Travel log Bangkok: Two delicious restaurants
I've been such a bag blogger while I've been in Bangkok. I have a good excuse really. I'm writing a cookbook in 6 weeks, when it would normally take 3 months for a project like this. So I'm busy! But, I've made some time to explore the vegetarian/vegan restaurants available in Bangkok. I went to two this week that were really great.
293/32 Soi Kamchai Iamsuri, Silom, Bangkok
open tuesday ~ sunday : 11.30 – 22.30
Herwin is the famous writer of the vegan Japanese Guide and he recently released the Bangkok version after moving to Thailand with his Thai wife. His cafe has a blend of Western and Thai food, vegan pizza (I had no idea I could have delish pizza when it was Vegan Pizza Day!!), burgers with fresh cut fries, organic brown rice is available, as well as tasty cakes.
Have you ever seen vegan California sushi rolls? That is rare, so I had to have them! Tasty at 25 baht for 2 pieces.
Next I had the Pepper Steak Burger with fries. It was really nice to have Western food after all the Thai and Southeast Asian food I've been making. Herwin makes his bread from scratch with whole grain flour, gets the "meat" options at a local vegetarian supplier, and makes the fries fresh. He also makes his own vegan mayo that is SO good! He's going to give me the recipe which he says is super easy. The burger was really tasty. I also had the Spicy Carrot Salad to make sure I got my fresh veggies. Love the dressing and bits of cashew that were in the salad.
Of course I had to have dessert, though I barely had any room! I went with the chocolate one that had a coconut cream frosting on top. I didn't have the highest hopes for this cake but it was very moist and just the perfect amount of sweetness. They also offer organic coffee which is rare to find in Bangkok. It comes from Chiang Mai and it's a must to go along with the cake!
I went back a second time and had a pizza and coconut chocolate shake. Shake was delish, pizza was just ok. The one I ordered didn't have tomato sauce, so I got a side of it to dip in. There's a least 10 different choices of pizza, I might try another one if I am in the mood, but none of them have actual vegan cheese on them. Stuff like that is super hard to come by in Thailand and if it's imported it's very expensive. Herwin makes his pizza crusts daily from scratch which is a nice touch!
Bangkok Mediplex, Sukhumvit Soi 42
Open daily 10am-8:30pm
The next day I went to Kuhn Churn. If you recall this was one of my favorite places in Chiang Mai with the all you can eat buffet. This location doesn't have the buffet, but they do have the biggest a la carte menu I've ever seen! It's Asian fusion, with Thai, Japanese, and Chinese influenced items. Thankfully I went with 3 other people so we tried about 8 dishes. They were all fantastic!
The interior was very nice, beautiful lighting, comfy booths, and a nice clean vibe. The prices are moderate, the staff friendly though very little English is spoken, and there's a little "healthy market" in the same complex that I totally forgot to pop into.
First up were the fresh spring rolls which were delish. Next was the Pomelo salad, shown above. I just discovered this dish a week ago and have tried it at a few restaurants and made my own. This one was amazing! It had little crunchy bits in it, the perfect amount of lime and sweetness, not too spicy, and served with the yummy leaves you find with the Miang Kum appetizer. I've never seen pomelo salad served this way before.
We also had a mixed mushroom dish that I was a little scared to try at first, because I'm iffy on some of the Asian mushrooms, but it was so good. We had a big salad so I could get my raw veggies in, a red curry with brown rice, and of course we had to have dessert. They only had 2 options, which was disappointing. Both made with bananas, a banana fritter and I can't remember the other one, oops!
Both places are great. Herwin's when you need some Western food in a casual environment and Khun Churn when you want a fabulous, tasty, more fine dining experience.
What is your favorite restaurant in the whole world? Share with us and don't forget the location!
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