Lovers of spicy Southern soul food in Bangkok have been raving about this hugely popular Southern Thai restaurant group for some time; Khua Kling Pak Sod has certainly played a part in the city’s love of the region’s cuisine in recent years.
It all started in one beloved family run joint in downtown Sukhumvit, using family recipes and a faithful connection to the producers of the south, and the formula worked superbly; it has led to several more in the city. Though there are several branches across the city, Khua Kling Pak Sod keeps things consistent; classic Southern Thai dishes are unapologetically spicy, and fresh seafood is sourced from down south daily
The restaurant’s namesake dish khua kling – a minced pork curry, stir fried with red curry paste and served dry – throbs with local prik kee noo chillis to an almost nuclear level, and is all the better for it.
Their yellow coconut milk curry of crab meat, served with thin kanom jeen fermented rice noodles is another belter; offering less respite from the heat than the name suggests and, though we may be repeating ourselves, is all the better for it.
Perhaps steer clear if spice isn’t your thing. Even with the South’s reputation for chilli addiction, this restaurant does things hot, hot, hot. But if it is, Khua Kling Pak Sod is one of the best restaurants in the city.
Also worth mentioning; Khua Kling’s latest outpost, close to Chong Nonsi BTS, specialises in soothing shaved ice and syrup deserts, which are just perfect for extinguishing the flames burning from all those chillis. Sweet relief, indeed!
Not your average neighbourhood curry house, that’s for certain, The Chilli Pickle certainly raises the bar when it comes to British interpretations of street food from the Indian sub-continent.
The cooking here is precise and assertive, with the manipulating of sharp notes (from, amongst others, that namesake pickle) bringing real freshness and vivacity. This is perhaps most apparent in the superb gol gapa from the starters and small plates section, which is lifted to dizzy heights by both tamarind and coriander chutneys.
If you eat meat, you’d be a fool not to order the Nepali Chicken Wings; a cumin and salt rub gives the dish texture, Szechuan pepper creates a lingering, intriguing backnote, and the accompanying chilli sambal is nuanced and complex.
The menu here changes regularly, but if it’s on, a recent addition of beef keema is another must-order; the roasted bone marrow that arrives alongside (scoop, mix and groan) makes it impossibly hard to resist. The tandoori butter chicken, admittedly a safe bet, is, here, pleasingly nimble, with a good dose of lemon juice lightening things up.
We love this place, and judging by the queue Brighton does too, as do the restaurant inspectors at Michelin, who have awarded The Chilli Pickle a Bib Gourmand for several years on the bounce.
There’s a lot to like about Lurra. To start, it’s a bright, calming space, refined in design with one glass wall overlooking a gorgeous courtyard dining area. Shortlisted for the Best Restaurant Interior Design Award in 2015, it’s undeniably a gorgeous space to spend time in.
It’s the food, though, that is the main draw. The menu here draws on the Basque region of Spain, meaning that you can expect some seriously robust flavours on your plate.
The signature dish of Lurra is their Rubia Gallega, meaning ‘Galician Blond’; a hefty 800g of beef from a Northern Spanish, 17-year-old cow; the age where the meat is said to have the perfect ratio of marigold-yellow fat and a rich, almost blue cheese-like flavour. Sourced from Mr. Txuleta, the premier supplier of Basque beef in the UK, this sharing dish is guaranteed to impress.
Alongside this fantastic, imposing cut (served on the bone, of course), the restaurant specialises in other beloved Basque staples, including a whole turbot, blistered and burnished from the grill, and to finish, the perennially popular burnt cheesecake. Though this dessert is so often imitated, Lurra’s version certainly couldn’t be called a duplicate; it’s terrific.
We’ve been huge fans of Smoking Goat since its raucous, ramshackle days on Brewer Street. Rest assured; since the Thai barbeque restaurant’s move to Shoreditch, the vibe remains rowdy, the chill levels still Scoville baiting, and the aroma of smoke even more pervasive, in the best possible way of course.
This is food designed to reinvigorate. Though the fish sauce chicken wings have gained deserved cult status, and their Tamworth pork chop with spicy jaew dipping sauce is a real crowd pleaser, it’s the restaurant’s work with the offal which keeps us coming back.
With liver, heart and kidney featuring heavily in various laap, you could go to the Goat and dine very well on these intoxicating Laotian/Thai salads alone. With several rounds of sticky rice, a som tam salad and a couple of cold ones, it’s the ideal meal, any time of day in the city.
