Balee Laos

The Menu: Balee Laos has EVERYTHING! They have a menu written in English and Thai language. It is filled with everything from delicious appetizers like chicken satay, spring rolls, and larb moo tod, to great entrees like goong sha nam pla (raw shrimp with lemon and spicy sauce), tom yum goong, panang, and many other great thai dishes. Balee Laos is a haven for nam prik lovers, they have many different kinds of nam priks for you. Also they have quite a few desserts too, like everyone’s favorite mango and sticky rice, yummy!
What I Ate: I was there with a group of 4, we ordered tom yum moo, goong sha nam pla, larb moo tod, nam prik kapi with grilled fish and veggies and Beer Laos.
The Staff: I experienced very friendly staff
The Bathroom: Bathrooms are clean

Conclusion:

Extras: Regular customers can get a 10% dicount card for free, can use only for food (not drinks and liquors).

Parata Diamond presents a new concept of chill lounging and dining as the newest gastro bar and gallery to Bangkok, located in the upscale and chic Ekamai district. The executive chef, trained at one of the top culinary schools in the United States, delivers contemporary American cuisine displayed in the menu selection inspired by local fresh ingredients and prepared by French technique. The bold and flavorful dishes provide new creations to classy American choices with ingredients that will dance on your taste buds, topped off with a decadent presentation. The restaurant covers the entire lot between Soi 24 to Soi 22 with the options to dine on the balcony, sip on our signature cocktail at the bar (The Parata Prae) or enjoy shisha on the couches on our patio all encompassed by the Moroccan themed atmosphere and decor. The holistic ambience of the restaurant allows customers to freely move about the rooms and outdoor spaces in addition to the fashion designers displaying their newest clothing designs soon. Please come down to Ekamai to engage in a diverse and chill new experience at the Parata Diamond Gastro Bar and Gallery.

The Menu: Signature ppetizers: Pork Belly Confit Pierogi Puff, Harrissa Lamb Strudels, Beet Salad. Their signature cocktail is Parata Prae, signature pasta is chipotle spaghetti carbonara, signature entrees are chicken two ways and five spice glazed beef short ribs
What I Ate: I haven’t tried Parata Diamond yet, soon!
The Staff: N/A
The Bathroom: N/A

Conclusion:

Extras: Upon customers request, they will provide access to their high-speed wifi free of charge.

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant is originated from Japan and the owner is Yamada Sensei. It is a nice little japanese restaurant on the 3rd floor of the Esplanade Mall in Ratchada. Being on the 3rd floor it’s pretty much out of the way of the hustle and bustle of things in Esplanade. So it’s a nice little getaway from all the busy restaurants there. The food was great, the service was good too. So if you are in the Ratchada area and in the mood for a different japanese restaurant than your typical Fuji, Shabushi, Sakura, etc, then I really suggest giving Wasabi Restaurant a fair chance and try it out

The Menu:
What I Ate: I ordered a variety of great foods, including seared salmon, salmon sashimi, fried grouper and a few more things. Overall the meal was great, the food was delicious.
The Staff: The staff was very friendly and accommodating, we were seated at a regular middle table, but then a side window table opened up and asked if we would rather sit there with a nice view of Ratchada road. I appreciated that
The Bathroom:

Conclusion:

Extras: none

Spanish On 4 aka Tapas Cafe Bangkok was is the downtown branch of ever-popular Tapas Cafe in Sukhumvit Soi 11. The new restaurant is located in the heart of the Silom business area on Silom Soi 4. During the day Soi 4 is busy with a lot of local office workers taking their lunch. At night, the street livens up and the terrace at Spanish on 4 becomes a great place for dining, drinking and people watching. The food is similar to Tapas Cafe – traditional spanish foods, and very authentic, Spanish tapas with weekly changing specials. The kitchen is overseen by Xavier Palomar, their chef from Barcelona, so having a true chef from Spain will reassure you that the foods at Spanish On 4 is very authentic. The wine list has wines from all the major wine producing areas of Spain at very reasonable prices and home made sangria is always a party favorite. The atmosphere is informal and buzzy with latin and other world music playing. Bookings are recommended for parties, or on the weekends. Happy hour runs all day until 7 pm with 2 for 1 sangria and 3 for 2 tapas on offer. Lunch sets are available daily at 220 baht. Price is usually about 200 – 500 baht per person. Capacity: 80 people. Cocktails: Full bar. Large party room and roof garden available.

The Menu:
What I Ate:
The Staff:
The Bathroom:

Conclusion:

Extras: none

Yentafo

The Menu:
What I Ate: We ordered the main Yentafo thai noodles, it’s similar to the roadside type of kuay teaw noodles that most thai’s love to eat. Also some fried fish cakes with sweet sauce, and some dessert consisting of fresh baked Yentafo bread covered in some super sweet shaved ice and sugars
The Staff: quick service
The Bathroom: You must use the Esplanade public bathrooms, usually very clean and big

Conclusion:

Extras: none

Paula Pop thai restaurant is a nice little restaurant in the downstairs food and restaurant area in Esplanada. If you are in Esplanade for whatever reason and you are interested in Thai food, PP is a good choice, and actually there are not many other thai restaurants inside Esplenade, they have mostly suki and japanese restaurants. But to be completely honest, I doubt I will have a go at PP again, unless I’m in the mood for nam prik. In my opinion, thai foods are not best when served inside big high class shopping malls.

