Category Archives: Good For – Romantic Dining

Quince Bangkok Eatery & Bar (Bangkok – Sukhumvit) and Healthland Asoke

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Quince Bangkok Eatery & Bar

Address: Sukhumvit Soi 45, Bangkok 10110 Thailand

Operating hours: 11.30am to 1.00am daily

Click here for Google Map

Introduction

Quince Bangkok Eatery & Bar is situated at the Sukhumvit area that is a few minutes walk away from Phrom Phong BTS. Apart from street food, authentic Thai food and cafes, Bangkok also has some very romantic, posh and classy restaurants and Quince Bangkok Eatery & Bar is one of them.

Click here to view my full list of Bangkok Food Itinerary

This romantic fine-dining restaurant is relatively new which was opened in year 2012 and this place generally has some mixed reviews. I fell in love with this place almost immediately. No crowd (on a Sunday night), good food, relaxing setting, great interior and great (but slightly slow) service.

Reservation can be made through email and they can even send a copy of their seasonal menu to you before deciding to make a reservation. The pricing wise is a little to a higher side for Bangkok standard, for example a Grass-fed Striploin cost S$31.60++ and a crab meat pasta cost S$15.20++. But in fact the price is still cheaper than Singapore’s restaurant price.

The eatery is separated into the bar area as shown in my first photo, and the dining area is behind a wall and it’s a different world.

Grass-Fed Beef Striploin with Macaroni Gratin – 790 baht

I ordered this steak that comes with a their baked Macaroni Gratin and I think it’s very worth it at 790 baht.

Some of us may wonder – what does Grass-fed Beef means?

Apparently, the grass-fed cows lived out their entire life roaming freely on grassland instead of being cooped up in feed lot. The grain-fed cows  are rapidly fattened up with grain-based feeds, usually made with a base of soy or corn. while the grass-fed cows gain weight naturally and logically taking more time to reach the weight of a typical grain-fed cow.

Grass-fed cows also get more nutritious food from the nature and not just munching on monoculture lawn cuttings and studies show that grass-fed beef contains more nutrients and less toxins. Therefore, Grass-fed beef are naturally more costly than a regular grain-fed beef.

Ok, back to the review! The light Red Wine Olive Jus goes very well with the steak with a tinge of olive oil and a light aroma of red wine. Strip Loin steak, one of the fine cuts of beef with less fatty tissue, the steak itself is succulent, moist and juicy.  I am quite sure that i won’t be able to get such a steak at Singapore at S$31.00+

On the other hand, the macaroni gratin that comes with the steak actually fall short of my expectation. Apart from the top layer of cheese, the taste of the macaroni is rather plain, and lack of flavor. Such a waste.

Crab Pasta – 380 baht

Quince Bangkok Eatery & Bar hand cut pasta’s texture is a little similar to our 板面 (Chinese Hand-made noodle), but thinner and smoother and topped with Tomato Ragu sauce, chilli and basil. The Tomato Ragu is rather light which makes me feel like finishing the whole plate of pasta even though i am already rather full. And the best part? Big chunks of fresh and succulent crab meat! (Look at the right side of my Crab Pasta photo)

Crispy Quail Eggs

I also ordered their side dish – Crispy Quail Eggs at 120 baht. This dish is interesting and the taste is rather refreshing. This is my first time trying the potato foam, which has a sweet cream and lightly salted taste. Three crispy breaded quail eggs are added into the foam and topped with thinly-sliced Chorizo. Something that i never tried before and glad that i did.

Conclusion

Quince Bangkok Eatery & Bar is a place that offers you a fine-dining meal at a normal restaurant price. Typically, at Singapore, such a meal with a similar ambiance can easily cost me for more than S$100.00.

The complimentary starter

As for their service, the waiters are attentive and very responsive. When i walked around taking photos, on a camera tripod, nobody bats an eye and allowed me to roam freely around the restaurant without any weird look. I really appreciate this.

The only problem is, the food were served a bit slow, which i figured out that they needed some time to bake the potato gratin that comes with my steak. The location is also rather accessible, with a few minutes walk from Phrom Phong BTS. Overall, i am a very satisfied customer.

