before the present conflict in the Middle East I had spent some time in Beirut while making a motor trip around the world, which I wrote about in my book Who Needs a Road. Although I liked the city, I didn’t think much of the food. The Cedar in Bangkok came as an unexpected surprise. It was excellent. We started with the house favorite Cedar beer, served in a tall glass and an appetizer plate of garlic dip and pita bread. What followed was a feast fit for a Bedouin chief. Racks of lamb seasoned with sprigs of rosemary, clay oven roasted chicken and a steaming pot of couscous and all that arrived at our table by a waiter wearing a fez hat and sequined slippers. After that night, I changed my mind about Lebanese food.
We all agreed on La Fiesta, a Mexican restaurant. The owner, hostess Patty, greeted us with two pitchers of Margaritas. Who wouldn’t like the place? Patty is a remarkable Thai lady. Six years ago she opened the restaurant which she designed herself. A Thai designing a Mexican restaurant and cooking Mexican food? Unusual but not in her case. She fell in love with everything Mexican when she visited Acapulco and now each year she travels to Mexico to collect new recipes. She researches her food and imports all her spices from America. “I even used to import all my dishes from Mexico,” she said. “But with my staff breaking things, I found I could buy exactly what I need at the Sunday market.”
Patty has 17 employees and supervises everything that goes on. Divorced, with a daughter in her 20s, she jokes that she is still married—to La Fiesta, that is. “I’m single,” she adds, “but not available.”
We made one mistake. Before we downed our first Margarita, waiters in their Mexican dress filled the table with plates of delicious entradas (appetizers in Spanish), or what we thought were appetizers, and began gobbling them down including Patty’s imported jalapeno chilis. To our chagrin, when the waiters brought the corn tortillas, we learned that the entradas were actually fillings for the tortillas. A couple more Margaritas and it didn’t matter.
Dish after dish arrived, served with chilled Sangria wine with fresh fruit. Lots of beef and fish. The refried beans were superb—Patty calls it her secret recipe—but she does admit she cooks the beans for two days. Some of the dishes do have a Thai flavor. The garlic taste gives them away. The big question that came up: which are hotter, Mexican chilies or Thai chilies? It’s a question without an answer. Patty settled it by saying: “They are different, and that’s all that matters.” I guess she’s right. They are different.
The dessert was ordinary, but the piece de resistance was the coffee, Patty insisted on brewing it herself. It was sensational. Served in a stemmed glass, she made it from Kahlua with lumps of brown sugar added. It was so powerful I couldn’t sleep for two nights.
La Fiesta has an ideal location on the corner of Patpong and Silom Roads. Before Patty bought it, it was a Wendy’s. There’s live music every night at 9:00 P.M. and the bottle of Mescal, that the waiter puts on your table, has a worm at the bottom of the bottle. That shouldn’t be a concern for, if you’ve finished the bottle, you won’t remember the worm.
One would imagine, with all the Filipino workers in Bangkok, that there would be a dearth of Filipino restaurants. There’s only one of note and that’s Joe’s Place. Joe’s Place is owned and operated by Joe and Amy Sriwarin. Joe is Thai and Amy - Filipino. Joe has put his expertise as a gourmet food and wine critic and world traveller to good use. Together, Joe and Amy have made Filipino food taste better than any I had when I was in the Philippines. The house special is crispy pata, fried pork knuckle. Four plates arrived, each with a knife stuck in the top. But, that was just one of a dozen dishes served personally by Amy. Fresh milkfish was a favorite of all. But there were so many other dishes representing various regions of Philippines that we soon lost track of what we were eating and where it originated. One thing that we were sure of, Joe and Amy have done a splendid job in making Joe’s Place a great escape for all Filipinos and those who love Filipino cuisine.
Like with Vietnamese food, I did not think I would care much for Vietnamese cuisine but my wife was keen on it. I covered the war in Vietnam as a correspondent and the only places we ever ate were at military mess halls or in the clubs on the roofs of all the big hotels. And that was mostly hamburgers downed with American 3.5% beer. We were all surprised when we stepped into La Dalat Indochine. Unlike with Mexican and Filipino, with the Vietnamese, if we are to judge all restaurants by La Dalat, presentation is the key. From the flowers to the décor, there is harmony that catches your eye the moment you step through the front door.
The very name Indochine conjures up images of a long forgotten era when French influence was a factor in Southeast Asia. The French ruled not only Vietnam but Cambodia and Laos as well. Little is left of Indochine today except for the memories of a time of romance and war, splendor and betrayal, death and honor. We were fortunate to meet Laurence Dauplay, the owner of La Dalat Indochine, in the Lotus Bleau bar at the entrance. She has remembered well the past era as both her father and grandfather were part of that past. The walls of the bar and all the rooms, there are many, covered with black-and-white photos of bygone days. She points to her grandfather, posing in a solar topee and holding a rifle, taken during a traditional tiger hunt. Others are of family members.
Laurence takes great pride in her restaurant and she insists when you dine at Le Dalat.The dishes must be as beautiful as they are delicious. And what a menu! Hue flute, the house special, has crabmeat mixed with herbs rolled delicately in a thin wafer and fried. Or Goi Zen, young crisp lotus roots tossed with pork and prawn. There’s Chagio tom, a local version of spring roll, Vietnamese style. The banana flambé is doused with Martinique rum which is then set on fire. I never had anything like it when I was in Vietnam. But then I wasn’t there in the colonial days. But after one meal at La Dalat I can imagine what it must have been like.
The guidebooks show that there are 114 embassies and legations in Bangkok, meaning there are a lot of restaurants to visit, and all are exciting. That’s Bangkok where the food is as exciting as the scenery.
Next Week I will show readers they don’t have to travel to Angkor Wat to see Khmer temples. Thailand has dozens of Khmer sites.
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Drinking and dining have been man’s delight for
centuries
What a delightful way to start a meal
Service with a smile in Thailand
Here’s a happy dinner, Michelle Stephens
Luxury aboard dinner cruises
Presentation is important in hotel restaurants
Even barbecues in style
Thailand has the best fruit in Asia
Wines are both local and imported
Stephens admires the decor
Coffee brewed and served at its best
Lunch setting at Baan Khanitha
A classical Thai restaurant at the Oriental Hotel
Ready to serve you at the Sala, Oriental Hotel
Buffet lunch, sit down dinner at The Sala
Next week we look for Angkor Wat in Thailand
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