May 27, 2006

Crepes and Co in Soi 12

Crepes and Co
18/1 Sukhumvit Soi 12
Bangkok
Tel: 02 653-3990
Website:

Think Crepes and what do you think of? I suppose most would think of puddings - in particular crepes suzette but not a whole menu of them. There are fast food places doing various crepes in France and these and food stands sell instant snacks, but not a whole proper menu of them. So it is strange that such a place exists in Bangkok - and more than that - it is may actually be a worldwide one off.
The restaurant is in a pleasant old wooden house in a conservatory type area where there is also an agreeable garden to look out on or I suppose to dine in at less heated times of the year. The drawback is that it is a decent trundle down Soi 12 and therefore a taxi is a good option. They sent a man up the soi to collect a cab to take us home and that was well worth the 20 baht to the runner.

I glanced at the wine list and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw, in particularly the prices. Apart from some drinkable wines on promotion at 800 Baht, and a regular selection at 900 Baht they had French Gewurztraminer and Riesling at 1250 Baht. But what caught my eye was the comments about cider and that being the drink for crepes. The inference was that they had proper French (Normandy) cidre. So I had to have a glass and it was indeed the stuff that I last drank on the Cherbourg peninsular. It came in a 75cl bottle with a wired cork as on a Champagne bottle. Needless to say a glass became a bottle and one became two. She who is seldom obeyed seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.
I had received a note saying that they were holding a tapas festival here and that had tickled my palate, although I had tried to get here before and made the mistake of going to Soi 10! The crepes options do seem to cover most possibilities in both a massive savoury section that included seafood, vegetarian and even curry options, and a sweet section with the classics of suzette and citron as well a delicious apple and raisin version that we had at the end.
As it was, we started with the mixed tapas plate for two that was okay rather than good. We then had a couple of crepes which I am afraid I rather rated as the tapas. I suppose at the end of the day crepes is crepes is crepes as they say. The crepes are made on a purpose built hot plate (to order) and nothing wrong there except it makes them very thin and thus the filling needs to really have some oomph. I found my 'supreme' which was really bacon and eggs in béchamel unfulfilling although I enjoyed the side dish we had of garlic prawns. However, as indicated, I did enjoyed the later pud.
I found this a very interesting place with an out-of-the-ordinary menu and some good ideas. The concept is French but the chef has strong Middle East-Mediterranean connections which produces a fascinating range of foods and ideas. I can understand why Crepes and Co has survived and flourished in this difficult location for so long . It is genuinely different and the ideal spot for either a light snack, or even a hungry pig. So a great spot to go when one wants 'not a lot' and the other feels like the pig. Then there is that Cidre from Hornfleur!

Posted by Sam at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2006

Il Cielo at the Dusit Thani

Il Cielo
The Dusit Thani Hotel
946 Rama lV Road
Bangkok
Tel: 02 200 9000

The Dusit Thai Hotel boasts as broad a range of restaurants as can almost be imagined with restaurants described as Thai, French, Steak, Italian, Cantonese, Japanese, International and Viet Namese. And this awesome list of restaurants is further backed up two bars, one of which embraces modern nightlife, a point which will become horribly relevant by the end of this review. But now to Il Cielo which is probably mid range as far as the Dusit is concerned, but which in reality is a high standard Italian eatery.

Décor is modern and open and there is an open kitchen on the far side. Buffets are a big feature here but they also have an excellent a la carte menu. What I like are the various tasting options with a few Insalata dishes which are really little mezes - we shared an Insalato Il Ceilo which included goose liver, rock lobster and San Danielle ham. And decent portion of all the items we got too and portion more than adequate for two. They also do the more normal dried meats and cheese as well as a smoked duck breast salad with cheese. Then there is a pasta tasting option where it is possible to mix different pastas and sauces according to your numbers and desire for variety.
The main courses are enough but not nearly quite so interesting. There was a veritable feast which included, T bone steak, rock lobster, duck liver and river lobster (what ever that is) with mixed salad and grilled vegetables. This feast was for two but had been struck off the menu which is not surprising as Il Ceilo is not exactly the spot for that kind of mammoth dish. I had roast lamb cutlets with polenta and On had duck, all nicely presented and cooked as requested and difficult to fault but not very exciting. I had lunched here before and so I knew the food was good and was therefore not disappointed. There were not many customers and from that point it was rather lacking in atmosphere. We drank a couple of bottles of perfectly acceptable but not under priced wine, and all in all had a good meal.
Now back to the lunch which was ruined by something I still find hard to comprehend. I had had a perfectly reasonable lunch and was thinking it was almost a find. I had had a final course of cheese and decided to have a final glass of red wine. A waiter gave me a wine list and I ordered a glass. A few minutes later the waiter returned with the infuriating words - 'can not.' I was told that after 2 pm alcohol could not be served. To say I was unhappy would be an understatement. Managers were summoned and a full steward's enquiry demanded. I had a fearful argument with an F&B manager who assured me that no establishment sold alcohol after 2 pm in Thailand. I told him, and in no uncertain terms, he was talking ..... ! Until this point I had yet to come across any outlet that will not serve after 2 pm. So I asked the restaurant manager about this. Rather embarrassed he told me the rule still applied. When I asked if he realised his were the only places enforcing this rule in Thailand he looked embarrassed and departed. I simply fail to comprehend how a place calling itself 5-star can have such a policy and still think it is five star. So now you know! Don't go to the Dusit Thani for lunch unless you are on one of the modern business lunches that only involves water. In which case it ain't lunch as I know it!

Posted by Sam at 4:24 PM | Comments (0)