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Latest restaurants and cafés review
Ici
Arisara “Paper” Chongphanitkul, the pastry chef responsible for the sugary finales at restaurants by the Issaya Group (remember the deceptive mango and sticky rice surprise at Issaya Siamese Club, or the pumpkin custard at Saawaan?) puts her sweet creations on center stage at Ici, a dessert café hidden deep within one of Sukhumvit’s many labyrinths. Getting there is a bit tricky. The house (look for number 24) in which Ici is located bears no signage and looks like your typical city residence. But that doesn’t matter—the café has a reservation-only policy and will tell you where you need to go when you book a table. A gate leads to a leafy garden that features a gigantic blue balloon with “Ici” written on it and the compound’s main building. The café part is somewhat oversized, decked out in blue patterned wallpaper and cartoonish reproductions of world-famous art pieces, including a faceless Mona Lisa and a wacky rendition of Jeff Koons’ blue Balloon Dog. Observe more closely and you’ll find tiny depictions of Paper’s dessert hidden within each artwork. “The desserts at Issaya’s restaurants are works I must create for different challenges and requirements, dictated by the identity of each restaurant. Here, I can do what I really want,” Chef Paper explains. The fancily plated desserts we’ve come to expect are toned down at Ici, and have become cute creations with playful elements. Mr. Religieux (B195) is her take on the religieuse (snow man-shaped choux pastry), and comes w
Sarnies
A Stimulant by Sarnies captivated Bangkok’s caffeine devotees and Instagram-addicted caféhoppers with a small roaster-slash-coffee shop on Soi Sukhumvit 39 and a brief pop-up run at Dim Dim. Now, the café has come into full bloom, opening a full-scale establishment in historic Charoenkrung. Nestled deep inside Soi Charoenkrung 44, Sarnies takes up the space of two connecting shophouses (linked by an arch door on the second floor) that were once a boat repair shop. “The story [of the building] changes all the time,” says Eric Chan, co-owner of Sarnies. “But according to the original landlord, it used to be a boat repair store. Because we are really near the river and that’s where all the engines were brought.” Unlike other repurposed establishments in the city that have been touched up to deliver a modern appearance, the structure in which Sarnies occupies retains the the grit of its former life. Random scribblings on the wall and black stains resulting from the smoke emitted by the engines are still visible. “Most of the work we did were fixing and repairing,” Eric adds. “For us, we didn’t want to change anything. We wanted to celebrate the beauty of it.” Sarnies proves it ranks above other brunch destinations that serve pretty-looking, Instagram-friendly dishes by putting intricate details and a lot of heart and soul into its food. What you get are classic brunch dishes done right, but made with a few Asian twists. Winning dishes include eggs benedict with tom yum hollanda
Katsukura
This Kyoto-hailing tonkotsu specialist proudly serves perfectly cooked fried pork cutlets sheathed in flaky breadcrumbs. Katsukura’s secret lies in how they age their pork for more tender texture and a more intense flavor profile. Try the best-selling Katsukura Zen, surf ‘n turf-style bites that pair pork tenderloin with large prawn cutlets. Kyoto’s famed tofu makes an appearance as fried yuba (tofu skin) rolled around vegetable cutlets and served with pork tenderloin tonkotsu. .
Latest bars review
008
It's unfortunate that the concept of the Prohibition—a temperance movement spanning the 1920s that banned alcohol consumption in the US, but ironically when the cocktail culture blossomed in the country—has been reduced into a marketing gimmick for many a retro-inspired cocktail bar. 008, a new secret bar in Thonglor hasrescued the concept by offering a drink menu that pays proper respect to the spirits of the era. Pailin “Milk” Sajjanit, the former head mixologist at Vesper and Zuma, and 2016 Diageo Southeast Asia World Class champion, is in charge. She makes sure the drinks are well-rounded and appropriately play along with the Prohibition theme. Inspired by the zeitgeist of the era, Pailin has come up with spirits-forward numbers with empowering names such as Great Power (B460). Based on a classic Manhattan recipe, this drink mixes Rittenhouse rye with oregano-infused Ysabel Regina brandy and aromatic bitters. Another signature drink, the 1920s (B360), is a more well-rounded version of Negroni, combining Whitley Dry Gin, Campari and clarified orange-infused vermouth. Forgotten Prohibition classics are also reinterpreted by Pailin. A drink called Pyroblast (B420) is inspired by a recipe from the cocktail tome, Lost Recipes of Prohibition by Matthew Rowley, and has been resurrected as a refreshing rum-based cocktail with coconut syrup and a “Pyroblast syrup” made of spices. Apart from playing up the Prohibition theme, one of the agendas of 008 is to focus on classic cock