The food here is ultimately excellent Thai drinking food. As such, the drinks and cocktail list at Smoking Goat is thoughtfully curated to complement. Order a ‘Tray of Joy’ which features globetrotting, esoteric liquors including a a Coco Leaf Liqueur from Amsterdam, a watermelon Liqueur from Serra Di Conti and, of course, Mekhong from Bangkok.
Via Emilia in the city’s Sathorn district aims to faithfully recreate the food and hospitality of Italy’s famous Emilia Romagna region, all in the heart of Bangkok. It’s pure escapism, and sometimes, after a hectic and hot day here, it’s just the kind of place you want to sink into.
This restaurant is a tribute to Emilia Romagna and the foodie meccas of Bologna, Modena, Parma and the rest. The regions is famous for its renowned, world-class produce; think balsamic vinegar, parmigiano reggiano and prosciutto di Parma, all of which are used liberally throughout the menu.
It’s for the strozzapreti con le canocchie that we keep returning to Via Emilia – hand twisted pasta with mantis shrimps in tomato sauce, and just about as decadent tasting as it comes. It’s no surprise that this dish has developed a cult-like status amongst the restaurant’s regulars. The tagliatelle, positively brimming with shellfish, is glorious too.
The pizzas at Via Emilia certainly aren’t an afterthought. Made in the Bolognese style (no, not topped with ragu, but rather, with a thin base and crisp crusts), the dough is naturally leavened and left to ferment for 72 hours, resulting in an enjoyable lightness and depth of flavour. The parma ham and burrata version, the latter added fridge-cold once the pizza is cooked and subsequently adding a refreshing note, exemplifies this light touch. Delicious.
Address: 1040 Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra 17, Lane 5, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10120, Thailand
At La Bottega Di Luca, on Sukhumvit 49, the focus falls on luxury ingredients served on a gorgeous open-air terrace (well, not on the terrace, but rather, on plates) with chef Luca Appino (formerly of the city’s revered Enoteca) coaxing quiet alchemy from a string of both imported Italian D.O.P ingredients and premium produce from France, Japan, Australia and beyond.
So, that’s Hawaiian amberjack crudo or foie gras with pistachio and pistachio to start, followed by tagliolini served with Brittany lobster, and a headliner of wagyu tomahawk, naturally. The wine list is, unsurprisingly, vast and effusive.
Yes, we said it’s indulgent, but if you’re looking for a blowout in the City of Angels, La Bottega Di Luca is one hell of a treat.
Or, to experience chef Appino’s cooking (or, at least, his recipes) in more street level surrounds, look out for his Pizza Massilia food truck, which can even be booked for private events and parties.
Address: Terrace 49 Building Terrace 49 2nd fl, Soi Sukhumvit 49, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
On those rare occasions in the world’s greatest city when you’re not in the mood for a quick som tam, kanom jeen, yen ta fo, pad grapao et al, there are few places better to spend a long and leisurely lunch than sat at La Dotta’s convivial counter.
The proposition at this acclaimed pasta bar is simple, which can be a relief in a city so blessed with remarkable food options, and that’s – drum roll please – fresh pasta.
Rolled fresh every day, there are ten or so pasta dishes on the menu (plus a couple of starters and desserts) and that’s it, with the clarity of this vision letting the star of the show do all the talking.
Images Via La Dotta
Should you wish to have the decision making streamlined further, La Dotta’s ‘smart lunch’ offer of a starter, pasta and dessert for under 500 baht is a steal. That said, the whole menu is worth investigating; if the signature pappardelle with razor clams and broad beans is on the menu, do not miss it.
If you find yourself as enamoured with the cooking here as us, you’ll be pleased to hear that the restaurant has a grocery store, selling their signature sauces and dried pastas for you to lovingly recreate at home.
And, to top it all off, they’ll even let you have a cappuccino after your lunch…. Well, we did say it was convivial.
Address: Thong Lo 9 Road, 161/6 ซอย ทองหล่อ 9 Khlong Tan Nuea, Bang Na, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Appia, a faithfully recreated Roman trattoria which genuinely wouldn’t look (or taste) out of place in the Eternal City.
Opened in Sukhumvit in 2013 with chefs Jarret Wrisley and Roman-born Paolo Vitaletti at the helm, the restaurant truly is a love letter to Italy’s capital, with the Big Four pasta dishes so associated with the city all present and correct here. In fact, all present and utterly delicious here might be a more apt description.
