January 28, 2008

Koi - good sushi, interesting decor and overdone prices

Koi Restaurant
26 Sukhumvit Soi 20
Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02-258 1590
Website:

Even though I live virtually next door to Koi, it has taken me some time to get to it. I got a whiff of Koi when I trundled past one night and there was a happening party going on. But the slightly obscured sign and the two doormen standing in the drive of this modernistic house did little to persuade me I needed to come back.
Then a 30-something relative who works in the City (London) turned up in Bangkok with some friends. They seemed to be 'doing' Bangkok in style before moving to the beach. 'Where are you dining?' I asked, half-expecting the usual questions about what and where. 'Koi,' was the answer. 'Do you know it?' I felt rather stupid saying 'No, I only live next door!'
The next day I was on the net finding out about Koi. The cuisine is described as 'Japanese inspired with Californian accents'. The website told me Koi came to Bangkok in 2005 and seemed to win every award ever awarded by a Thai magazine. Big PR budget, I concluded. Then the web informed me there were three other Kois: in Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. Why on earth did Koi come here? If it had to come this way, Singapore or Hong Kong seemed more in line.
Or was it another case of Thailand attracting business because it was the place somebody wanted to go? I still do not know why, but I do know from the website that in 2006 there were parties and model nights, though nothing seemed to happen in 2007: not even a miserable award. Clearly, the PR budget was exhausted.
Then there was a quantum change at Koi: a bloody great illuminated sign appeared saying 'Avenue on 20' and listing three operations: Koi, The Bridge (an Italian restaurant) and the Fashion Bar. It was almost as if Koi had come out! All this had happened to me within a week, so when I was having a quiet evening I thought I would try the Italian, but as I was about to be the customer in this pointed-cube glasshouse, I declined and trundled down the road to the ever-reliable Bie Otto.
However, a few nights later, I decided to try Koi proper, taking 'her who is seldom obeyed' with me. We caterpillared up a few steps to the reception area and were escorted to the restaurant, which involved going down steps and then over a series of small steps, both up and down. It was almost as if the designers had decided they wanted to make sure any shuffling old or disabled person tripped on the way in or way out. Was this feng shui or a dastardly plan to keep the wrinklies out?
In the restaurant, there is a good view over the courtyard complete with a fine old tree and mosquito-breeding ground (pond) as well as the reception area. Apart from the steps, the design of the entrance was very clever and from the restaurant it looks impressive. The reception desk is a red cube of light, while the walls on the internal side are glass. The first area has lighting on the wall opposite the desk, but the second area has lighting the other side. So as people move from one area to the other, they are in full view and then in silhouette.
I asked for the wine list and immediately realised why we were then the only customers. They seemed to be LA prices*. As I recognised some of the wines, I realised that whilst many high-end restaurants may seek to triple the cost of wine between purchase and sale, here it looked like the multiple was four or even five. There was little wine under 2,000 baht a bottle. I chose a bottle of Pinot Grigio at 1,960 and Argentinian Malbec at 1,750. And do not forget the plus plus!
The menu is mainly Japanese with a big sushi and sashimi list of options as well as salads, hot and cold mains and tempura dishes. I must admit I am not knowledgeable about Japanese food. I knew I wanted sushi as starter but which fish and how was another issue. So I consulted the maitre d' who then supplied a combo menu: this seemed to offer sushi options for groups and legions. However, I picked the smallest, featuring seven fish, and hoped for the best. In fact, it was a decent portion for two and was good except for the insistence that I use two sticks to eat it with. The fork was first introduced to Western Europe in the 10th century by Theophanu, Byzantine wife of Emperor Otto II, so I would have thought it could have got to Sukhumvit Road by now.
Needless to say, that darn Japanese cow (wagyu) was all over the menu offering parts of its anatomy for sums in excess of 2,000 baht. So we settled for more modest fare. On had grilled duck breast on top of wasabi-scented potato cake and ginger plum sauce, whilst I opted for miso-bronzed black cod and a harlequin of vegetables. I thought On's duck looked a mess: the presentation was far too busy. However, she enjoyed the meal. The trouble with my cod was that the first aroma that hit me: was of cooked peppers (capsicums). Now I do not like cooked peppers as the taste seems to permeate into everything that gets near it, so whilst it was good chunk of cod and the vegetables were cooked al dente, I was put off by the capsicum infusion. If On's duck was over-produced, my cod was almost the other way and I could have done with a little potato, or similar, to round the dish off.
For pudding I had a machimisu, which was described as green tea mousse and was surprisingly good. It had a sponge base and structure with layers of cream-like sauce that had a delicate but not sweet taste.
By the time we got to pay the LA-sized reckoning, the place was filling up. The paying customers were all farangs and farangs with multinational-funded jobs, I concluded. The man me behind was telling his companion about his BMW and driver. If price is not a problem and Japanese cuisine is your thing, then there is much to recommend Koi. If you are a English teacher, there must be worse places to sit outside with a begging bowl. I suspect the mini-rebranding to Avenue on Soi 20, the addition of the Italian restaurant and giving the bar a separate name are indicative of success, or lack of it. Moving what works in LA and NY to BKK is a big move, especially if the pricing is brought as well. It looks like a leap too far.