Dr. Fetch
Octo Seafood Bar has made its name to Sukhumvit’s dining scene as a one-stop seafood destination with eye-striking giant octopus clinging majestically at the very store front. Helping to fulfill the ocean theme of the shipshaped restaurant is a cocktail bar serving cocktails with references to the underwater world. Perching on the second floor of the seafoodcentric complex, Dr. Fetch is embedded with narratives alluding to a laboratory hidden underwater operating by a fictional scientist. That explains the reasons why all the bartenders are dressed up in white laboratory gown. In contrast to the bright restaurant setting, the inside of Dr. Fetch is dimly-lit and succumbed to the heavy beats from live band performing nightly. If you look for a more private corner, take a seat in a connect room quirkily surrounded by wooden rabbits and animal skeletons. To comply with the bustling seafood restaurant downstairs, Dr. Fetch cocktails are conjured up with strong influence from the sea — dominantly via the name of the cocktails, garnishes and the shape of the glasses, not in the drink as we had expected. There’s the Pirate Spice Rum (B400), the concoction photogenically served in a siphon machine with the combination of pea flower-infused rum, toasted coconut and Maraschino liqueur brewed with lemongrass, ginger and butter, before being served hot in a Chinese-style tea cup. (The item is big enough to feed 3-4 people). Ocean Bouquet (B400) is nicely-flavored with accent of spicy a
Feeling Bar
A Feeling Bar, a new addition to Ari’s bar scene, captures the eye with a massive neon sign that cheekily reads, “How are you feeling today”—a message that welcomes you into a minimalistic space bathed in dim pink and purple light. (Think twice about coming here if you’re light-sensitive.) It’s a place you’ll either love or hate. But one thing’s for sure, photos taken at this new hot spot will definitely brighten up your Instagram feed—if not for the interiors than the food. Quirky, weird, somewhat experimental Thaiinspired dishes dominate the menu, including Rak Sam Sao (B120), a curious creation that features sushi-styled meat served atop sticky rice and garnished with roasted namprik kika (chili relish made from three kinds of Thai chilis) and wasabi mayo. Even the salads are strange—we tried the seafood-heavy Yum Si Chompu (literally means “pink salad” in Thai, B280), which seems to have been heavily inspired by the beloved street eat yen ta fo (pink noodle soup). Thankfully they have more familiar plates like Dek Sen (B200), a spicy spaghetti topped with smoked duck breast. Liven up your meal by pairing it with one of the bar’s Sangsom rum-based signature cocktails. The drinks play along with the “feeling” theme, bearing cheesy names like Feeling Sad (B240), a mix of Sangsom, Disaronno, goku kola syrup, lime juice and water nut, or Feeling Amaze (B240), which combines Sangsom, bale syrup, pomegranate and soda. Music is another integral part of the Feeling Bar experien
Neighborhood guide
New movie releases
Captain Marvel
Film review by Joshua Rothkopf Superheroes save the world on a regular basis, but their movies aren’t nearly as courageous: For every ingenious Black Panther that departs from the billion-dollar formula, you get ten timid time-wasters. Captain Marvel, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first female-led installment, means a lot symbolically—especially to young girls who resonate with Gal Gadot’s confident portrayal of Wonder Woman. But you can’t help but wish the watershed moment arrived with a more richly imagined central character. Even within the MCU itself, you can locate fiercer, more complex women (Elizabeth Olsen’s tortured Scarlet Witch comes to mind), and while Room and Short Term 12 star Brie Larson is certainly capable of expressing wire-taut uncertainty, she’s a bit stranded in the rubber suit, playing a role that gives her scant opportunity to be human. It seems beneath her. That disconnect is too bad since Captain Marvel, co-scripted by Mississippi Grind directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (plus an army of story writers), tries hard to floor you with its freshness. Sometimes that effort is too obvious, as it is with the film’s utterly unnecessary first 20 minutes: a spew of Trekkian world-building that introduces planet Hala, the Kree, the Supreme Intelligence, the evil Skrull (maybe take notes) and, only slightly less mystifying, Jude Law as a martial-arts master. Eventually our hero (Larson), an alien supersoldier, plunges through the roof of a Blockbuster Video
Kusama: Infinity
Kusama - Infinity explores artist Yayoi Kusama's journey from a conservative upbringing in Japan to her brush with fame in America during the 1960s (where she rivaled Andy Warhol for press attention) and concludes with the international fame she has finally achieved within the art world. Now in her 80s, Kusama has spent the last 30 years living in a mental institution in Japan.
