Bangkok 2017 day 6: party crashing with delicious meats

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We thought we've had our last meal in Bangkok as we headed for Suvarnabhumi Airport, but thanks to a bout of stupidity with yours truly, we managed to miss our flight out of the city.  Due to previously scheduled commitments the next morning, we ended up booking ourselves on a redeye flight at an ungodly hour.  So... with more than 8 hours until we fly out, we decided the only thing for us to do was to head back into the city and get ourselves some dinner.

Having failed to pay for both of our meals at Gaggan this past week, Hello Kitty felt that we could show our appreciation by going to Meatlicious and finally paying for a meal there.  We decided to try out the Airport Rail Link, and took the train to Ramkhamhaeng Station, then grabbed a taxi to Ekkamai Soi 6.

I pinged Gaggan on our way to the restaurant, asking him whether we'd have a problem getting seats at the last minute.  I knew he was already in the middle of service for the first seating, so I didn't really expect to hear back from him.

We showed up at Meatlicious without a reservation, and were seated at the "chef's table" - counter seats facing the open kitchen.  Of course, I was wearing my Hug Me I Smell Like Curry shirt that I got from Gaggan last night, which the staff immediately recognized.  Chef Jorge Grande asked me how I liked the food there...

Bangkok 2017 day 6: one last meal

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We're leaving Bangkok tonight after having eaten our way around town, but before we do, there was one last meal to be had.  My friend L flew in today for a short business trip, and we managed to catch up with each other in Bangkok of all places.p

Having gone through a few Thai restaurants ranging from fine dining to historical hole-in-the-walls, I decided to go somewhere sort of mid-range.  Taling Pling (ตะลิงปลิง) is a local chain with a few convenient locations, and the branch in CentralWorld seemed to be a convenient location for all of us.

The three of us each picked out some dishes that we wanted to try, so we ended up with a lot of food...

Thai styled minced pork and crab dumpling (ขนมจีบไทย) - these were surprising good, kinda like siu mai (燒賣).

Bangkok 2017 day 5: decoding Gaggan Anand

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Having sung happy birthday to the birthday boy in front of a crowd at the unofficial after party in the wee hours of this morning, the Great One, Hello Kitty, and I are back at Gaggan.  At our Gaggan x Den dinner a few nights ago, after giving him a special birthday present, Gaggan Anand very kindly invited the three of us back for dinner tonight.

When we arrived for our 6 p.m. seating, sommelier Vladimir was in the house but looking a little worn out from party last night (or should I say this morning?).  Gaggan was nowhere to be found, but we all know he had a rough night after the unofficial after-party he threw after winning the top spot of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants for an unprecedented third year in a row.  Thankfully he showed up soon after, and actually looked pretty together - unlike the picture he posted on social media.  We were once again seated in the Lab area of the restaurant, which was deliberately kept at about half capacity in light of the staff suffering from some serious lack of sleep...

We were treated to the latest menu, which was now represented by 25 emojis - one for each course.  The number of courses has increased since I was last here, and the portion sizes have gotten smaller; meanwhile according to Gaggan, the flavors have become more focused and pure.  It is interesting to note that about 40% of the menu was developed for Gohgan, his frequent collaborations with La Maison de la Nature Goh.

Bangkok 2017 day 5: I'll have what Califa had

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Paste was always going to be on my agenda for this trip, having heard good feedback from both the Great One Lick My Toes and Haokoufu last year.  Then I found out that my friend the Hungry Tourist also loves this place, so that made things even more interesting.

I preferred to be "under the radar" on my first visit to a restaurant, so I turned down the Hungry Tourist's offer to join him for lunch the day I arrived.  Instead, I had Hello Kitty reserve a table in her name, and tried not to be too public about when I would be dining here.  Alas, I slipped up and failed to keep things under wraps.

Our original booking for 4 eventually turned to 7, and as I called the restaurant to ask for a bigger table, the person answering the phone immediately asked me whether the Great One was coming (she was not), and proceeded to ask whether I was still coming.  So we had been outed... probably by my friend the Hungry Tourist, who was obviously trying to help one of his favorite restaurants make a good impression on us.

With 7 of us - and most of us visiting for the first time - we decided to forgo the challenge of ordering from the menu, and asked for the chef to arrange everything for us - omakase (お任せ).  Effectively, we did a "I'll have what he's having"... and in this case we were having what my friend was having on his visits just days before.  We found out afterwards that the kitchen had been told to dial down the heat, knowing that I don't like my food really spicy.

Our welcome drink was made with bael flower, elderflower and pandan.  Smelled of honey, too.

Bangkok 2017 day 4: three after parties

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So... the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2017 awards are done and dusted, and it was now time to paaaaartaaaay!  First stop was back in the courtyard of the House on Sathorn, where we have a ton of food and drink.

There was a ton of local food, organised by the region in Thailand where they originate - so we've got   sai ua sausages from Chiang Mai, barbecued whole pork, and they even brought in the famed Thip Samai to serve their signature pad Thai and Soi Polo Fried Chicken.  Of course where was also an oyster bar and a ton of meat - including a really impressive hip of Tajima wagyu that was slow-roasted.

But as good as the food looked, I really wasn't interested in most of it.  So I nibbled on some of the roast pork, grabbed a few people, and headed for a "second round" at an old favorite.