Phaya Thai, best known as the entry point to the Airport Rail Link and a major strip that connects two tangled, traffic-congested roads, has never been a major player in the city’s dining and wining scene. But the Thai restaurant at the freshly minted Akara Bangkok is trying to change this perception.
Sereechai Puttes/Time Out Bangkok
Ross Kitchen, set on the fourth floor of the hotel, already steals the show with its Instagram-ready interiors—a hallway and a bar lit up in red in the style of Wong Kar-wai films, tiled walls, couches upholstered in pa kao ma (colorful Thai plaid), framed vintage movie posters, and an open kitchen/bar painted in vibrant colors like a tour bus.
Sereechai Puttes/Time Out Bangkok
Needless to say, photo ops are aplenty.
Sereechai Puttes/Time Out Bangkok
But if the setting doesn’t steal your breath away, then the food will. Ross is a pun on the Thai word for “flavor”—and it’s what the kitchen here tries its best to offer.
Sereechai Puttes/Time Out Bangkok
Heading the cooking team is Chef Anusak Umpansang who spent 15 years working his way up from a young helper in the kitchen to a head chef. “I try my best to churn out Thai dishes that feature all the flavors local Thais like, but with a twist,” says the chef.
Sereechai Puttes/Time Out Bangkok
His best offerings include Larb Duck Confit, which serves tender duck breast atop duck entrails salad. A drizzling of truffle oil rounds out the recipe, and helps to unify and elevate the dish’s flavors.
Crying Tiger, the chef’s interpretation of northeast-style grilled beef is also a must-try—grain-fed Australian beef is seasoned for an hour before it’s served medium-rare on a hot grill with flavorful jeaw sauce.
Then there’s Yam Rod Tour (Tour Bus Salad), a spicy salmon-oyster-Japanese scallop salad with Thai mint leaves and dried shallots whose name takes inspiration from the venue’s key design element.
If you’re a big fan of heat, don’t miss the super spicy Crabmeat curry that comes with rice noodles.
“Thai with a twist” is also the concept behind the cocktail selection. Nual Nang is a sweet and sour cocktail that mixes SangSom rum with Malibu rum, vanilla syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice and a touch of curry powder.
If you want something a bit more exotic, go for the Ros U-Thai, which blends rosemary-infused Smirnoff with triple sec, lime juice, syrup and drops of Utaitip, a herbal drink mix that’s familiar to many a Thai kid.
Ross Kitchen opens daily 11:30-14:00, 18:00-01:00. More information and reservations at www.akarahotel.com/privileges/ross-kitchen.