Happy Death Day 2U
The first Happy Death Day, a Groundhog Day–infused slasher flick about a blasé sorority mean girl who must relive her murder over and over again until she solves it, felt like a pendulum swing back to the snarky era of Scream. (Elsewhere, horror is going through an intense moment, typified by Hereditary and A Quiet Place.) As playful as things got, there was always a butcher knife around the corner, keeping genre connoisseurs satisfied. Taking over screenwriting duties from the original’s Scott Lobdell and straining the silliness past breaking, director Christopher Landon mounts a sequel that forgets to be scary. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle—maybe this was a brilliant concept that was only meant to function once—but did Happy Death Day 2U need to be so obnoxiously self-aware? The problem isn’t our furious heroine, Tree (star Jessica Rothe, appealing as ever as a cosmically challenged problem solver in a baseball jersey and bedhead), or her cohort of new friends, a quantum-physics nerd squad led by Ryan (Phi Vu), the bleach-blond Asian guy who, when he’s not barging into dorm rooms, is building a device that creates fissures in time. All of that stuff still works; it even feels welcome, like coming home to a beloved cast of characters. But after an eerie scene in which Tree and Ryan are surrounded by dozens of potential killers (turns out the baby mask is the costume of their college’s popular mascot), Happy Death Day 2U swerves away from thrills and, jarringly,
The Favourite
We’re watching an extremely luxe pocket of 18th-century life in The Favourite, which means the bewigged fops are scheming, the ducks are running (these people don’t lack for strange competitive sports) and the offscreen organist is going for baroque. Even Stanley Kubrick knew to lay off his fish-eye lens once in a while. But Greek-born director Yorgos Lanthimos can’t say no: He warps his period chamber piece—loosely based on the highly competitive court of the unstable Queen Anne—into a Lewis Carroll comic nightmare, piling cattiness upon cattiness. And what’s not to love about that? The constant visual and verbal bitchery feels like a pent-up release of something churning just under the surface. If this is your first Lanthimos movie, welcome. Know that you’re a little late to the party: Two of his prior films—the psychosexual Dogtooth, about a family that has never allowed its grown-up kids to leave the house, and the equally vicious The Lobster—went darker and deeper than The Favourite, the first that Lanthimos hasn’t personally written. But like its predecessors, the new one has an empathy that sneaks in amid all the bad behavior. What makes The Favourite work are its women, who rule, both literally within the movie and outwardly, commanding our enjoyment. Unlike the similarly set Barry Lyndon or Dangerous Liaisons, which both had strong female characters toppled by the whims of strutting cocks, Lanthimos’s latest makes the men extraneous, building a potent hothouse atmo
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Best hotels in Bangkok
SO Sofitel Bangkok
Gorgeous views and unique designs are the key reasons you’ll love SO Sofitel Bangkok. Located a few blocks away from Lumpini Park, the enclaves lush greenery can be spotted from most rooms. Room styles are crafted around four different themes: earth, water, wood and metal. The Earth rooms are embellished with playful, curvy walls inspired by prehistoric cave paintings found in Pha Taem National Park in Ubon Ratchathani. Metal rooms are decked out like an urban refuge with minimal, modern decor and pristine white furniture. The Wood room, on the other hand, is inspired by a traditional Northern Thai wooden house, while the Water room—the sexiest room of all—features concrete walls and semi-transparent glasses partitions.
Out of town
Doi Tung: a mountainous land transformed with love and nurtured with faith
If you visited Doi Tung, one of Chiang Rai’s northernmost peaks, some 30 years ago and never had a chance to return, you’d barely recognized it today. The once desert-like mountains suffered from mobile plantation and—worse—opium planting; now, it’s one of the lushest areas in the north. Everything changed when Princess Srinagarindra, the grandmother of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, set up the Doi Tung Development Project in 1988 with an aim to improve the quality of both the people’s lives and the area they lived in. She even had a house built in the vicinity so she could watch her project grow at close range. Learning from the consequences and successes of previous projects initiated by her son King Bhumibol, the Princess Mother opted to start out “small,” taking a slow contemplative pace—like with everything in her life. She didn’t want to merely give money to those in need; she wanted to help the people stand on their own feet, which is why she carefully created an environment and cultivated micro-industries that the community could benefit from. Thirty years have passed and, though Princess Srinagarindra didn’t get the chance to see Doi Tung in full bloom, her wish did come true. The once scraggly mountainside is now a lush plantation that produces gorgeous textile, paper and pottery—all trice handmade—and, most importantly, some of the world’s best macadamia nuts and coffee beans. Opium was replaced by harvests more beneficial to the community, both morall
The best of Tokyo (in 72 hours)
For the second year, Time Out Bangkok’s editor (okay, that’s me) was invited to be one of the judges of Time Out Tokyo’s Love Tokyo Awards, which celebrates the best that the vibrant Japanese capital can offer. I joined editors from London, New York, Barcelona, Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), and China (Beijing and Shanghai). Like the year before, it was more or less like a treasure hunt—we were individually tasked to visit and experience (that means eating, drinking, shopping and, well, beyond) the shortlisted nominees for this year, all in three days. Time Out Tokyo staffers accompanied us to some venues to help communicate with the locals and to act as translators, but, for the most part, I got to visit and discover some places on my own, which was not a problem as—like many Thais—Tokyo is my holiday playground and very familiar to me. The complete list of winners and nominees is available on the Love Tokyo Awards website, but I’ll go ahead and share my best finds, greatest discoveries and most exciting experiences. Hopefully, it can come in handy especially for those who are visiting Tokyo this coming holiday season.