Spice Market (Bangkok, THAILAND) ★★★★☆

It wasn't that long ago when Spice Market was widely praised as the best Thai restaurant in Bangkok but with the emergence of Bo Lan, Nahm and Issaya Siamese Club, it has lost a bit of its luster over the recent years.

But in my opinion, it's not so much Spice Market has suddenly lost its touch. It has more to do with the competition getting a lot tougher.




As always, dinner at The Spice Market started off with a miang kham as the welcoming dish.

Miang kham is a traditional snack from Thailand and Laos. You are supposed to wrap all these ingredients like coconut, peanuts, dried shrimp etc. in a leaf and then finished with a sweet-and-salty sauce.



Poh-Pia Thord or deep-fried spring rolls with crab meat is still one of their best dishes. 



On this particular visit, we also had their crispy soft-shell crab with peppercorn sauce and chili. A plus dish if you are into spicy food.



For whatever reason, my friends always like to order the fried rice noodles with prawns that was wrapped in an egg net but I thought it's just average at best.

 

Spice Market remains one of my favorite Thai restaurants in Bangkok. We can always expect consistency from its kitchen and personally, it brings back a great deal of memories from the past.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ฿฿฿
Address: G/F Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, 155 Rajadamri Road, 10330 Bangkok, Thailand
Closest Metro Station: Ratchadamri
Tel: +66 (0) 2126-8866
Website: www.fourseasons.com/bangkok/dining/restaurants/spice_market/

Thai Scala Shark's Fin (1992) 泰國銀都魚翅酒樓 (Bangkok, THAILAND) ★★★☆☆

After spending the entire morning walking around Chatuchak Weekend Market where Jelloman almost got her pocket picked, we were all set to return to Central Bangkok for lunch.
And it didn't take long for us to arrive at our lunch venue, Thai Scala Shark's Fin 1992 (泰國銀都魚翅酒樓).

Originated from Bangkok's Chinatown, Scala Shark's Fin is one of the pioneers in serving diners with different kinds of exquisite shark's fin soup, abalone and seafood dishes. 



Shark's fin soup – The price of the shark's fin soup largely depends on the amount of shark's fin in the rich broth and it's entirely our call. This was really thick and flavorful.

Baked crab claws with glass noodles – We had a choice between crab claws and sea shrimps to go with our glass noodles and gladly took the meaty crab claws. Not a bad choice at all. It was perfect to go with the fried rice.

Fried rice with egg and crab meat – Not surprisingly, this came with some nice "wok hei" and loads of fresh crab meat. Yum~

I thought I ordered a little too much this afternoon. Totally stuffed!

Scala has a number of branches across Bangkok including one in Siam Paragon but this branch along with their Chinatown flagship probably offer the best value for money.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ฿฿฿฿

Address: Block 28x No. 118 Lock 107-108 Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, 10330 Bangkok, Thailand

Closest BTS Station: N/A

Tel: +66 2251-8899

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 9:00pm daily

Red Sky (Bangkok, THAILAND) ★☆☆☆☆

They looked at the success of Sirocco and tried to build a carbon-copy of that at the new Centara Grand with Red Sky but flat out failed from the start to finish.

First and foremost, the restaurant simply does not have the space and view that Sirocco possesses. Then it was the quality of service and food that proved to be utterly disappointing.

We were given a table at the entrance of the restaurant and thought it was a bit cramped but the staff insisted that other spots were already taken (but see photos as most tables were empty) so we had no choice but to stay put. 






Then there was the quality of food, or the lack of it. We ordered the seared Hokkaido scallops done three ways, Maguro tuna tartar, Saddle of French rabbit, slow-cooked Kobe short-ribs, Salmon cake etc. to share among the four of us. Apart of the diminutive sizes of the dishes, the taste was collectively uninspiring and dull. 

For the prices that they were charging here, I would definitely say Sirocco and Vertigo were more preferable options.

Food Rating: 4.5/10
Price: ฿฿฿฿
Address:  55/F, 999/99 Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand
Closest BTS Station: Siam / Chit Lom
Website: http://www.centarahotelsresorts.com/cgcw/restaurant.asp

Manna (Bangkok, THAILAND) ★★☆☆☆

not too judgemental on Thai food because I am not 



Paragon



Menu



Deep-fried fish cakes



pork



Crab meat omelette



Tom yum rice



Thai-style stir fried noodles with pork






Food Rating: 3.5/10
Price: ฿฿฿
Address: G 22-24 Siam Paragon Shopping Centre, 991 Ramai Road, Bangkok, Thailand
Closest BTS Station: Siam
Tel: +66 2129-4555