Bangkok: Din Tai Fung (ติง ไท่ ฟง)

I have been incredibly slow for this post since Tee has ordered published her version quite some time ago. My excuses are that I'm sick with cold since last week as the weather in Bangkok had cooled down a bit (but now hot again anyway - hence I'm still sick with the change of weather) and also that I'm lazy, I admit. Anyhow, I gotta tell you, having sore throat and blocked nose are not fun at all when it comes to food tasting.

Well, back to our entry. Me and Tee met up some time ago for our dine out date. I suggested Din Tai Fung as I was curious about their food and taste if it would be any difference from what I have tried in Singapore or KL.


While we were about to order stuff, their staff came to suggest this cold starter. I think it was spicy seaweed salad. We decided to give it a go. It was quite good actually but we bet nobody would order that if the staff wasn't around to recommend to clients.


I suggested we should order this spicy cucumber as my friend who used to study in Taipei said Din Tai Fung's spicy cucumber here is better than the one in Taiwan. It was cool and spicy, refreshing if you ask me. Though it seems to be too spicy for Tee so I guess it's not for those who aren't into spicy stuff.


We ordered the must of Din Tai Fung, xiao long bao. Truth to be told. The piece was so small and not as juicy as what I had in Crystal Jade. Same taste as in KL but the difference is the price. In KL for 6 pieces of xiao long bao are 9 ringgit or about Baht90 but in Bangkok, they are about Baht120 or 130 if I remember correctly. That's quite expensive.


Tee said a lot of people raved about their pork chop so we ordered that and it was really good. I really like it but come to think about the price to pay (Baht200something I think) - that's pricey.

Lastly, we ordered breasted beef noodle coz I really like this menu from KL's Din Tai Fung. It was about the same however the meat in KL was more tender.

If anyone ask, I would have to be honest and say I actually like Crystal Jade more since the menu is more variety and the taste of xiao long bao is more juicy. If I'm going to pay this much for food, I would have gone for something that suits my taste bud. I guess Din Tai Fung is not for me. Service was good anyhow, staff was very attentive.

Din Tai Fung (ติง ไท่ ฟง)
6th floor,
Central World

Bangkok: Grand San Yod (แกรนด์แสนยอด)

It's been a while since I last updated. To be honest, I have been pretty much glued to the news about the flood in Thailand. It has got to the point where it gets on my nerve now as I feel like we all are living in fear, whether the flood will hit Bangkok/our house or not.


Anyhow, on other notes, I went out to see my friends last week to pick up some stuffs at Central World so we decided to try new restaurant. Grand San Yod (แกรนด์แสนยอด) is not new restaurant but somehow we never set foot in. Their specialty is Chinese food which I was craving a bit.

We first ordered fried fish with chilli sauce. It was a good mixture of sweet, tangy and spicy taste. It would go so well with hot rice.

Their clay pot tofu was also good with seafood in it. It's very hearty dish - love the tofu!

I ordered Jelly fish salad when waitress asked if I wanted the Chinese style (with sesame oil) or Thai style (spicy sauce), I decided to go for Chinese and it wasn't disappointing. I feel the jelly fish is more chunky than the one at Crystal Jade. Taste wise is as good as Crystal Jade.

Overall, their food is good and definitely there will be next time for me.

Grand San Yod (แกรนด์แสนยอด)
6th Floor
Central World
Bangkok
BTS: Siam

Bangkok: Ruen Petch Restaurant (เรือนเพชร)

One of my best friends gave birth to beautiful baby girl last week. We all went to her house to visit the first baby of the our group. Her mother has nicknamed her "Pakkard" or lettuce since she was still in her tummy. I don't know if that has anything to do with the fact that food and beverage is their family business or that we are foodie persons! After the visit, we went to have some steamboat at Ruen Petch restaurant which wasn't far off from my friend's house.

Ruen Petch is actually long-history Chinese restaurant that famous for their Hainan style steamboat or we called "Suki" in Thai. I think they may be one of the first steamboat restaurant in Thailand, way before MK. So don't be surprised if you find that most customers are more like the grown-up and older generation. We ordered the usual meat and vegetables for the steamboat. They came on the same plate, topping with egg and peppers/garlic sauce which adding the heat to the pot.

everything in the pot!!!!

I had this before with my parents but it wasn't as good as what I had with my friends the other day. I don't know why. I'm sure the dipping sauce is the same. Maybe because of the large amount of meat and vegetable were in the pot so that made the soup taste nice? (Trust me, we ate A LOT)

On to the side dishses, we cannot complete a trip to steamboat without grilled duck and emerald noodle. It is always a must to order whenever and wherever we eat steamboat. Their duck was so so, I'd prefer MK's one more.

SZ ordered a small portion of clay pot rice. It looked and smelled incredibly yummy but taste wise was rather bland. I guess if you prefer natural neutral taste then this may suit your preference.

Kailan with oyster sauce was great. We need vegetable for healthy eating!

Now, on to probably the best dish ever from this place. Highly recommended to you all, it's called "Gai Ruen Petch" or Ruen Petch's chicken. It's fried chicken thigh with sweet red sauce on top and it was DE-LI-CIOUS!!!!! Just thinking about it makes me craving the chicken terribly now!

Ruen Petch is a good choice for steamboat though it may not be easily access unlike MK which has branches throughout the country. Ruen Petch has 3 branches but I only know two which the one I ate this time and the one on new Petchburi road just opposite the Amari Atrium Hotel.