True to the unwavering ethos of the Italian cooking sensibility, a deep respect for ingredients and sourcing (Vitaletti is the son of a butcher) is clear in everything Appia does, whether that’s in the exquisite range of affettatimade especially for the restaurant by the Cocchia family just north of Rome, or in the signature porchetta, which you’ll see gently rotating on a spit behind the bar each evening. Let us tell you; that is one inviting sight…
Also found on the business side of the bar, the wine list is extensive and keenly priced, with the guys behind Appia owning a vineyard back in Italy and the list brimming with small-scale, largely organic producers. These connections make the wine here surprisingly reasonable, when you consider Bangkok wine prices more generally – you’ll find a large glass of full bodied Montepulciano clocking in at under 300 Baht.
In short, if you’re to go to one Italian restaurant in Bangkok, make it Appia.
Address: 20/4 Soi Sukhumvit 31, Klongton Nua Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Last year Peppina named the best pizzeria in Thailand (and the fifth in the Asia-Pacific region) at the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific awards.
Here, it’s real-deal Neapolitan pizzas, with authenticity the driving force behind the restaurant group’s (there are now six in Bangkok) continued success.
In fact, Peppina is Southeast Asia’s only AVPN certified, Napoli-style pizzeria, with the quality of the ingredients shining most strikingly in the most simple of pizzas, the marinara, with the sweet/tart interplay of the imported San Marzano tomatoes satisfying every craving for ”Western food” you’ll have in Bangkok.
Of course, you don’t have to order in such an austere fashion; there are some real gems to be found in Peppina’s Special Selection section of the menu, too. We particularly like the restaurant’s pizza carpaccio, with the fresh, creamy stracciatella and a smart squeeze of lemon lifting the dish to dizzy (and surprisingly refreshing) heights.
The pasta at Peppina is excellent, too. For us, the best bowls of pasta stay true to two pillars of all great Italian food; number one, the pasta should be the star, and two, the accompanying adornments must be fresh, of clarity, and celebrate the raw ingredient. Peppina follows both thoughtfully.
Their house favourites, which include an excellent vongole veraci and a paccheri pasta with slow cooked pork cheek ragu, are both well worth the visit, even if pizza isn’t your thing.
That clarity of ingredients is found just as keenly in the superb cocktails here; the house negroni delivers every time. This is, quite simply, the best pizza in Bangkok.
A Spanish-Italian hybrid, Dehesa offers classy, well-executed small plates and a great wine list just off Carnaby Street. It’s the place to come for inventive and creative modern tapas in London, we think.
Like all good small plates affairs, the menu at Dehesa responds to the seasons; on our last winter visit, a roasted hake with caramelised celeriac and crispy kale was sublime. When it comes to mainstays on the menu, the signature deep-fried cheese-stuffed courgette flowers, a perfect balance of crispiness, savoury and sweet, is a particular highlight.
The restaurant also does the classics well; the crisp and creamy jamon & manchego croquetas are not to be missed, nor are their gloriously garlicky pil pil tiger prawns.
For the quality of food on offer, Dehesa is a refreshingly informal dining spot, ideal for a light bite of cheese and charcuterie or a full blown tapas feast, equally.
Image via Dehesa
If you’re looking to sit outside, their heated corner terrace is the largest in Soho and is the perfect spot to take a load off while watching the colourful world of central London go by.
Founded by former Barrafina head chef Nieves Barragan and business partner Jose Etura, Sabor is a Michelin-starred tapas bar and grill serving Andalusian-inspired tapas around a horseshoe counter on the ground floor, and larger sharing dishes cooked in a traditional wood-fired oven from Castile in their first floor El Asador.
That latter location is a beautiful space to dine in, with a spiral staircase leading to a boisterous dining room that has you sitting in close proximity with your fellow diners, building a communal, convivial experience.
The menu includes some less familiar tapas such as confit rabbit shoulder and tortilla gallega, or you can go big and order Sabor’s signature Churrasco de Cordero; Iberian lamb ribs roasted in the famous wood ovens of the region.
Image Via Sabor
The main event, though, is without doubt the whole roast suckling pig, which is one hell of a spectacle and one of the finest eating experiences in the capital. Bring a friend or two for this one!