The Menu: They have all the basic thai foods you can think of
What I Ate: I ordered the panang moo, it’s a spicy dark curry with pieces of pork, it was not the best. I also ordered the kai jeaw moo saap, that is the thai style omelette with pieces of minced pork, it’s delicious to eat with the nam prik kapi, that is the salso-looking dip in the small bowl, but beware, it tastes nothing like salsa! It’s spicy, and very unique flavorite. It’s not really farang-friendly type of food.
The Staff: All speak mostly only thai language, but very nice and friendly at Paula Pop.
The Bathroom: The bathrooms are very near, the public bathrooms in Esplanade, same level, have 2 locations, very clean and big

Conclusion:

Extras: none

CoCoICHIBANYA is a very famous curry house from Japan. This highly popular chain restaurant has been around for 30+ years so that says a lot! Also CoCoICHIBANYA is the largest curry chain restaurant in the world, with over 1,200 branches in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea. I consider those of us here in Thailand totally lucky to have this restaurant. ANd it’s in 10 locations, mostly in Bangkok, and in Pattaya. So be sure to check out this wonderful restaurant. If you love curry, you will love CoCo Ichibanya! Aroi mak!

The Menu: The menu is filled with various types of japanese curry. And the most popular is to create-your-own-curry. You can choose which curry base, what hotness level you want, and any/all additions you order will come in a little cup, for you to dump into the curry. They have pork, beef, vegetable, seafoods, and many more to choose from! If you love curry, then you will love CoCo! The complete CoCo Ichibanya menu can be seen here.
What I Ate: I eat the hot vegetable curry, #3 level hot curry sauce, with a side of tuna to put into the curry and rice. It’s 1 of my favorite dishes in all of Thailand! I have cravings for it regularly!
The Staff: They speak very little English, but are very friendly
The Bathroom: The bathrooms are located downstairs in Esplanade, they are very clean and big

Conclusion:

Extras: You can use your Fuji discount card for a 5-10% discount at all Coco Ichibanya restaurants

Sombood Seafood is a famous Chinese / Thai crab curry and seafood restaurant in Bangkok. The business began in 1969 at Sam Yan location and became well known with it’s specialty, the fried curry crab. With over 40 years in business you can already understand that Somboon and company know how to make quality food and satisfy their customers. And now with 5 branches, you can find Sombood Seafood all over Bangkok, in Bantadthong, Surawong, Ratchada, Udom Suk, and Sam Yan

The Menu: Somboon menu has every seafood you could imagine, from seabass, to grouper, shrimps, oysters, cockles, frog, and of course their specialty, fried crab curry!
What I Ate: Fried morning glory (pad pak boong fai dang), some crab in yellow curry sauce, stir fried fresh water prawns with garlic and chili, steamed sea bass in lemon sauce and a few more dishes you can see in the pics below
The Staff: Somboon staff was very friendly and helpful
The Bathroom: The bathrooms here are very clean and on the 3rd floor

Conclusion:

Extras: none

Cow Tom Ooh Tong is a great restaurant for hanging out with your friends, for eating great authentic thai food and drinking beers, especially a night time thing. They have my favorite Tom Yum Goong in Bangkok. The food here is great and you will be shocked once you get the bill, the prices are amazingly cheap! The scene here is very nice, nice vibes as you can sit there eating and watching the Ratchada traffic go by. There are a few friendly dogs that live there and always running around the tables and playing to give a nice home feeling. I would highly recommend this restaurant for those of you living in the Ratchadapisek area, and it’s late night, great for 1 last stop after the night clubs on the weekends!

The Menu: They have a menu full of great choices of Thai foods. Many fish platters, soup platters, and a very delicious Tom Yum Kung, probably my favorite Tom Yum in Bangkok. Also the garlic shrimps and goong sha nam pla is wonderful too, that is the raw shrimp in a lemon sauce that you dip into seafood sauce
What I Ate: I always get the shrimp dishes, Tom Yum Goong, my favorite in Bangkok, garlic shrimps, morning glory in oyster sauce, pad kra pao
The Staff: Always very friendly with a welcoming smile everytime I go here
The Bathroom: The restrooms here are decent, but not the best

Conclusion:

Extras: none

Ko Khun beef restaurant

The Menu: The menu is filled with soups, salads, and plenty of Ko Khun beef options, rib eye, thin sliced beef, bacon, marinated beef, and beef teriyaki. The fish with spicy seafood sauce was delicious, ALL the beef grilled (fried) on the skillet on top of coals right in front of you was delicious, the sizzling meats cooked and even popped little oil sizzles onto the table and sometimes onto your arms. The food is top notch! The menu is 100% in Thai language only.
What I Ate:
The Staff: The staff appeared very friendly and helpful, but mostly do not speak English, this restaurant is great, but definitely not targetted for foreigners
The Bathroom: The toilet here is clean and does have tissue (for you girls)

Conclusion:

Extras: