Uncorking value for money

"To take wine into our mouths is to savour a droplet of the river of human history," wrote Clifton Fadiman. If that’s the case, to partake in human history is an expensive endeavour for those living in Thailand. The problem is certainly not that you can’t buy some excellent wines here – you can. But…

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Bangkok cooking schools

Whether you’re an accomplished chef or you admit that you’re a failure in the kitchen, taking a cooking class is a good way to learn how to whip up something new and delicious in the kitchen. And once you enjoy cooking instead of finding it a chore, chances are you’ll save money by dining in…

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A meal fit for a warrior

"This is not like any other Japanese restaurant," claims the Pathumwan Princess’s general manager, Stanley Pao, of the hotel’s new Nabe-Ya. "This is a trendy, contemporary restaurant, where you can have the fun experience of cooking by yourself." I can see straight away that Nabe-Ya is a beautifully-designed and elegant restaurant, all sleek curves and…

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The rhythm’s gonna getcha

"We are authentic," says Vicente Lerro Fong, director of Cubanos, the latest Latin venue to hit Bangkok. "We have authentic Cuban food, Cuban cocktails, Cuban cigars, a Cuban band …" We’re sitting on the mezzanine level of the two-level Cuban restaurant and pub, watching the staff prepare for the evening behind the long bar that…

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An authentic taste of Thailand

With its soft opening on November 1, the Hotel Plaza Athenee has put Wireless Rd back into focus for those with their fingers on the pulse of the hotel scene. And with the new hotel, of course, comes several additions to the Bangkok wining and dining scene – in fact no less than five new…

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The taste of Takumi

Takumi: it means skilful and clever in Japanese. And it’s an apt name for this stylish restaurant, tucked away on the second floor of the vast Merchant Court Hotel. First impressions are important, and Takumi’s doesn’t let diners down here. The restaurant seats a total of 90, but there are eight elegant tatami rooms –…

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East-west fusion

When the chef has tried some 600 combinations of ingredients to make the best possible Indian naan bread – with a Western twist – you know the restaurant under their charge has got to be special.Willment Leong, chef at the lavish Merchant Court Hotel’s Doc Cheng’s, says he may have even tried 700 combinations to…

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Water works

If there’s one ‘national’ cuisine that you may not have thought of trying in Bangkok, it’s perhaps that of Taiwan. But there is a restaurant here serving up authentic Taiwanese food that’s definitely worth checking out. Samphan Assawakittiwanich, manager of Water 1999, says he believes the restaurant is the only one of its kind in…

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Secluded rendezvous

You can choose the restaurant, but you can’t choose who sits at the table next to you. We were squeezed between a table with a blonde Australian woman in pink, who announced to the restaurant – and her subdued companions – her reasons for becoming a vegetarian, and a table of Americans who were screeching…

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The latin connection

I have a theory about why the Latino craze originally kicked off in Thailand: it was the Ricky Martin-World Cup connection. With literally millions of Thais glued to their screens for the biggest soccer event on earth way back in 1998, it was perhaps inevitable that they would be seduced by the Puerto Rican’s rhythmic…

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