Ruen Petch restaurant

Soi Pattanakarn 20

ฺBangkok

Bangkok: Garden Court at Chaophya Hotel

Yesterday was a national holiday here in Thailand as it was the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen and it was also a Mother's Day. My family was not an excecption from rest of Thai people who want to dine on special occasion. However, we were a bit slow to realise as we only thought about making reservation around 6 pm on 11th August! My mum is a big fan of 2 things; Grilled river prawns and Peking Duck. So we were discussed on what we should eat. I suggested Peking Duck since I was craving Chinese food. We phoned Rama Garden Hotel, where our fave Chinese restaurant located, first and got turned down as it was fully booked. We almost gave up when mum suggested we tried the one at Chaophya Hotel, our previous fave. Fortunately there were tables available so we reserved our seats and a Peking duck for lunch.

Har Gow, Shumai and steamed spareribs

When we got there, it was like a big banquet going on. They even had a map of tables so you would know where you sit. I realised then that we were really lucky to get table. We ordered some dim sum to eat as starters. I think shumai and har gow were oversteamed coz the flour sheets outside were too damp. The taste isn't bad though. As for the small spare ribs, it was very very yummy. I love it!


The hot and sour soup wasn't quite hitting me. It wasn't bad but not impressive. I used to love their hot and sour soup so much. I don't know if the taste has changed or I have tasted better soup somewhere else.

Stir fry fish with XO

We ordered deep fried shrimp with fruit salad and stir fry fish with XO sauce to eat. The salad was alright. Generally good, I would say. While the fish was very fresh and the sauce wasn't too overpowered the fish. It was nice to eat just by themselves without rice.


Finally, our Peking duck arrived. We were so disappointed with the flour sheets as they were so dry and hard. It should have been soft and bit moist. The flour sheets were also smaller than what we used to have. The duck skin was still as nice as before anyway. As for the hoisin sauce, it was okay, although I'd preferred Crystal Jade's more. We asked them to stir fry the duck meat but were too full to eat so we took that home. We had it this morning, mum said it was too bland but I actually like it. Usually I like my food salty and mum likes her more mellow, not too much. So it was weird to hear that we were going for opposite direction!

The food here might not be as awesome as before. It could be due to the over-crowded. But services were excellent. The waitresses who looked after my table were very attentive and nice. I don't think we will come back for Peking duck here again if our favourite choices are available.

Garden Court
1st Floor Chaophya Hotel
Ratchdapisek Road, Bangkok
Tel : 02 2900125 Ext. 7143, 7144
Website: http://www.chaophyapark.com/restaurant.asp?resid=2
MRT: Sutthisan
Open: Lunch 11.30 – 14.30 hrs. ; Dinner 18.00 – 22.30 hrs.



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Bangkok: Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao

As Buddhist lent day or Vassa is coming next week, me and friends decided to visit temple to do some praying and giving some goods for monks to use during the lent day. We visited Wat Prathum Wannaram, a peaceful temple in the busiest shopping district of Bangkok. Aside from general goods such a soap, umbrella etc. we are giving to monk, I bought light bulbs to give to the temple as well. I actually like this idea. The tradition of Thai is that in the past before Buddhist lent day everyone will dedicate big candles to temples so monks can use them during the rainy season. As time flies with electricity everywhere, it is more practical to dedicate light bulbs to temples additional from just candles. How thoughtful!


Anyhow, after doing good deeds, we decided to dine at our fave Chinese restaurant which we haven't dined for so long. It's "Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao" on underground floor of Erawan Shopping Complex. After waiting for some friends coming, we just ordered food like crazy.


We, of course, ordered Xiao Long Bao. Speaking from my point of view, I think Crystal Jade does better job than Ding Tai Fung. Or at least comparing with branches in Malaysia, anyway. In KL, I have tried both Crystal Jade and Ding Tai Fung and I'd prefer Crystal Jade as the soup is more juicy and I like moist thin flour sheet than the thick one of Ding Tai Fung. Too bad that Ding Tai Fung hasn't opened branch here in Bangkok yet. I would like to give them another chance before claiming that Crystal Jade wins this war.




We've ordered some fried vegetable in oyster sauce, chicken in szechuan sauce and jellyfish in sesame oil. N and I started persuaded everyone to agree on ordering deep fried duck instead of Peking duck that we usually go for. The deep fried duck comes with the sweet dark sauce, just like Peking duck, and the small soft bun. I love love the crispy duck skins from deep fried and the duck meat isn't too tough.


I ordered the corn soup with egg and dried scallop instead of my usual hot and sour soup. I seriously have a thing for soup with a trace of egg white. I think it's a perfect combination and this dish reminds me of good old days. When I was young when me and my family went on a trip to US, we usually ate at Chinese restaurant and they would served this soup at almost every meal. How nostalgic!


Some of us weren't still full so we orderd dumplings with braised beef in szechuan sauce to cheer. The beef was incredibly tender. The sauce isn't too hot, unlike its look and the dumplings were very juicy and meaty. If you like beef, I would recommend to everyone. After finishing our meal, we decided to complete the day by visiting Thao Maha Brahma Shrine, just outside Erawan Shopping Complex, to do some praying. I noticed that there are a lot of Chinese-speaking people visiting and praying there. Probably they have their wishes granted by Thao Maha Brahma before, that's why this has become one of tourist hotspots of Bangkok.

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Erawan Outlet - Lower Ground Floor Urban Kitchen Erawan Bangkok
Tel: 02 250 7988
Website: http://www.crystaljade.com/thailand.htm
BTS: Chid lom



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