Some of you may had noticed that i didn’t order dessert? Yeap, that is because after this meal, i am transiting into a street food mode and will attack the so-call “Bangkok Best Mango Sticky Rice” at Sukhumvit Soi 38. Feel free to read more on this food street from this post.

For those who are looking for a place to celebrate any special occasion, apart from the sky bars in Bangkok, this may be a rather ideal place. If you still have time, then i will probably recommend a massage place – Healthland Asoke, that is only one stop from Phrom Phong BTS. Why not indulge yourself and complete the night with a relaxing couple massage. Their price is very reasonable for it’s class. This is their website: http://www.healthlandspa.com/asoke.html and remember to call for reservation. And no, i don’t earn any commission. LOL.

The Deck @ Arun Residence (Bangkok – Phra Nakhon)

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The Deck @ Arun Residence

Address: The Deck By The River, Maha Rat, Phra Nakhon

Opening hours: Mon-Thu 8.00am to 10.00pm, Fri-Sun 8.00am to 11.00pm

Introduction

As a lover for landscape photography, I will always try to make some time to visit attractions for some shots while I’m overseas. The Deck is situated just directly opposite Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) across the river, which is within walking distance from The Grand Palace and Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) or Wat Phra Chetuphon. It is the perfect place to take a good shot of Bangkok’s Wat Arun.

While I am expecting a classy and posh restaurant that is within a up-class hotel, i am pleasantly surprised that The Deck is not such a place and i thought this cosy and homely residence/restaurant may just be it’s charm.

Click to see my list of consolidated Bangkok Food Itinerary

The restaurant

The deck is divided into three levels, while level one and two are reserved for seated dining, level three is their bar area. There is a spiral staircase that leads up to level two, and need to climb up a flight of metal steps to reach level three.

The dining area at level one is at the sun deck of the house with only a couple of tables that are well-spaced from each other. Seems pretty romantic at night? However, from the photo, you can see that a boat almost blocked the whole view of Wat Arun.

The dining area in level two is able to accommodate large dining crowd.

I thought the level three area offers a much better view and since my main objective is to shoot instead of eat, i opted for the level three bar.

Within the bar, there are only five or six tables that offers a direct view of Wat Arun and i am glad that I made my way there early at 5.45pm and i manage to secure the last unoccupied table that offers a great view of Wat Arun. The bar offers finger food and drinks. Those who don’t feel like having alcohol may order their coffee/tea or juice instead. Yeap, a bar that offers coffee and tea.

Food & Drinks

As I plan to visit the “Bangkok best phad thai” for dinner, i am giving the main course at The Deck a miss. I ordered the safest food – cheese nachos and sausage. The taste of the nachos actually exceeded my expectation. I was munching on the nachos and i cleared the plate in no time. Love the thin chips coated with warm melted cheese.

And how wrong can sausages go? There are three different kinds of sausage in the platter that tasted like – Chicken cheese, chicken, pork and comes with a side of mashed potato and a portion of mustard. Great for sharing.

By the way, I don’t exactly enjoy their cappuccino as much as I thought I tasted some spices in it and it taste rather weird.

Bangkok’s sun sets at about 6.15pm to 6.30pm and it was a pity that the sun set was blocked by some thick cloud thus unable to catch the yellow egg yolk. Such a waste!

But nevertheless I thought I still managed to capture a rather decent night shot of Wat Arun, i think. LOL. What do you think?

Conclusion

I am someone who can enjoy doing nothing and just find a cosy corner and chill out with friends while enjoying a view and enjoying the river breeze. This place sets a world apart from the up-class rooftop sky bar where visitors need to be in their long pants and flip-flops are a strict no-no, The Deck offers a very homely and casual kind of setting for friends to gather or romantic-seeking lovers to visit to have a good drink and chat.

The only problem with this place is for it’s location as Singaporeans (or any other visitors) very muck like to stay around Pratunam/Asoke/Siam area for it’s shopping convenience. I had to take a cab ride that took me around 20 minutes to reach The Deck @ Arun Residence.

If you are already visiting the Grand Palace, Wat Pho or Wat Arun, why not have a rest at The Deck for a drink before heading back to Hotel.

The sky is already dark and i set off to the nearby “Bangkok Best Phad Thai” for dinner, which will be covered in my upcoming post!

