Bangkok is rammed to the rafters with the richest variety of options for the culinarily inquisitive. From high end to low end, and everything in between, the mega-metropolis has got your back. Being a vast city, to put it mildly, and with most restaurants specialising in one type of cuisine or famous for one type of dish, makes for a certain amount of travel to experience a range of the country’s cuisine in the same day. As any visitor to the city well knows, travel and time efficiency is not a marriage made in heaven here. How about sticking regional, well executed cuisine from the north, the south, and the middle all under one roof, saving a thousand journeys and plenty more baht?
IDEA
Thai Lao Yeh’s cuisine purports to be primarily of Isaan descendance, but in all honestly, the menu stretches, and infact crosses, Thailand’s borders. The food of the North-East is represented well, but offerings from Lao, Chiang Mai and plenty of hot, vibrant Southern curries also make an appearance. Authenticity (a dirty word when liberally used) issues abound, the food is uniformly delicious, and the opportunity to sample such a broad range extremely welcome.
LOCATION
The restaurant is nestled in the regal Cabochon hotel, in the Siam area of Bangkok, and is stylised to feel like an affluent home from the 1920s. Vintage Mercedes sit outside, and antique flourishes adorn the walls. It feels cool and sophisticated.
ATMOSPHERE
The decor of the room is reminiscent of what you’d imagine a wealthy household in Ancient Siam to be like. Restored wooden wall panels are crafted from 100-year old timber salvaged from a remote Thai Village and deep, dark wood furnishings create an ambience suggestive of low, gentle voices. The owners collection of decorative wooden bird cages dangle from the ceiling. Crockery is a carefully curated collection of blue and white Thai ceramics and the ornate utensils, locally crafted and sourced from Chatuchak market, is beautiful and reassuringly heavy. Wait staff glide around with unassuming authority and through the open-plan kitchen you can see the cooks. Aromatic smells of lemongrass and ginger permeate the air and the sound pestle striking mortar and the sizzle of woks all add up to multi-sensory pleasure.
FOOD
With the menu being on the lengthy side, we sought guidance from our waiter. We were steered towards Larb Pla, a delicious Northern minced fish salad. It was as good a rendition of this dish as we have tried anywhere – fragrant and zesty, just as it should be. Equally good was the Northern sausage, all sour and immensely herbal, supported by salted, roasted peanuts and some soothing chilled vegetables. The knock-outs just kept coming. A majestic oxtail soup was complemented by hints of star anise, the combination working in exquisite harmony. Roasted, crispy pork with a piquant tamarind dipping sauce continued the crowd pleasing. Even the green, stir fried vegetables were moreish and perfectly executed.
DRINK
Light and refreshing Thai beers are the perfect accompaniment to this type of food – soothing, crisp and just right with chili. A decent, affordable wine list also suits the air of sophistication.
MUST TRY
The oxtail soup was the stand-out star in a shimmering sky. Seasoning and spicing was elegant, ethereal, even, and the meat melted as it should if cooked well. A bowl of plain rice was the perfect foil, as in any Thai spread of repute. Need we say more?
WHY GO
For a trailblazing, fingerlicking ride through Thai food, in relaxed, cool surrounds, go to Thai Lao Yeh. Its sophistication and spice, in equal, abundant measure, seemed to sum up the heat, diversity and class of the city so well. We loved it. So will you.
Website: www.cabochonhotel.com
Address: Cabochon Hotel, 14/29 Sukhumvit Soi 45, Bangkok, 10110 Thailand
IDEAL dined as a guest of the hotel