November 26, 2007

Tapas Cafe - relaxed tapas venue with good wine list

Tapas Cafe
Soi 11 (in loop soi opposite)
Sukhumvit Road
Tel: 02 651 2947
Website

I had heard about Tapas for a long time but as I understood it was open all day I had been intending to try it out one lunch time, when I wanted to get a late lunch. However it never happened and finally I trundled in on a Sunday evening. I knew Vaughan had fled Melbas (formerly Alex's) deciding the high-so-ness was all too much for him. He had just started here with a nice normal English owner with no pretensions!
This side soi is strangely reminiscent of a London mews and many will have visited the strange bar on the corner know as Cheap Charlies. However the main sign on Soi 11 is to the Sabai Sabai massage parlour. Also in this small soi is the Pickled Liver pub, dedicated to George Best, and the doctor used by many to get a medical certificate to say they are alive! But all in all this is a good central location close to the Sukhumvit Road but away from the traffic and bustle thus a pleasant back water. There is a move afoot to pedestrianise this small street in the evening and that would improve it more, not that, I might add, there are many vehicles anyway!
I have to say I found the decor had a distinct unfinished look with concrete floors and the building skeleton very much in evidence. Then the tables and chairs are very much cafe style. However on the other hand the bar positively shone and there are some big original oil paintings that really stand out and show some real class; designer unfinished could be the style description!
I had booked, which I seldom do on a Sunday evening, and although there was space Vaughan told me that a short while earlier the place had been packed and no seats available! We were given the window seat at what can only be described as a cafe style table. Perfectly comfortable and no table clothes and napkins for hovering waiters to grab and stick on your lap for them to fall off and hit the floor minutes later. So from that point of view I was more than happy!
The wine list is very interesting because it contains entirely Spanish wines, but that should not suggest it is anything other than adequate. There were seven whites, two rose, fifteen reds and surprise surprise sherry, including Tio Pepe, an aperitif that was very popular in the fifties and sixties in England. Well so I am told! We settled for a Muscat-Chardonnay, described as gentle quaffing wine which it was, and a Tampranillo-Cab. Sauvignon-Merlot blend to follow which could have been similarly described.
Now to the food which is generally Tapas style dishes. I do like this food because it encourages picking and sampling different tastes and presentations. There were plenty of such dishes and all priced in the 100-150 Baht range, the exception being special ham from the Pata Negra, the black foot pig! Also there was a small selection of Paellas, which were the sole specific main courses and were produced for two and up. They took half an hour to cook, which is a good sign.
The two of us munched our way happily through nine tapas dishes and felt more than full at the end. Our dishes included tortilla, garlic prawns (gambas), two different croquettes, aubergine with ham, mussels, and meat balls. The dishes were ordered in two tranches; a very comfortable meal with interesting food.
Tapas Cafe is not fine dining by any means but it is good basic food served in suitable surroundings with good wine options and the staff proved to be more than up to the job. If you not trying to impress visiting firemen, or some hi-so princess, I can think of few places that are more amiable.

Posted by Sam at 7:49 PM | Comments (0)

November 6, 2007

Fuzio a stylish Italian with very strange sheep

Fuzio,
6th Floor
Mini Building (Millennium Auto)
Sukhumvit Soi 67 (Ekamai) Soi 7
Bangkok
Tel: 02 271 6999.

When I first heard about this restaurant I was a tad confused as it refers to itself as stylish Italian! Well I had heard of stylish Italian clothes, stylish Italian furniture and even stylish Italian hairdressing (although I hasten to add that did not refer to the hair slaughter house I recently ventured into in Alba), but never stylish Italian food. This description may have had something to do with the stylish German cars sold downstairs; yes, modern Minis are considered stylish although the first one I owned with a waggly long gear lever and a floor starter was considered more practical that stylish. I suppose we could blame it all on the 'Italian job, ' the first one of course with the cameo by the ever stylish Noel Coward now stylishly back in fashion thanks to one half of the Pet Shop Boys.
On a wet Monday my defiantly un-stylish Bangkok taxi weaved me through the typical Bangkok traffic to this location amid the trendy bits of Ekamai. The location is easy to find as the Mini building stands out on Ekamai and the entrance is just round the corner in soi 7 with a car parking area that can be driven into. Thus, customers are deposited directly at the stylish lift that whisks them directly to the oh so stylish bit on the 6th floor. The large restaurant is stylish in a modern minimalist sort of way with dark colours, white table cloths and bright flowers. Stylish décor, I decided, as I looked forward to the food.
As ever I wanted to start with a bottle of white wine which would be both an aperitif and the wine for the starters. The list was decent length with several more interesting wines including some good Alsatian wines from that region’s premier négociant, Hugel, as well a good selection of white Burgundies. However the prices were fashionably, or should I say stylishly, on the high side. So as I intended to drink two bottles, I opted for house wine and selected a French blend Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion. I must admit to being a little concerned when I saw the bottle and realised it was from Bordeaux and my worst suspicions were confirmed when I tasted it; it took me back to that era in the UK when everybody demanded, and got, dry white wine. I spoke to the waiter and there were no problems in changing it for the house Pinot Grigio, which I also thought was very dry for that wine varietal. Maybe somewhat un-stylishly, I like my white wines with a bit of fruit and some subtle body. The American Merlot I had after was very good for a house wine.
So onto the food and we were given two menus, the regular and a decent list of Chef's recommendations. It was the first item on this second list that caught my eye as it was Tasmanian Wagyu Lamb! Of course the reason I was confused was the lamb bit. I checked it when I got home and yes I was right: wagyu literally translated means Japanese cow (see Wikipedia and search " wagyu"). Maybe this was a cow that had stylishly turned into a sheep thus giving a new meaning to a wolf in sheep's clothing. Maybe the wolf was a Wagyu bull all along!
Between the menus there was an impressive range of options with soft shelled crab, French calamari, and even Maine lobster getting in on the act as well as various beef variations from steaks, Black Angus as well as that darned Japanese cow, plenty of lamb recipes, and an abundance of seafood. There was also an impressive menu of pastas and in particular risottos. However I rather copped out on the starter as there was an appetizer described as Antipasto Fuzio. It was for two and I rather hoped we would get a selection of those special starters as happens in many of the better Italian eateries around town when that choice is made. Somewhat disappointingly this was little more than Antipasto carne with a variety of cold meats; nothing wrong with it and it went down well
For mains On wanted duck and selected ' crispy duck breast with wild berry sauce' which she enjoyed. From the specials menu I had ' Australian Portobello mushrooms stuffed with Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese'. This I would have enjoyed more if the chef, in his infinite, or was it stylish, wisdom, had not used a spicy chilli sauce to complete the garnish. Mushroom is a subtle taste and I am surprised that an Italian chef did that! I did point out this problem to the manager when he asked about my meal; lamentably we did not finish the conversation as his mobile rang!
To finish off I had the pear poached in red wine. The pear was fine and this is a dish I enjoy. Sadly on this occasion somebody had smothered the pear in hot chocolate sauce, an addition not mentioned in the menu description.
All in all an interesting evening perched in this airy loft that looks down on Ekamai as well as across Bangkok. The manager implied that the lack of customers was due to the newness of the business as it has only been open for a few months. Maybe that was also the reason for the little glitches. It is certainly an appealing location. The decor is certainly stylish. On that basis Fuzio probably deserves to do better.

October 2007
Also published in Sukhumvit Eye

Posted by Sam at 7:54 PM | Comments (0)