Here’s a shot of the interesting spiral stairs connecting level one to level two:

Directions and Map

As The Deck is not near to any particular MRT or BTS station, i took a cab directly to this place. Note that this place is not along the main road and the cab driver got to turn into a smaller lane to be able to see this place.

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Mr Jones Orphanage (Bangkok – Thonglor)

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Mr Jones Orphanage

Address: SeenSpace Thonglor 13, Bangkok, Thailand 10110

Operating hours: 10.00am to 12:00 midnight (last order at 11:00pm) daily

Introdution

Mr Jones orphanage is located at the ‘atas street’ of Thonglor. You may have noticed that the address is exactly the same as Roast Coffee and Eatery. Yeap, this cosy little cafe is at level one of the SeenSpace, just below Roast Coffee & Eatery. I guess as a child everyone would had dreamt of such a place where there are endless candies, cakes, chocolate and ice cream. Mr Jones orphanage is exactly such a place, only that you need to pay for it. LOL.

I would have to say the selling point of this cafe is the design of their cafe instead of just food. Upon entering this “wonderland”, on the left lies a kitchen that is literally full of pastries, with the ceiling decorated with a giant wooden clock.

In the middle, there is a long table arrangement that reminds me of of mini Harry Potter’s Hogwarts dining hall.

On the right, it’s labelled as “The Playground” where there is this large carousel-design dining table in the center. The area is the most well lit and if you want to get some good food shots, dining at this area will never go wrong.

However, I am most impressed by their attic dining area and this is where i choose to have my meal. There is a ‘secret attic’ that is leaded up by a flight of narrow wooden stairs. I have to bend my knees and lay low so that my head won’t knock onto the ceiling while exploring the “secret hiding place”. Low seating sofas and tables are placed at various corners of the attic with decorative items like toy soldiers, library books and plush toys are scattered all over the dimly lit attic, with no ‘adult’ (the waitress) looking at what you are doing.

It’s like you had been transported out from Bangkok, and into a place that only exist in a story book.

As i reach there quite early at about 11 am, i had the whole attic to myself with the freedom to walk around, sleep flat on their sofa, or do anything you want. Best chill-out place ever.

Click here to see my list of consolidated Bangkok Food Itinerary

Pastries and cakes:

Since I just had my breakfast at Roast Coffee and Eatery, I didn’t get to try Mr Jones’ main course and I only ordered their desserts. Mr Jones Orphanage do offer brunch menu like Egg Benedict, Sandwich or a full breakfast platter. But now the problem is, WHICH DESSERT SHOULD I ORDER?! There are a wide selection of desserts like Lemon Meringue, Passionfruit Sponge Cake, Rocky Road, Chocolate Fudge cake, Coconut Cake, Chocolate Ferraro, Oreo Pie,  Berry Sponge and even M&M + Kit Kat cake, which they call it the “Kit Kat Monster”.

In the end, i finally settle with their coconut cake at 100 baht (cus Thailand is famous for their coconut), Chocolate Ferraro at 110 baht and their Chocky Mud Pie (135 baht).

Their coconut cake is divided into four layers, first layer with the fresh coconut shavings, then the coconut cream, the sponge cake with a layer of fresh coconut meat sandwich between the sponge cake. I thought this is something that is not commonly found in Singapore. For those who like coconut, this is worth a try.

The staff recommended their Chocky Mud Pie and this pie was served piping hot from the oven. Nothing beats a molten chocolate center that goes with a mouthful of dark chocolate ice cream.

Conclusion

Mr Jones Orphanage has actually little main courses to offer therefore i would suggest having your breakfast at Roast Coffee and Eatery at level 2 and pop by to experience this cafe and to have desserts. Don’t be fool by it’s plain-looking main door.

I think it’s worth the visit cus this is something that we don’t have and will not have in Singapore. And apology if my photos focus a little too much on the interior design instead of the food, but that is because i really really like the interior of the cafe. Definitely an eye opener and a place not to be missed, especially if you are already at Thonglor area.

Directions

The nearest BTS station to Mr Jones Orphanage is Thonglor station and takes a 15 minutes walk. Direction is exactly as coming to Roast Coffee & Eatery. Taking a cab to this place will be much easier. If you choose to walk, you just need to walk on one straight road on Sukhumvit 55 and turn left into Akkhara Phat when you see a building call “Home Place”.

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