*Tom Finn - our LA correspondent writes: 'At a decent restaurant in LA, $50 to $60 would be the cheapest bottle on the list. To get anything worth drinking, you're looking at $80. Most wines in LA are $80 to $120 per bottle. Usually there are a couple of bottles in the $60 range, but how you determine what a 'decent' restaurant is will determine what that bottle will taste like!'

Note This article was first published in Sukhumvit Eye. Website

Posted by Sam at 7:21 PM | Comments (0)

January 5, 2008

Bacco: first class Italian food without the frills

Bacco
35/1 Sukhumvit Soi 53
Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02 662 4538
Website

I had missed Sergio from his perch outside Basilico (Soi 33) where I often pop in for a quick evening feed. So I was pleased when I was told he had opened his own spot in Soi 53. It did not take me long to find myself outside the doors of this impressively sized restaurant and find myself being greeted by Sergio. I suppose it is that greeting that is the main loss that Basilico has suffered with Sergio's departure. Even when I first went there and had never met the man he always behaved as though he was pleased to see me. He is one of the better greeters around town with a slightly scruffy look, but always a broad smile. It says you are welcome and yes I am working hard to make your visit worthwhile!
Bacco is a large restaurant divided into two by the bar and pizza kitchen. The back area is somewhat quieter and it was this area that Sergio took me to. The decor is fairly basic but this is set off by some large colourful paintings that are naive - futuristic as well as a few bright modern copies of classics. It all produces that bright open look and feel that gives the typical Italian pizzeria feel to the place.
The wine list is very extensive and generally well priced, for this town, with several wines under a 1,000 Baht. As a result of this pricing I decided on slightly better wine and ordered a bottle of Gavi. I later had a Sicilian red at Sergio's recommendation.
I had no sooner picked up the stiff card menus than I was reminded of Basilico; this was, of course, set up by Sergio but there the similarity ended. I was particularly interested to see pizza variations in the form of panzerotti (4 options), piada (5), and cassoni (4). They are all slightly different and I did try a few which were first rate: a kind of pizza sandwich with nice warm bread. The great advantage is the dough is so thin in piada al crudo that the Parma ham tasted, and the unlikely stracchino e ruccola (cheese and rocket) really worked well, which I doubt it would have done between two slabs of normal bread. I had these because the enthusiastic Sergio took on the job of ordering the starters and what a feast we had!
After the very pleasant selection of panzerotti, piada, and cassoni we were treated to a plate of Sergio's favourite antipasto dishes. We had six dishes including a little nicely pink goose liver with a raspberry sauce, slices of Italian sausage, a large mussel enveloped in tomato sauce, parma ham with melon, a small edible cheese basket filled with rocket, and finally tuna tartar that had pomelo in it. They all were good and the pomelo (Thai grapefruit style fruit) in the tuna tartar was a new idea for me and worked well. Okay, Sergio was on the case and he was making certain that what we had was first class but nothing took very long which suggests the kitchen has all these dishes covered and knows what to do.
For mains we were feeling slightly bloated after Sergio's starter feast and I shied away from the more substantial offerings of steaks and chops and all kinds of grills and settled on Involtino al san Daniele (roasted chicken breast with ham). I gave the order to a waiter and seconds later Sergio was back. I was not allowed chicken because Sergio cannot find good chicken in Thailand. Plenty of chicken he said but none that was good. In other words no nice corn fed fat chicken from Bresse. So I had duck a la orange instead. On proved who the real trencherman was and demanded a tenderloin. My duck tasted good and was presented nicely on mash with sauce and a ramekin portion of spinach; the garnish was three segments of orange. On’s steak has a similarly sparse presentation and she declined a sauce. The mains were, taste wise, well up to standard even if they did not have the arty tarty bits that high end restaurants tend to spend time and effort delivering.
Sergio told me he was keen to make Bacco primarily a restaurant, unlike Basilico which is mainly a pizza parlour. He does still own a sizable chunk of Basilico and does not want to compete head on. Well, on greeting alone, he is way ahead of them, and yes Bacco's food is much better. It is first class fare without the frills: white table clothes, and fancy garnishes. I shall undoubtedly go back.

Posted by Sam at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)