Everything Random

Now that my son Leandro (a.k.a. Migo at Spotify) is in Bangkok for the school break, we promised we dine out every weekend at a Michelin-listed restaurant. For one April weekend, we did a tour of our favourite Asian cuisines – Thai, Japanese, and Vietnamese, and reserved three dinners in a row. Which one do you think stood out?

First, Thai. Our choice this time is PLU.

Plu is a Bib Gourmand restaurant located on an alley near the busy street Suan Phlu. It’s inside a renovated house and is famed for its non-nonsense Thai cooking. We ordered a lot of food because each one of us had our own favourite. My kids wanted to try their grilled beef, my wife wanted to eat somtam, I wanted melinjo leaves with egg, and so on. So to please everyone, we ordered what we wanted to eat and ended up boxing several dishes that we hardly touched.

The food is really good. Everything is cooked with love and devotion :). The chef even went to our table to check if the grilled beef that my son requested to be cooked rare (they normally do medium), was what we wanted. Highly recommended. I can imagine that we will also go back at some point one of these days, with guests, or friends. 8/10. We even managed to order desserts! See below:

Second stop: Japanese. We went for Gen.

Gen is listed in the Michelin handbook but did not make it to a Bib gourmand. It is, however, one of the very few Japanese restaurants on the list and my friends recommended it. So we tried. It’s a bit far from where we live, but reviews said that the yakitori will be worth the trip. The restaurant does not disappoint.

My kids were raving about the seared breast chicken sashimi on yuzu pepper, while my wife and I are impressed by the chicken skewers. Drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, were good. Was it worth the trip? Yes. 8/10.

The Vietnamese: Thien Duong at Baan Dusit Thani

This place is very near our house, just a few minutes walk. Part of the Dusit Thani compound, it sits a few meters away from the famed Benjarong thai restaurant. (I normally go to Benjarong in Makati with friends when craving for Thai dishes).

The place is pretty, but the food is not necessarily phenomenal. As somebody who has frequented Vietnam in the last four years, I expected something more. The beef pho, for example, is a staple, but it was forgettable. Unfortunately, it’s a 7/10 for me.