Eurocompensating in Bangkok: France
Hey there, reader, how's life? My name's Seven, and this is my blog. I’ve an ongoing series cleverly-named Eurocompensating, which aims to help readers compensate for their European food cravings here in TLOS. This time I’m covering French cuisine, mainly geolocated within walking distance from my home in Silom (apologies to the 99% of you who live nowhere near Silom). The above snapshots are the fromage plate and duck breast over at French Kiss Bistro in Patpong. More on them later. I’ve got a total of three restaurants for you, so let’s get cracking…
Indigo on Soi Convent is a trendy, elegant-yet-comfortable place with great staff, awesome chefs, and an aim to please. The photos above are from my most recent meal there: a four-cheese platter with Sancerre, and beef bourguignon with boiled potatoes, and Graves Bordeaux. Pic 3 is the Cuban cigar humidor, complete with H Upmann, Punch, Romeo y Julieta, and my personal fave--Partagas Serie 4.
It’s clear the folks at Indigo put tons of thought and care into everything, from the table decor to the cigar brands. Everything is top notch. The cheese plate was a perfect quartet of harmonious flavors, perfectly paired with the Sancerre. The beef was outstanding, and enhanced by the flavor of the Graves. If I were wealthy, I’d eat here every day. Unfortunately for my broke ass, the bill was +++: service, tax, and VAT.
As a Patpong regular, I dine in at French Kiss pretty regularly. Typically I just stoop in to snack on cheese and gulp down a glass of vino. Above left is a nice cheese and meat plate—one of about 12 such photos I found stored on my hard drive. Every option is simply fantastic, I’m not sure what else I can say about it. And as stated above, the duck breast with mashed potatoes. Simple, refined perfection. And the friggin' steak, which in a nutshell is AWESOME. I feel like a king when I eat at French Kiss, because that's who the food's fit for. It's utterly divine.
Hands down, my favorite French restaurant in the whole of Thailand is Le Bouchon. For years, it was a tiny hole-in-the-wall tucked into a corner of Patpong. But when the scamdemic hit and the Patpong family refused them a one-month reprieve on the rent, they picked up and moved to a beautiful new location on Sathorn Soi 1. Above from left to right: chevre ravioli, osso bucco, beef bourguignon, and charcuterie-cheese at Bouchon.
Duck a l'orange, chevre spring rolls, beef cheek, and lobster thermidor at Bouchon.
Home-made foie gras and duck confit. As you can see, I’ve scarfed down my fair share of fare at this incredible eatery. The owner, Serg, doesn’t cook much anymore. He merely keeps watchful eye over his expertly-trained staff. Although there’s one dish he entrusts only to himself to make: the steak tar-tar, which he does on the spot by hand, and is by far and away the best in the city.
Here’s hoping you’ll schlep out to my neck of the woods and try one of these outstanding restaurants. In the meantime, swing by bangkokseven.com every Sunday for the weekly and follow me on Twitter for nightly redlight updates @BangkokSeven