Ideal For A Trip To Bombay & Back Again: Dishoom, Kingly Street…
Did you even dine in London if you didn’t go to Dishoom? Well, if you’re looking for great things to eat in the vicinity of Carnaby Street, then rest assured; the very first outpost of the now ubiquitous purveyors of Bombay-style comfort food was here.
For those not in the know, Dishoom is an enduringly popular and lovingly curated Indian restaurant serving classic Bombay dishes that, just like the 60s Bombay beat bands the location is inspired by, are sure to delight you with flavour and texture.
With a fun yet measured interior that boasts chequered-tile floors and bright leather seats, it mixes hippy-trail vibes with cues from the subcontinent’s familiar patterns and hues. Despite the restaurant chain growing to include eight other establishments in the UK, standards haven’t dropped – as so often is the case with expansion – and Dishoom Carnaby remains an ever dependable place to dine.
The crowds come here (and boy do they come here) for Dishoom’s trademark bacon naan roll, which involves crispy bacon, chilli jam, cream cheese and herbs, all encased in a freshly baked naan that’s been brushed in melted butter. It’s just the fuel you need before taking on shops of Soho.
Even better is the chef’s special at the Kingly Street branch, the Salli Boti, a tender curried lamb dish that is braised in a rich gravy and finished with salli crisp chips. A Parsi classic, this one is sure to open your mind to the distinct flavours of the ethnoreligious group.
Still hungry? Then order a plate of Dishoom’s deep and rich house black dal alongside an Indo-Chinese inspired dish of crispy garlic-ginger-soy-chilli-chicken. You won’t be sorry. Next time you visit, and there will be a next time, have Dishoom’s signature chicken ruby curry – it’s heavenly. You could also go with a medley of small plates that include Gujarati-style lamb samosas, the house chaat, or the Keema Pau, a minced lamb dish you’ll often find in the Irani cafes of Bombay, served in homemade buns.
If you can’t get the Kingly Street, then Dishoom has nine other restaurants across the UK, with four more in London, in Kensington, Shoreditch, King’s Cross, and Covent Garden. Oh, and for every meal sold, Dishoom donates a school lunch to underprivileged kids in India and the UK. Great stuff!
Any seafood restaurant with an on-site fishmonger (his name’s Barney and he boasts 30 years of experience, if you’re asking) is a cheering place to dine if you love your fish shiny, slimy and bright eyed, and the Spiny Lobster is no exception, with the ‘Daily Catch’ section of their website updated each and every day with what’s good and fresh.
If you’re keen to dine in, the restaurant specialises in cooking that daily catch over coals, with the chefs working a central Josper grill to impart that distinctive smoky flavour into their prized primary ingredient.
Of course, when the product is this good and the cooking method so pronounced, the accoutrements should stay straightforward and streamlined so flavours don’t get muddled.
Image via Spiny Lobster
Unsurprisingly, the Spiny Lobster understands this, whether it’s in their chargrilled seabass served just with a small ramekin of salsa verde, or in their whole bream, blistered and burnished from the Josper, and simply adorned with rosemary. For something more delicate, the fillet of gurnard with fennel mayo is airily composed but still reassuringly fully-flavoured.
You get the picture, and it’s a commendably ascetic, aesthetically pleasing one. The Spiny Lobster is the type of local fish restaurant that any neighbourhood – whether in Bristol, London, Paris or Melbourne – would be proud to call their own.
We think it’s safe to say that at as 2023 begins, the convenience of an electric folding bike just can’t be ignored. No, really, it can’t be ignored; they seem to be everywhere! And the smug, content look of their riders is testament to their powers.
That said, for those not yet ready to ride the revolution, there are several pressing questions which need to be answered; are electric folding bikes really that convenient, when you have to lug them around? Do they come at an astronomical cost? Are these bikes reliable and safe to run? And are they truly green or just the latest fad?
We’re here to assuage those fears and shed a little light on this latest transport craze; here are 5 reasons to invest in an electric folding bike.
Ideal For City Living
The design of the folding e-bike has come a long way; once bulky and heavy, they now come in sleek and sexy designs, ideal for city living. Most of us city dwellers live in small flats, perhaps with flatmates and certainly with a fair degree of clutter, and a normal bike takes up too much valuable square footage, we’re sure you’ll agree.
