August 31, 2005

Bei Otto: German pub in Soi 20

Bei Otto
Soi 20 Sukhumvit Road
Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02 262 0892
Webiste

As is often pointed out these days, Italian is the most popular foreign cuisine in Thailand simply because it a light style designed for a hot climate. So by that yardstick, German cuisine should be the least popular. Mention German cooking and most people think of sauerkraut, sausages and pig. And despite that, there are several good German restaurants in Bangkok and they are not just patronised by those with a yearning for home cooking.
Bei Otto is probably the best know German eatery and I have been there a few times but never really got enthusiastic about it, mainly I now realise, because I have been there at the wrong time - in the afternoon. But this time it was eight in the evening when I trundled into this German pub. It was full. There was a good crowd sitting at the bar and when we walked round to the back dining room, there were only a couple of tables left. I am a pub man and this felt like a good, friendly boozer. The idea of the pub is exported round the world as Irish or English and we therefore rather forget that the Germans also have some very good pubs. The main difference between them being the time taken to pour a beer. We English like our beer now, whereas the Germans like theirs poured slowly and generally pampered!
The Bei Otto dining room is gently faded with many antler heads on display from animals that went to the great stomach in the sky many, many moons ago. The menu is roughly what one would expect with a small starter section, as well as soups, plenty of sausage, fish including trout and herrings, classic dishes featuring sauerkraut, and a variety of schnitzels described as Germany's favourite dish. Well it is certainly not the wurst.
For starters I had three varieties of German liver sausage and I put On onto the deep fried Camembert with cranberry sauce. Liver sausage may not be gourmet food, but I enjoyed mine as it was something I have not had for a long time and the deep fried Camembert went down very well. As a main, I could not resist the Bavarian pork knuckle but took sympathy on the smaller size of my companion and ordered a portion of suckling pig - (a special) for her! Well my knuckle was exactly what I expected. A vast portion with super crackling and a dumpling and sauerkraut. I have had it more moist to be sure, but then it has been cooked to order and clearly that can not happen here unless you want a very long wait. The suckling pig was, as one would expect, very succulent and much appreciated. For dessert I was tempted by the fresh rhubarb cake. It was okay but not really what I was expecting.
All in all a very pleasant meal it what can only be described as a pub; and at that standard the food was more than acceptable. Writing this has got me drooling over that knuckle and I want to go back tonight! Peasant food will do me very nicely, sometimes!
Just to clarify a point. There is both a pub and restaurant section to Bei Otto. I was in the pub.

Posted by Sam at 2:46 PM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2005

Le Dalat: Vietnamese cuisine in soi 23

Le Dalat
47/1 Sukhumvit Soi 23
Tel:02 260 1849

I have heard many good things about this place over the years, but have never somehow got round to trying it out. It was a birthday I could not ignore, and since it was not mine, I did not think a six-course gastro treat would be appreciated so I ended up at Le Dalat.

It was a Wednesday and I never thought of booking. In the end we were okay but had to wait fifteen minutes for a table, although soon after there seemed to be plenty of room. So it looks like there is an early rush and the second sitting is around 8.30. The location is in an old house with the dining room split as per the original rooms. The décor is a mass of old pictures and objets going back to the Colonial glory days of Viet Nam.
The appetizers on the menu are mainly different spring rolls. I was once again in a Vietnamese restaurant wishing they had a mixed starter plate, but now I had to try my hand and got in (luckily) very right. I ordered two spring rolls - one fried and one described as ‘fresh’. The first item to arrive was two plates of greens - one lettuce and one herbs. Within the lettuce plate there were a few pickles including some sweet pickled onions. The first real dish to arrive was the fresh spring rolls. They were described as thinly sliced minced pork with herbs and annamese condiments. They were unsullied with cooking and were light and aromatic. Not what I expected at all, when I ordered spring rolls. Next up came something that was exactly what I expected when I ordered spring rolls, fried and filled with minced pork, prawn and crab meat. I enjoyed them both.
As I was uncertain about the starters, we waited until we finished them before ordering mains. We had watched a large crab appear on the next table and that is what On wanted. It was described, we were told, as fresh sea crab fried in our infused sweet and sour tamarind sauce. Obviously Le Dalat has a good supply of large crabs and it was devoured with enthusiasm. I had the mutton curry cooked with Malabar spices. This came with baguette or rice. I found this curry fairly uninteresting and it was nowhere near hot - in truth rather bland, whereas the crab claw I purloined was first rate.
For finals, we had apple and banana fritters which were suitable flambéed at the table.
I had started with a very pleasant bottle of Gewurztraminer from Alsace which went so well with this food I wanted a repeat, but they did not have one. So I had a bottle of Aussie Gewurztraminer Riesling which was marginally too sweet.
On the whole, a very good meal in very pleasant surroundings which the birthday girl enjoyed.

Posted by Sam at 2:58 PM | Comments (0)