Indeed, if you live in the city, the sad reality is that the highest number of bikes get stolen from urban areas, and many people are put off cycling due to the threat of theft should the bike be left outside. A folding e-bike is a simple solution to this concern. Being foldable, you can easily store yours in the office or at home, taking up far less space than a rigid frame bike, and meaning that you don’t have to leave it outdoors and prone to theft.
The benefits for urbanites doesn’t stop there. Folding electric bikes are also great for taking on tube and commuter trains; simply collapse it and board the train effortlessly.
This modern mode of transport has been engineered according to the needs of a modern cyclist, with electric city-specific bikes ideal for zipping swiftly around town. A quality, lightweight folding electric bike boasts a relatively long battery life (60 minutes or 70 miles of range on a single charge) making it ideal for commuters, particularly.
Great For Taking On Trips
Want to take your bike away on a weekend? No problem; a folding electric bike can do that, too. Convenient and portable, as we mentioned, an electric bike is ideal for taking on trains, but it can also fit into the smallest of cars, should you be planning on driving to a remote destination to then explore on two wheels. Don’t want to leave your bike chained up outside your hotel? An E-bike will fit snuggly into your hotel wardrobe. Indeed, the portability and convenience of a folding E-bike is one of its main appeals.
A folding e-bike is just like riding a regular bike, in terms of it giving you a good workout if you so choose, however, it boasts the added bonus of giving you a push on the difficult, uphill bits should you so require. The best of all biking worlds, don’t you think? While it’s probably true that conventional biking will keep you fitter, riding an e-bike is a real pleasure. And as such, it might encourage you to get out there on the open road more regularly.
With one, you’ll be more motivated to go out on longer bike rides, explore more enthusiastically and get more fresh air, with those hilly country lanes that little bit more manageable on an E-bike. Once you’ve got your strength up, you can always switch the motor to low assistance mode or turn it off completely if you’re after some more strenuous exercise.
Of course, there’s the fun factor to consider, too. Riding an E-bike can be just plain fun! Whether you’re using it for leisurely weekend rides or commuting around town, electric bicycles provide plenty of thrills while still being practical enough that they can replace traditional modes of transportation in many cases – what’s not to love?
Go Green
In comparison to mopeds, motorbikes and cars, e-bikes are a super eco-friendly way of travelling. The amount of waste they produce is negligible, and the majority of E-bike batteries are made from lithium ion rechargeable (rather than disposable), rather than the more harmful lead. That said, it should be noted that their positive environmental impact is somewhat negated if you’re still running your car alongside an E-bike. But if you replace four wheels with two, you’re contributing to lowering carbon emissions by switching to a renewable source of energy. Every little helps, right?
Cost-Effectiveness
With good quality E-bikes available from around £1000, and the cost to charge one just 5p per charge cycle, a folding electric bike represents a savvy investment when compared to both a car and a costly train season ticket. With a battery lasting for several years, replacements costing just a couple of hundred pounds, and tire replacement around £30 per wheel, maintenance and upkeep of an electric bike is also relatively inexpensive compared to travelling on four wheels.
An electric bike can replace both short trips by car and longer rides by public transport; the cost savings can quickly add up over time. Plus, since your commute is powered by electricity, there’s no need to spend money on gas or other fuel sources!
With these reasons to buy an electric folding bike, we’re guessing you’re sold. Before you make a big purchase, do check out these 5 things to consider before buying an E-bike. See you on the road soon?
The collection of cargo-container restaurants housed in a far corner of Bristol’s hip, harbourside Wapping Wharf quarter has become one of the city’s key culinary focal points, and it’s here that you’ll find Salt and Malt.
The brainchild of chef Josh Eggleton, a former Michelin-star holder who has appeared on BBC’s Great British Menu, Salt and Malt specialises in gluten free fish and chips alongside an ever-changing cast of carefully composed seafood small plates. With views over Bristol’s Floating Harbour (watch out for seagulls!), there are few more suitable settings to sample Britain’s most iconic dish.
But it’s away from the ‘classics’ side of the menu that things get interesting, with the monkfish ragu – rich, keenly seasoned, and spooned over toasted sourdough – a particular favourite in the IDEAL office. Similarly, the haddock Milanese (essentially a flattened fillet given the schnitzel treatment), served with an assertive anchovy butter, is a very satisfying plate for ichthyophiles, indeed.
All of this pairs perfectly with a can of Bristol Beer Factory’s Southville Hop; the ideal foil to the restaurant’s namesake chippy seasoning. Might just order a second, actually…
